The Faroes

Arrived Torshavn, the capital of the Faroe Isles in the late morning. Again lucky with the weather as it was another dry day.Apparently it rains 260 days a year here. We have opted for the boat trip to the Vestmannavegurin bird cliffs today. Iceland sheep everywhere although they can be difficult to spot in the landscape. The sheep population outnumbers the humans by around 20,000. No trees again, but plenty of grass for the sheep grazing even on the steepest cliffs. Some of the traditional houses also have grass roofs, good for insulation, but there are also a lot of modern newly built properties here as the town has expanded rapidly in recent years. On the boat trip we were shown the sites of the puffin colonies, but apparently we are a few weeks early for the breeding season. I spotted one puffin swimming and later a seal. I was too slow with the camera for both. The bird population was mostly gulls. The sea however was a striking turquoise blue! The stone walls in third picture are the remains of the fortress - Skansin, which overlooked and protected the harbour.
It seems the tip for spotting sheep is to lookout for a rock which moves. That is a clue you may have noticed a sheep…Read more