Wednesday, July 9, 2014 – Klaksvik, Faroe Islands – Foggy and Party Cloudy – 54F

Distance from Lerwick UK to Klaksvik, Faroe Islands:  234 Nautical Miles

Come and Go fog in the Faroe Islands today…

Port Information.  The Faroe Islands, which are part of Denmark, were founded around 800 AD.  Klaksvik officially became a municipality in 1908 and the Faroes have been semi-autonomous since 1948.  The Faroe Islands are home to just over 48,000 people, of which 4700 reside in Klaksvik (located on Borooy Island).  Torshavn (named after the God of Thunder, Thor) is the capital of the Faroes – with a population of about 19,000 people, it is the world’s 200th smallest capital city.  The Faroes have a rainy climate with about 280 wet days a year.  The locals speak Faroese but can also converse in Nordic Languages and English.

We are both on tour today - “Countryside and Blasastova Museum”.  My guide is Bjork and we are scheduled to leave at 9:15 AM.

The fog is very odd in the Faroes.  It comes and it goes and it hangs very close to the ground.  Looks like cotton.  We were told that the fog is a result of the warm gulfstream waters that flow all the way here from the Gulf of Mexico.

When the fog left, it was brilliant blue skies and warm.  It is not raining today, so we have beaten the odds.

The water in the fjords was absolutely still – allowing for mirror-like reflections of the mountains.  The mountains have a strange terraced look about them – kind of pyramid in nature.

 

Leaving the Pier

The ship was docked just a few miles from the city of Klaksvik, which is located on both sides of the fjord.

Klaksvik

City Centre Klaksvik

Shortly after passing Klaksvik, the bus entered the Undersea Tunnel (about 3 Km long) and emerged on the island of Eysturoy.  About midway through the tunnel, a local artist had set up an installation consisting of flashing colored lights (red and blue) that broke up the monotony of the tunnel.  There must have been two tunnels since I did not see any traffic going the other way.

 

View from Eysturoy Island

Our next destination was the Blasastova Museum, which has exhibits depicting life in the Faroes in the 1800s.  The drive took us along the Skala Fjord, which is the longest fjord in the Faroe Islands.

Skala Fjord

The Blasastova Museum and Trondur Farm form a complex of buildings on the hillside overlooking the fjord in the village of Gota.  The buildings are generally black with grass roofs – the rooms of the farm buildings are small but filled with items and artifacts from two centuries ago.  The Museum complex also has a small coffee shop where you can get coffee and two cookies for a a few Pounds.  The coffee bar was tended by a young Faroese girl.  People were buying the coffee and someone even bought a CD of Faroese music.  No WiFi or facilities at the museum.

Museum and Farm – Grass Roofed Buildings and a loom

Down the street from the Museum was an unusual statue of a man standing sideways on a slab of stone.  This was Trondur Gotuskegg, a local Viking hero, who resisted Christianity in order to keep the old Viking religious practices.  You can admire the statue but you can also take home a mini version of the statue from the Museum gift shop.

Big and Little Trondur

The bus then took us on a short drive to Gota to visit a yarn store.  The store was very new and had great facilities.  It had WiFi but the cashier did not know the password.  They had very comfortable couches. 

I snuck away for a moment to a nearby cafe to see if they had WiFi (no) but did come away with a picture of a cute little marina.  Several boats, most likely fishing boats, were moored at the marina.

 

Small Marina at Gota

The fog was constantly changing the look of the landscape.  Below, it obscured much of the fjord and surrounding hills.

The town of Gota has constructed Salmon Farms out in the Fuglafjord (“Bird Fjord”).  The fog lifted so we could see the farm cages out in the water.

 

Salmon Farms at Gota

We were unable to see the town of Torshavn, the capital of the Faroes because it was under a fog cover (our driver phoned ahead).  Instead, we drove back to a view point above Klaksvik to get a picture of both the city and the homes along the fjord.

 

Klaksik and homes along the hillside

Shadow Selfie (check out the shoes)

From there, we headed back to the ship.  This time, I was able to get a picture of the Ocean Princess docked in the fjord.

Back at the ship,  we made a brief stop to refuel, then headed back out to the city to see stores and find WiFi.  We took the free shuttle and then walked a few blocks to the Tourist Information Center and Library.  We stumbled on both after asking some folks from the ship.

  

Me at the Library Square

The Library had WiFi but it was 3 Pounds per 30 minutes.  The use of their computers was free.  I was able to log in to both G-mail and Facebook.  I have not been able to log into Yahoo Mail on this trip – passwords and scrambled codes and even security questions don’t do the trick.  Heavy security and/or something ugly has happened to my Yahoo account since I left.  We got all caught up and went back to the ship.

We spent some pre-dinner time in the Casino Lounge, where Michelle brought me some ice water with her signature “Heart Straw”.

    

David Copperfield was the Showtime headliner tonight and his show was just as zany as the previous one.  Very funny guy.

After the show, we returned to the Casino Lounge to listen to Tommy McPhee before calling it a day.