Day 10 It’s Pronounced Teatime

This morning, we didn't set an alarm, but still got up early and went to the hiking trail just above town. The road was of questionable repair, so we parked about a km before the trailhead and just walked a bit further. This trail is far steeper than anything we've done so far, but the views are amazing. 

We managed to get there and back again without getting covered in mud as well. We then walked to a different bakery, which turned out to not actually be open, but pointed us to the grocery store selling their goods. The items at the grocery store looked good but were far to large a portion for use on this, the last full day here. So we walked back to the bakery we've visited previously and got entirely different pastries to take back and relax with coffee and rye bread at the apartment. 

I didn't get any pictures, but the bird watching from our apartment has been pretty great. We've seen several of the ones from the sign we saw in Torshavn. As the tide comes in and out, the come pick at whatever is left on the shore. 

Our next stop is the liquor store, but this time to return bottles. There is a fun machine you feed bottles and cans to with a conveyor belt that automatically sorts and calculates a payment for returning each. Then it shoots out a receipt to take into the store so they can credit your card. Far more fun than I expected from recycling. 

We also hit a different bakery that opened at 1PM and Bill tried on some clothes at a shop full of Danish brands. Our only structured plan for the day was afternoon tea. I'd seen a brochure for this place at the cafe and it sounded like fun. 

The location is a replica of a house built by national hero, Nólsoyar Páll, and named after his wife, Marin Malenu, a Klaksvik woman who got much of the northern island population vaccinated against small pox. The woman running the place also owns the cafe, which is named after Nólsoyar's smuggling ship, which he used to defy Danish officials by bringing Faroes goods to other markets. His entire story is wild, he brought a case to court in England against an Englishman who sank his boat, arguing that just because Denmark was occupied by France, that did not mean the Faroe Islands were allied with the French. He won, got a new ship, and then was lost at sea, likely to a battle with a Norwegian privateer hired by corrupt officials from Torshavn. 

We also got to hear about local building developments, a cooking school, some history from the brewery/distillery in town (and a bad idea of moving it from the waterfront to make room for hotel parking - the town was build around the brewery, why would you then make it move). And also try lamb several different ways, fermented, roasted, as sausage, and testicles. All in all, quite a good stop. 

After that, we went to a local wool spinning club that claimed to have events every Thursday night, but was closed. Instead, we hit the local pub. I asked for a cocktail menu and the bartender assured me that she could make me anything I wanted. I immediately called her bluff, asking for something with aquavit, a nonstarter. Instead we just ordered shots, trying more of the Einar's spirits, including their quite lovely peated whiskey - Islay on the nose with an almost caramel finish. This was the last full day here. Sadly I feel like we're just getting into vacation mode. I guess next time we'll have to take a whole month!

Klaksvik Staycation (Day 10)

Today is our last full day in the Faroe Islands. Instead of hopping in the car and visiting somewhere else, we're going to spend the day in and around Klaksvik. From the jump, we can tell it's going to be another beautiful day. The plan for the morning it take the car up to the top of Klaksvik and then hop out and do a hike the the local visitor info kiosk lady recommended. 

 The hike is supposed to be 90 minutes round trip. The information placard says the hike is easy and recommended for children. I suspect Faroese children must be robust and immune to steep inclines. I can imagine a version of the hike where the wind is whipping around you constantly, but today the weather is glorious and it's views at the top are amazing as promised. 

Once we return to town we're on a mission to find pastries. There is a bakery that we haven't tried yet, so we make that our goal. Unfortunately, when we get there they look closed (no baked goods in the display cases) but there are people in the building. I poke my head in and inquire if they are open and they tell us that they're selling their baked goods in the small grocery store across the street. We check out the grocery store and find the baked goods. Everything is a full cake or jelly roll and we decide nothing is enticing enough to buy something that we're going to have to throw half of out. 

Once again, Amarant saves the day. We walk back there and get a cookie and a slice of cake and then return to the apartment. I make a decent pot of coffee, slice and toast some rye bread (also from Amarant) and we have a bite to eat. 

After walking around town for a bit, we have our afternoon event which is a tea and traditional Faroese snacks at Marin Malena. The tea room is named after a famous Klaksvik woman from the early 1800's who was instrumental in laying the groundwork for Faroese independence. The tea room is a reproduction of the original house which was located just a few meters away (in what is now a road). The experience is part history, part high tea, and part traditional Faroese foodways preservation. 

The person in charge of running the tea room also owns/runs the Cafe Frida located next door. She explained the history and importance of Nolsoyar Poul and Marin Malena to Fareose independence and it's obvious that this whole thing is a passion project for her. The space is charming, the teas are good, but the real star of the show (for me at least) is the traditional Faroese snacks. 

Afterwards the tea the owner welcomes us to just hang out and ask questions, so we start to inquire about Klaksvik itself. It's always fun when you can get a local to dish on their town. There is a lot of building going on around the harbor, but she says no one can follow the plan because it keeps changing. It seems that Klaksvik is trying to embrace the fact that outside of Torshavn they are the number two destination for tourist (points to self). I detect that there is a local struggle between evolving Klaksvik into a town that welcome tourist and wholesale replacing what is here to be more tourist friendly. The owner has opinions on the correct path. I hope they get it right, because this town is charming and doesn't need to be something it's not. It will be interesting to see how things shake out over the next five years or so. 

Tea takes us to nearly 5:00. After which we walk up to this studio on the edge of town that claims to teach traditional Faroese wool making crafts on Thursday nights. Alas, they are not open. Perhaps that is a tourist season thing. Since it is Thursday, that means bars might be open. Bars only seem to be open Thursday night (limited to a few hours), Friday night (longer hours), Saturday night (extended hours) and sometimes on Sunday in the Faroes islands. I've not seen a single bar open Monday - Wednesday. We try one place that appears to be closed. The second one is open, but is a very simple pub. They have beer and some local bottles on a shelf behind the bar. We ask to try some of the local bottles since we weren't able to arrange a distillery tour while we were in town.  We more or less assemble our own local tasting to the semi-frustration of pub owners who are used to slinging pints to cigarette smokers.

Day 9 The Seal Woman

This was another early start as the ferry for Kalsoy leaves at 8AM. It's just around the harbor, about 3 minutes away - we've been watching it come back and forth for the last few days. This is the ferry Bill has been the most concerned about because he read that locals get priority so you may not be allowed on. And he does not want to get stranded. The tourist information office assured us that as long as we booked in advance, we were guaranteed a spot. Of course, having waited until last night to book, our options are limited. So we're heading out early and not coming back until 5:30. 

The ferry was full on the way out, so they were packing us as close together as possible to make room for as many cars as they could. On the Klaksvic side, the ferry backs up to the dock. On the Syðradalur side, the ferry goes straight in and the front of the boat lifts to let us drive forward out of the tiny craft.

 

Most of the cars immediately headed to the northmost village as this is where the hike to Kellur lighthouse begins. I suggested we stop at Mikladalur first to see the seal woman statue as that would get us a little out of sync with the rest of the hikers. The light wasn't great, but given weather here, who knows what cloud cover could be here at any moment: 

The building where you buy tickets for the hike also includes a Thai restaurant that's open 9 AM to 9PM. It is the only restaurant on the entire island. There is a cafe in Mikladalur that is only open during tourist season, but that starts next month. 

We headed up the steep gravel path - the challenging climb on this hike is definitely front loaded. This is the only hike we've had to pay for. It's very common for hiking trails through private land to either charge a fee or charge a fee and require a guide. We are not exactly outdoorsy folk, though, so the less adventurous public hikes to scenic overlooks have been more than sufficient until now. 

This one, in addition to spectacular views, can be done in a couple of hours. There are 3 to 4 primary viewing points. This first involved a stretch that was too narrow for Bill's comfort, so I headed out alone. 

Next up was the lighthouse itself, with it's own spectacular view:

There is also an even more narrow path to a viewpoint beyond the lighthouse, but we opted out of that particular bit. I'm pretty sure Bill would have had a panic attack just watching me do that one. 

Finally, along some spectacular bird covered cliffs is James Bond's grave. 

This section of the island was where he died in the latest Bond film - heavily CG to add an evil lair in place of the lighthouse, but recognizable in the film. 

We were closer to 3 hours mostly for taking some time to just sit and enjoy the views. And then it was lunch time. The restaurant is basically the living room of the farmhouse. The food is far better than it needs to be. My pad Thai had a good amount of fish sauce and Bill's basil pork was excellent. As we didn't have a tight timetable to get back to the ferry, we could also just sit and enjoy the meal, including an after lunch coffee. We also considered some candlesticks made by the local blacksmith, but neither of us actually uses the kind of candles they are meant for. 

We followed that up with a quick walk around the town of Trøllanes (translates to Troll Peninsula) which has a souvenir kiosk - the only shop open on the island. In spite of being tiny, it had a great selection of knitwear accessories (hats, gloves, socks) and the best postcard selection we've seen in the whole country. 

Next up, since we have plenty of time, we went back to the seal woman, now with much better light. The place was packed at this point, with 6 or 7 other tourists hanging about. The rocks were also considerably dryer, which meant more exploration along the shore now that they aren't super slick. 

Next up, we head back to the town with the ferry, where the public toilets have this amazing view: 

We are still well ahead of the ferry, but there is a free hiking path the the southern most lighthouse on the island, which we also do. This trail is not nearly as well travelled, and at some point I suggested that perhaps the sign about this "hiking path" is a prank pulled on tourists by the locals, but we do make it to the lighthouse. 

As we are hiking back, the earlier ferry is coming in for pick up. I guess it's good we couldn't get tickets as we would have probably missed it. Once we are back at the car, we only have about an hour left so we just sit and enjoy the view. I brought my knitting project along for just this eventuality. 

On the ferry ride, back, I got out of the car to enjoy the view from the sea. 

Once back in town, we went back to the bakery we tried yesterday and got way too much food. My bagel was great! 

We then retired to the apartment for an aquavit tasting, with one from Einar's, two from some place that uses Faroes water, but isn't produced here, and the remains of the ocean truffle bottle. We also split a cider from Einar's, which was good but much sweeter than expected. All in all, a full but not rushed day.

Kalsoy Adventure (Day 9)

Today is the day that Dawn and I have probably discussed the logistics for the most since we started to plan this vacation. Every tour guide we consulted basically said if you're in the northern islands you need to go to Kalsoy and see the two big tourist attractions there. Also, the only way to Kalsoy is by ferry so you need to sync up your visit with the Ferry timetable. Also, there are only so many spots for cars on the ferry, and it's possible to get stranded on the islands. 

It turns out that while that is possible, it's not likely - but we only learned that last part once we were in Klaksvik. The Klaksvik tourist information kiosk did confirm that residents get first dibs on ferry car spots, but the company does hold a few spots back, and if you book online ahead of time you can guarantee yourself a spot on the ferry. So Dawn books us passage on the ferry. It turns out that all of the guaranteed spots are already booked on two of the sailings, so it looks like we're leaving here at 8:00 in the morning and coming back at 5:40 in the evening. That's pretty much a full day on Kalsoy island. 

The ferry ride to Kalsoy is short. Maybe 20 minutes. The weather is great today and the water is calm. I don't even get sea sick on our ride over.  I am amused the car's navigation tries to track us while we're on the ferry.   

Kalsoy island has four villages on it. The grand total population of the entire island is 80 people. There is essentially one single-tracked road that runs up the east side of the island. The ferry drops us off in Sydradalur, which is the southern most village. It seems like most of the other cars on the ferry are also here on sight seeing business because a convoy of us take off an head north. 

Both of the big tourist attractions on the island are on the north end. There is a statue of the Seal Woman in Mikladulur, and then there is a hike to a light house in Trollanes. The hike is supposed to be only an hour each way and super scenic. Also, in the last James Bond film they shot Daniel Craig's death scene on that site, so it's also now the place James Bond died. The owner of the property has installed a grave stone for James Bond and it's become a bit of a thing to go and visit it. It's obvious that most of the people in our caravan are headed for Trollanes for the hike. We decide to pull off at Mikladulur to see the Seal Woman and note that most of the caravan continues north. This is a stoke of luck because it means we have the place more or less to ourselves. 

Mikaladur has a population of just of 20 people. There is a small cafe there, that isn't open at this time of year. There are a couple of Airbnb places and not much else going on. We walk down the steps to the ocean and visit the Seal Woman statue which was installed in 2014 based on a mythological story involving Mikaladur, a farmer who held the seal woman captive, and how she came to curse the town's men. I gotta say, I think the location and the statue really work well together, and think this is a really successful art-installation-come-tourist-attraction. 

We continue our track north to Trollanes. While the lighthouse and James Bond might be the major draw, Trollanes holds a second delight that Dawn and I are looking forward to. For some reason there is also a Thai restaurant here on the edge of the world. Our plan is to do the hike and then get lunch at the Thai place. This is also the only hike we're doing in the Faroes that charges a fee. Hiking is popular here, and some of the hikes are technically trespassing on private land. So they're worked out a culture where people pay to hike across private land. It turns out in Trollanes you pay at the Thai restaurant to hike to the lighthouse. After paying we head up the hill. It looks like the owner has decided to install a permanent path to the lighthouse fairly recently because there is a gravel path most of the way there and the tell-tale signs that a backhoe has been at work. 

The new trail probably makes the hike easier, if not slightly less picturesque. Once we round the corner and enter the valley of the lighthouse, the view point, and James Bond's gravestone its hard to argue that the scenery isn't breathtaking. Since we visited the Seal Woman first everyone else on the first Ferry beat us here and they start to wrap up their visit as we're getting started. We select the view point as our first target, I make good progress until we get to the final approach which just drops off to the left and right and my fear of heights kicks in. I realize that there is no way I can make it out to the view point unless I crawl in the mud to get there. I bow out and Dawn continues forward. 

Afterwards we head of the lighthouse which is also very nice. Finally we visit James Bond's grave site.... but only half heartedly. This is obviously a manufactured reason to visit... judging by the number of people visiting, it's effective, but still.... it's not really a thing. After that we just sit down on the side of the hill and enjoy the scenery. It really is quite gorgeous. We hand out there until we judge that the tourist from the next ferry ought to be making their way there. We got the timing just right, because on 

our way out we pass a large number of tourist hiking their way in. 

The next stop if the Thai restaurant for lunch. I say restaurant, but that's not really what's going on here. Trollanes is more a functioning farm than a village. I think less than 20 people live here. It looks like a single farm. The restaurant is really just a farmhouse. You sit in the family room, they cook food in the farmhouse kitchen. There is nothing commercial about this. It seems like it could be a B&B. I'm pretty sure the owners kids seat us and take our order. Sometimes the kitchen door is briefly left open and I see an older Thai lady working the kitchen stove in the back. The food is great, the setting is kind of sureal, I had a great time. 10 out of 10. I would definately eat Thai for at the edge of the world again if I happen to be on the island. 

 After lunch we still have 4 hours to kill before our return ferry trip. The weather today is great and the sun is actually been poking out from the clouds. We decide to return to the Seal Woman to see if it's even better with better lighting. There is!  And we get some great photos. 

After that we return to Sydradalur. There is another lighthouse south of town. The town info plaque says it's an easy 15 minute walk. I'm going to reserve judgement on "easy", but it's not a long walk, and no one fell into the ocean or got their feet super muddy. Just as we're returning from the lighthouse we see the ferry before the one we booked come in and leave. We cap our time off on Kalsoy enjoying the view from an elevated car park and waiting for the ferry. Once back in Klaksvik we return to Amarant to try out their dinner. I get a fish and chips and Dawn gets curry chicken bagel. Both are solid executions and we remain impressed by this restaurant. To finish the night we host our own aquavit tasting back at the apartment. Skaal!