The whole day was kind of rough for him being all boat time and driving down narrow "roads" in the rain. Great day for me as we made it to both yarn shops that were open and got to fit in a little hiking along with driving through gorgeous scenery. Though even I thought the ferry ride out, especially the first 30 minutes after we left the harbor, was rough going. Good view though:
Here's a memorial in the northernmost town on the island:
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| Sigmundur Brestisson Memorial, Sandvík |
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| Sandvík Beach |
And a view that was scenic right up until we pulled cameras out:
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| Scenic Viewpoint west of Hvalba |
After that, we stopped at a Tóbúðin hjá Gitte, one of the yarn shops on the island. She had 1 skein of a green Snældan wool that I hadn't even seen at the giant Snældan store in Torshavn. I got it and another skein of a natural color from another brand, scheming with what to make from only 50 grams of the green.
Our next stop was Vagur, which is where the company that made my hat is based. Almost nothing was open, but the tourist information office was, and the lady was very helpful in suggesting stops around the island for the rest of the day. The first two of her suggestions were just outside of town. She also pointed us to a shop down the street that sells knitwear and souvenirs - and had more of the same green I had just gotten, so I got a few more skeins.
The first suggested is where the first electric plant in the country was built in order to automate winching ships up the previous harbor:
The next was a scenic overlook at what was previously a signal station during WWII, which she claimed we could drive right up to via a scenic road. That road turned out to be the equivalent of a poorly maintained golfcart path with steep drops off one side. With just over a kilometer to the top, there was a turnoff large enough to park the car in, and I suggested we just walk the rest of the way, giving Bill a brief respite from driving and getting me a bit of exercise. Of course, fog rolled in just in time for us to get to the top:
Fortunately, the sun was back just as we got back to the car, so we didn't have to wait out the weather for reasonable visibility.
Next up was a trip to Sumba, the southernmost town, and a brief stop at Akraberg Lighthouse, the southernmost point of the island:
At this point, a cafe with a gallery I'd seen online was finally open, so we headed back up to the town we had started in. Turned out it was actually a gallery that included a small cafe, run by a Dane who had immigrated in the '70's and been running the gallery for longer than either of us has been alive. He served us coffee and told us about the king coming to visit the gallery. He also flipped through an atlas, showing us all the places he'd been as part of a year long sailing trip. He found Copenhagen far too fast a pace, and even thought Torshavn is too much, greatly preferring the slow life way out in this small town (largest town on the island). While it wasn't what I had expected, it was a really interesting stop. I also got a moody postcard and a couple of puffin pins, but managed to avoid buying more art, even this wonderful abstract:
After that, actual restaurants were starting to open around the island, so we hit a place in Vagur with a pita sandwich the size of my head. The smart play would have been to have a long, slow meal since the weather was getting rainy and we had nothing else planned ahead of the ferry. Instead we tried to get into a museum that turned out to be closed, and then had to find somewhere with a bathroom. But we did make it to the ferry with plenty of time to spare. The ferry actually left 6 minutes ahead of schedule, so I guess they are serious about getting there at least 15 minutes in advance. Forgot to mention yesterday that we heard what clearly sounded like protesters, which a scan of local news showed was a protest about ferry timetables.
For the ride back, we sat on a lower deck, and closer to the midline of the boat, which seemed way better for Bill. It was also much calmer weather for that ride. Our seating area had a snack shop that included a gift shop with seaweed options (no ocean truffle, sadly), and more fish leather goods. I spent most of the ride back knitting.
Once we got back, Bill went for some Thai at a takeaway place and we just chilled for the night. It was a long day to a hard to get to island. I'd like to go back if we are ever here during tourist season, though. There's a wool production tour and a few other things that I could make a few days trip out of. Doubt I'll get Bill back on the ferry, though.
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