Rain battered down on the windows of the ship as the swell sent thudding crashes against the hull. We opted for a morning of lectures to teach us about the wonderful things we have seen so far on our travels – first I spoke about the whales of the North Atlantic in my lecture, “Where the whales go,” which tried to give everyone an idea of the different wild and wonderful species that we could encounter on our travels and what they are up to in these waters.
Following this, Jim spoke about salmon farming and the importance and potential pitfalls of this industry, which has spread so ubiquitously across the Scandinavian countries we are visiting.
As our morning of presentations came to a close, the rough and wet weather seemed to have abated, so it was time to hop into Zodiacs and visit the beautiful island of Vágar! We landed in the picturesque port village of Miðvágar, where we met our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide – Davide. Davide told us all about the beautiful island he had grown up on as we travelled through mountains and valleys, until we met another little town, also set upon the beautiful water’s edge. We disembarked the coach and started to wander down through the mountainside, looking at plants and birds as we went. In the village, we came to a beautiful old house and inside we were fed coffee, tea, and cake. The house, it turned out, belonged to Davide’s mum and was built by his family in the traditional Faroes style. We learnt all about the culture of the island and what it was like to be a Faroese citizen.
After returning to the bus, we continued to our next wildlife and landscape stop – Múlafossur Waterfall. Múlafossur is considered one of the most iconic natural wonders of the Faroe Islands, and with good reason: the view from below of Gásadalur and Múlafossur is spectacular. The waterfall simply falls off the island, with a breathtaking panorama both towards the village behind it and close-by Mykines. Along the cliffside, on either side of the waterfall, nesting puffins came back and forth to their burrows.
Finally, we visited an amazing local church on the island, and Davide treated us to a song in the church, which was very well received. The church, which had been restored by his grandad, was a nice personal link. We headed back to the ship for cocktails and recap before setting sail for Iceland!
