Faroe Islands Day 2 - Saksun

Today we were supposed to go on a ferry to Mykines island to see its massive puffin colony. But it was windy, raining, and probably quite choppy on the boat. Yesterday the trip was cancelled because of choppy small harbor landing conditions, but today was supposed to be “a bit better”. Even though the boat was going, we decided to skip it, to avoid 🐠 🛥️ 🌊 🤮. Also the island has no facilities so you are really stuck hiking under the rain and wind, which is all not so pleasant. We decided that we both are not necessarily that huge bird enthusiasts (except penguins for me!).

Since it was raining, we decided to go to the national museum in Torshavn (the capital). We learned about how the islands came to be (volcanic), how they first got settled (Vikings) and saw beautiful historical artifacts, such as medieval church carvings.

After the museums, we drove north to Saksun. There was an old 400 year old farm with some houses that you can visit, all in a stunning setting with the mountains and the waterfall. The farm still belongs to the same family for hundreds of years. The tickets included access to audio guide on the app Tell Me North and we learned about the family and the farm. Below the farm, there is a beautiful black sand beach lagoon, but it was raining pretty heavily and we had to limit our visit to a quick picture of the church in the fog.

We then drove to Tjornuvik - a village in the north of Streymoy island (same island as Torshavn), with black sand. On the way we stopped by the road side waterfall Floss, which is the highest waterfall in Faroe Islands, and consists of two tiers. We also stopped for a roadside photo of the only octagonal church, in Haldorsvik.

Tjornuvik met us with some more solid rain, wind and thick fog covering the views. In normal visibility, you could see two sea stacks (or basically rocks) in the distance in the ocean. We could barely make them out. They are The Giant and The Witch - these two tried to push Faroe Islands to Iceland, but couldn’t and in the midst of that didn’t notice that the sun came up and turned them into stone.

We then drove back to our Airbnb in Sandavágur - every drive here is stunning, no matter the weather. Expansive slopes covered by the brilliant green grass and streaming waterfalls, with endless cute sheep grazing. Population of Faroe Islands is 55,000 people and there are 70,000 sheep. The breed and coloring of sheep is unique, the result of mixing many different breeds brought from Norway, Iceland, Scotland and Ireland. They used to be bred for their wool, but not wool is not used anymore, and they are only for meat.Read more