I seem to be drawn to remote islands, and the Faroes definitely fit into that categorization.
Until recently, most people that I have met on my travels, even avid travellers, hadn’t heard of the Faroe Islands. I visited a five years ago, and it seems that the secret has slowly been starting to get out. Even so…people I meet that do know it’s a little European nation still can’t point to it on a map! The only people who ever seem to have some passion about the Faroes are ones that heard something about some dolphins or whales being killed there.
Dolphins, no. But whales, yes. They call it the “Grind”, and it is a hot topic among the Faroese and anybody who visits these islands that are off in the North Atlantic ocean. But there is a lot more to these amazing islands than that. (For the record, yes I did eat whale in the Faroes, when a couple of different people offered me some from their private supply.)
By definition the Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of Denmark. despite strong ties to the mainland, the Faroes are fiercely independent, with their own money and plenty of pride – so don’t make the mistake of calling the Danish!
My purpose for travelling around the Faroes was to soak up the lush green scenery, enjoy plenty of Faroese music, take some photographs of strange landscapes and curious creatures. I saw plenty of whales and sheep, puffins and other seabirds. When in the towns, I found the old-style green-roofed houses particularly interesting. Today, they’re mostly historic buildings and special areas, not so practical by modern standards.
I hiked around admiring many waterfalls and had fun seeing how nervous my guide got when driving towards oncoming traffic going through the lengthy, one-lane tunnels that connected some of the islands. Really, those tunnels were quite cool – a cross between playing chicken and frogger – it was a fine line between too aggressive and too cautious. Don’t drive fast enough and you’ll get stuck in a tunnel pullout, causing a logjam behind you (only space for 1-3 cars in each pull out). But if you’re too aggressive, you might race to the next pullout when it isn’t your turn, causing oncoming traffic to screech to a halt or backup. I’m sure it would make for an entertaining TV channel to watch, except for the fact that traffic jams and traffic in general is pretty rare in the Faroe Islands.
Outside of Torshavn, even Klaksvik, the next “big” city seems sleepy quiet. It’s peaceful, the weather is generally pleasant during the short summer – not too hot, maybe a bit rainy. People smile when you walk past them on the street. Most of them speak English and seem very well educated and welcoming.
It’s a small nation of islands, at about the same latitude as Iceland, but that is about the only thing similar between them. The Faroes don’t have dramatic volcanoes and geysers. It’s lush, green mountains and waterfalls here. Much more like Scotland. Fishing, farming, music and arts are all big in the Faroe Islands. Farming though, not so much for food, but sheep. There are plenty of sheep in the Faroes, so knitwear and wool clothes are very popular. Sadly, the harsh climate, despite being lush and green here, doesn’t allow for growing much produce. Rhubarb is a big crop, potatoes can be grown. But with a sparse, small population of ~50,000 total, there aren’t any huge farming operations aside from fish farms.
They do get a steady supply of food from Denmark and Europe. Grocery stores are mostly well-stocked, but the variety of fresh fruit, vegetables and meats were all a bit lacking in the stores I went to. Sure, lots of apples, root vegetables and frozen meats, but in general seafood is the name of the game in the Faroes. No shortage of candy bars, sodas and snacks though!
Oddly, each island in the Faroes really has it’s own personality too. Some are only accessible by boat or helicopter, others have numerous historic buildings on them, and some seem to be straight out of a fairytale book.
I was happy that there were some craft breweries in the Faroe Islands, which made more than adequate beers. I enjoyed more than my fair share of local beers at the G! Festival, a fantastic music festival that was the finishing highlight of my Faroe islands adventure. I’m intrigued to return and visit in winter next time, although I’d also like to explore and hike around some of the further, remote areas of the islands too. Hard to choose! I did enjoy their fun “remote tourism” tours on Facebook this past spring, where you could interact with, and “control” a local Faroese guide as they walked around the islands!
It was a quirky, cool concept, something that seemed quite fitting for the Faroe Islands. If you’re like me and prefer different travel destinations, consider the Faroes when it comes time to travel again.
A few final photos of Faroes! If you do visit, know that it’s so green because rain is pretty common – it rains more than 200 days a year in the Faroes! Don’t expect a ton of heat either, as even in mid-summer it rarely reaches 13C /55F. It’s often cloudy during summer too, but when the sun comes out, the islands light up with tons of vibrancy…it’s a great place for photography.
