31st – Windy birding

Waking up I noticed that trying to adjust the temperature was successful. The temperature was now down to 23°C.

At around 0915 I took the bus from Tórshavn to go and catch the ferry to get to Mykines. The bus system here outside the towns is pretty great – there might not be many departures, but whenever the lines cross, they wait for each other so even if your current bus is delayed you won’t miss your connection. The traffic here isn’t very dense so the risk for any significant delays seem close to nil.

So when we arrived at the ferry 10 minutes late – not due to traffic – technically after the ferry would have departed, it was still there waiting for us.

The crossing was easier than I had expected considering the exposed nature of the Faroe Islands. The water was calm but being in a relatively small boat we still had some chopping on the way out. Reaching Mykines and circling around to the small port some of us were lucky enough to spot a couple of seals popping their heads up to have a quick look around before disappearing again.

Sailing along the coastline heading towards Mykines.

Mykines is probably best known for its puffin colonies and the lighthouse on the western-most point on the island and also the western-most point of the Faroe Islands. The weather kept dry and depending on where you were standing either nice and calm or very windy.

Looking west on Mykines.

A puffin.

Another puffin.

I spent most of my time on the island going west and enjoying the high concentration of puffins. They might be chubby and look clumsy but when airborne they are fast and nimble. Because of this it was quite difficult to get good shots of them flying, but as soon as they were just sitting around in the grass in groups there was plenty chances of getting good shots.

More puffins!

A gannet.

Apart from the puffins there were quite a few beautiful gannets, too, and kittiwakes had taken over small crevices on the rockfaces on the edges of the island. I believe I also spotted a few arctic terns, guillemots and fulmars.

Flying gannet.

Yes. More puffins.

Returning to the small village Mykines (on the island Mykines – a pattern emerges…) I had a small walk around while waiting for the return boat. It arrived on schedule and a bit past 1700 we departed the island and returned to the main land (or rather; the slightly larger island) where the bus going to Tórshavn was waiting for us.

Returning to Tórshavn I went back to the hotel to get rid of my bag and then went out for dinner. At the restaurant I randomly bumped into someone I don’t think I’ve seen since my time in uni. Apparently she’s here with her husband as he is also participating in the run on Sunday. She had been looking at the topographical maps and concluded it was a dumb idea. Today’s bus took us along part of the track and I got to see first hand the hills outside Tórshavn. I am starting to think it’s a dumb idea, too.

Mykines was a great experience. I could see myself returning when there are chick and then spending a few nights on the island to get the full experience And maybe remembering to bring slightly warmer clothes – when the wind picks up and you are standing still because you have found the perfect photo spot it does get quite chilly. And west of the town is only a small fraction of the entire island, so there is plenty of places to walk around.

30th of May – Northbound

My parents were nice enough to pick me up and bring me to the airport. I ended up spending close to an hour in the lounge having breakfast before going to the gate and experiencing probably the fastest boarding I have ever been part of: it took less than 10 minutes which meant we had to stay and wait for almost 15 minutes before we were allowed to leave the gate.

The flight was uneventful and on schedule.

I was picked up by my booked taxi with two others, the driver being an old jovial guy who seemed to know a bit about everyone on the way to Tórshavn. The main road went through a 5km long tunnel not far from the airport and half way our driver said “Half way now, time to go back up. By the way – we are 105 meters below sea level.”. No wonder it felt like he had been braking most of the time until then while maintaining the speed. Coming out on the other side he informed us that he would skip the next few tunnels and instead take us over the mountains instead so we would have a chance to enjoy the views. And I am glad he did – it’s gorgeous here. Similar to Svalbard but less brown, greener and less wild.

When checking in the hotel receptionist had to admit, despite having my booking confirmation, I was nowhere to be found in the system. After some typing he let me know that he did still have room for me if I’d be willing to change rooms after 2 nights and spend the remaining two nights in the suite. I informed him I was willing to make the sacrifice. After spending some time on the phone he gets back to me and lets me know that I won’t have to change rooms anyway, unfortunately it turned out it wasn’t the suite I’d end up in. I received confirmation for room 25, he ran around a bit and gave me the keys for room 24. Apparently he couldn’t find the keys for room 25 so I got the identical room next door instead.

Check-in was a bit more confusing than I am used to. But at least it worked out in the end.

I went for a short walk for a few hours trying to find my way around Tórshavn. It was quite confusing as most roads are small and twisting and it didn’t take long before my sense of direction was confused. And there is barely a flat piece of road anywhere unless you are near the harbour. And being pretty windy and temps down around 8-ish degrees there was a bit to get used to.

View of Tórshavn and port.

Dinner was had at a sushi restaurant that had some absolutely amazing salmon. A mild taste and the pieces almost melted in the mouth. Probably the best salmon I’ve ever had. I just had to have a bit extra.

Coming back to the hotel I realized the thermostat in the room doesn’t seem to be really working as it has been stuck on 25°C despite trying to lower it as it was a bit too much for me. I tried setting it to 18°C but it kept jumping back to 25. Getting hold of the receptionist I was informed that as long as it is given the new temperature it will be set correctly, it’s just really slow at getting to the desired value. Like, really, really slow.

The walls are a bit thin – I can hear my neighbour snore.