Day 4: Narrated by Alaina

How could our trip to the Faroes be coming a close? There were still a couple things I needed to check off my list, most importantly, a long-awaited visit to Saksun.

Saksun is a very small village on the island of Streymoy and I had been obsessed with instagram photos of this magical place. Remember how we discussed buttercup roads? Well Mike was still a little frazzled from the “scenic route” that bordered a cliff so I took the wheel for the the buttercup route to Saksun. Of course the drive ended up being a beautiful road through a valley, no cliffs in sight. Mike was not happy that luck was on my side, AGAIN.

We arrived into Saksun and first came upon a herd of mama sheeps and their babies! May is prime birthing time, so the lambs were abundant throughout the country. Mike could not get enough of them and we had fun watching them bouncing around following their mamas.

We viewed the gorgeous church overlooking the cove (fun fact, the church was moved from the town we were staying in and it’s original church door is actually a door in our cabin that was salvaged!).

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But that was not my focus. We walked to the edge of the hill, and there it was. The cottage.

Seeing where it was vs. our location, a small hike was in order. I searched for the best route being that a stream and sheep fence were obstacles, but I figured it out and poor Mike had to keep up once I got on my way.

It was much easier than I thought, but maybe it’s because I am now used to hiking in the Faroes? We crossed the stream, did some yoga moves over the fence and finally arrived to the spot I had been dreaming about. I think it was worth it, you?:

An added bonus was the sun finally making an appearance! The lighting was absolutely spectacular and I sat there for a good half hour just taking it all in. Mike then began to explore the area and within minutes I lost him up the hill and behind a mini-waterfall. All of a sudden I have a monkey on my hands.

I took more pictures but unfortunately we did have to move along for our next stop. We went back the way we came, grabbed a few shots of the beautiful chapel and were off.

For the most part I had this trip planned months in advance. The Vestmanna Bird Cliffs boat tour was a last minute add that happened a few weeks ago based on reviews I had seen. We were only the second boat out for this year and while the inside of the boat smelled like mothballs and old people, when we got out to the coast and started to see the cliffs from the water (and the crazy sheep on them) it was amazing.

 

Mike was thrilled to 1. Not be on top of a cliff for once 2. There are so many cool caves along the shore. He would have hopped in a kayak if he could.

The boat wasn’t big and while they did talk about the bird life, I honestly could have cared less. For Mike and me, it was all about the cliffs. We saw what looked like an elephant:

And all sorts of other cliffs, caves & formations. What was crazy was that the boat was able to maneuver in the coves and through arches! I had no idea this would be happening but it was SO cool. In addition, I had only seen water this amazing blue color once in all my travels, in Cinque Terra, Italy. It was this stunning teal blue and it was gorgeous, if it weren’t freezing, I would have jumped in!

The tour was nice and slow up the coast so we had lots of time for the perfect photo oops. The final cave was the longest and deepest and most magical:

 

After we went through, they revved the engines to head back to the dock. This was the first day the sun was shining and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. With that said, the wind was still crazy and as the boat hit the open water even with our four layers + hats and hoods, Mike turned to me and begged for a beach vacation. Ha!

We finished earlier than expected and after learning about the extensive salmon farming in the Faroes, we decided to go back to the “city” and go to Barbara’s Fish House which is one of the best in the country. Its quaint atmosphere and fantastic service made for a perfect night out and Mike thoroughly enjoyed his mussels, salmon and monkfish. I enjoyed the two non-seafood sides they offered ?.

We then headed back to Tjornik, but not without a show from the sun and clouds. It was like nothing that Mike and I had ever seen before. The sun came through a hole in the clouds and it looked like a bright spotlight on the ocean. We were unable to catch it on film, but we did end up pulling over about five minutes later because the way the sun was coming through the clouds was unforgettable and so beautiful. It was a perfect finale to our last night in the Faroes.