Farms and Puffins

This morning we visited a traditional farmhouse dating back to the 1830s which has been preserved as a museum. It showcased the main farmhouse with its two kitchens and a number of outer buildings such as barns, storage sheds, and workshops, providing a realistic and fascinating representation of early life in the Faroe Islands. We also learned all about the sod roofs which can last 50 years if done properly however the grass has to be mowed several times each summer. Someone has to get up on the roof with a weed whacker, although some folks are now using small robot lawn mowers depending on the pitch of the roof. What could go wrong?

After a quick lunch in Torshavn's busy shopping mall, we headed over to Vestmanna to catch a boat tour of the majestic cliffs. Words can't describe the incredible scenery! Sheer rock cliffs occasionally sprout small patches of grass so sheep have adapted to climbing on nearly vertical surfaces because, of course, hard to reach grass is tastier, but their owners eventually have to scale down 400 meter cliffs on ropes to bring the wayward sheep back to civilization. But these folks are used to it; a related traditional practice is for Faroese men to suspend themselves on ropes along sheer cliffs to scoop up puffin eggs from their rock nests (and occasionally catch puffins to eat, a local delicacy).

We had a great dinner last night at Aarstova set in a charming old house with lots of character. Tonight we're trying Barbara Fish House, a highly rated restaurant in an old sod roofed house.

And tomorrow we will try our lighthouse hike again, provided we don't miss the ferry this time.
[Note: we had an amazing dinner at the restaurant Barbara which combined fresh Faroese seafood with Spanish, Galician and Portuguese culinary touches. Amazing! And it was housed in a charming 16th century house dripping with "hygge" and named after the main character in Jacobsen's Faroese novel Barbara. Wow!]Read more