Faroe Islands Day 4 - Kalsoy island trip

Today, we decided to go to the nearby Kalsoy island for its famous lighthouse hike. As I was complaining that weather forecasting is completely useless, our Airbnb host recommended that we look at the faroeislandslive.com as it shows live webcams of the popular spots on the islands. Today was shaping up to be one clear day so it was perfect for this hike. The ferry that goes to Kalsoy takes only 7 cars and it was all booked, but we were lucky to find some passenger tickets. When we got to the island, there was a bus that took us to the beginning of the hike. The little hut where you pay for the hike (many nice hikes have steep hiking prices in the Faroes!) gave out the hiking poles to borrow, which was very helpful. The hike was not hard, but slippery at times, with loose rocks. It ended on a gorgeous grassy ridge that led to the lighthouse. The views were stunning and despite many people on the hike, felt very remote. There are two villages of a few houses each on the island, and you can only connect through a ferry a few times a day. No restaurants or cafes.

After the hike, we took the same bus back to the ferry, but first stopped at another village that had a famous Seal Woman statue. The bronze statue of a woman coming out of the sea was built not too long ago, in order to attract tourists. We were first a skeptical about it, but the setting, stunning statue and especially the legend it was based on, were captivating. The short version of the legend is that there were seals in that village that would come ashore at night, shed their seal skins, turn into humans and hang out till the sunrise. One local guy saw a gorgeous seal woman, hid her skin and when the sun came up, she had to stay human. He married her and kept her skin locked in a chest. They had children and then one day he went fishing and forgot the key in the house. His wife found her skin, put it on, and went back to live in the ocean. Sometimes you can hear her crying for her human children that she left behind.Read more