I had too many photos from yesterday's trip to Runavik so I'm turning this into a second post. All of these are bus window photos and I've cropped some of the "bus blur" to help them a little. But I wanted to post them because they offer a much better idea of what the countryside really looks like as we're driving along - the villages with colorful houses, lakes, mountains, weather, etc. I think the last one was snapped in Iceland. Hope you enjoy!
This
morning we woke in the Faroe Islands, which I had never even heard of until I saw
them on our itinerary. We were off the ship early since we had scheduled a
morning excursion. The first thing we learned was that it was a national
holiday so there was a change in our original itinerary. It turned out to be
fine because we probably enjoyed it just as much as we would have enjoyed the
museum.
As
we drove along, our 5th generation local guide shared some facts
with us about the Faroe Islands and his hometown of Runavik. He made the point
of saying they are not Norwegian and they are not Danish (although they are a
part of the Danish kingdom). His great great grandparents along with the others
who settled there survived mainly by farming or raising sheep and later cows.
The island’s main economy now is largely based on fishing. He boasted that they
have enough fish for every person on the planet to have one meal per year.
That’s a lot of people and a lot of fish!
It was SUPER windy and sprinkling rain when we left the ship. We were driven to a sheep farm which had been in the same family for multiple generations. The 100 or so yard walk from the bus to the grass roofed barn was a challenge. The wind was so fierce it almost turned my brand new heavy duty umbrella inside out! It was a total waste of time to try to do anything with my hair. Once inside, the sheep farmer showed us a sampling of the sheep they raise (5 different colors). He explained their life cycle (breeding, birthing, shearing, slaughtering, etc) and how every part of the animal is used.
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| sheep barn (notice turf roof) |
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| 2 of the 5 varieties they raise |
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| explaining sheep's wool |
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| dried sheep horderves |
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| yarn, shearers, recently sheared wool |
We were offered small (but large enough!) samples of dried sheep meat and sausage on his mother’s homemade bread along with rhubarb juice to drink. I challenged myself to try the sausage (not terrible if you pop the whole thing in your mouth, chew fast and don’t think about it) but one lady tried the dried sheep meat and said “it tasted just like they smell.” I took her word for it. 😉
Rarely does an excursion end without giving the visitors a chance to shop a little, so we were taken to the nearby Navia shop where this same enterprising family sells their woolen goods (sweaters, socks, yard, knitting supplies etc) along with high end outdoor clothing, boots and various gift items. https://www.navia.fo/en/
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| a knitter's paradise |
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| you name it, we got it! |
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| buttons, buttons.... |
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| ...and more buttons |
The 3-D knitting machine below can make one sweater per hour, which it would take 800 ladies (time wise) knitting in the traditional way.
From
there we were driven to a multi-generational dairy operation. Being from Texas,
you’d think that would be pretty boring and stinky. Not so! This operation was
totally modernized and high end. Upon arrival we were ushered upstairs into a
café area where we were served coffee and chocolate cake. We could look through
the large glass wall down into the “barn” area that houses the cows. Believe it
or not, these cows have never even been outside a day in their life! They live
indoors where they casually walk around into any area they choose, lie down and
sleep and/or eat freely. Their living space includes rotary massagers (back up
against them for a good back scratch), a TV on the wall and robotic milkers.
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| lounging cows (left) eating cows (right) |
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| fresh hay 24/7 |
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| cruising cow (note spinning massage brushes) |
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| milking robot (excuse poor quality) |
Here are some Faroe Island and “sheep facts” we learned.
* Faroe Islands means “sheep islands”. There are 18 islands that are about half the size of France. They have a total population of 55,000 persons and 85,000 sheep.
* Wool is the “gold” of Faroe Islands.
* Locals eat the sheep (do not export) and do not waste any part of them.
* Sheep meat is hung in drying houses for fermentation (there are no insects). They boil them, dry them, make sausage, etc.
* Sheep houses provide shelter and food for the sheep in winter. There are 30 sheep for every 1 ram.
* Normal lifespan is 7 years, then half of the flock is slaughtered.
* The yellow oily substance on their wool is lanolin, which waterproofs and protects their skin from the elements.
* Children start learning English in Grade 4.
* Local schools have banned ipads and knitting needles!
* Nowadays 3D knitting machines (Japanese technology) replace 800 ladies knitting (4 machines, can knit a sweater in 1 hour)
* Last winter they had 6 feet of snow in just 2 months.
Yesterday
was such an enjoyable day! We woke in the beautiful harbor of Isafjordur, one
of Iceland’s largest fishing centers. Fishermen come there annually and rent
the wooden houses in town to fish for salmon and trout. There are lots of
eateries and shops in Isafjordur which sits on a peninsula in a valley between
2 huge rock formations. I hate to think what the winters would be like here,
but the summers are mild enough to offer camping, hiking, skiing, golfing and
water sports (brrr....) These first photos are taken in the port.
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| in the Isafjordur bay |
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| reflections |
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| summertime in Isafjordur, Iceland |
Our American born guide spends her summers in Iceland (married to an Icelander) and the rest of the year in the US. Our day started with a drive to Flateyri village where we enjoyed a short guitar concert played and sung in the local language at the church on main street, built in 1930.
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| village church |
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| a peek inside |
After our visit at the church, we walked a short distance to the Old Book Store (1914) where books were originally sold by the pound. The scales are still sitting in the store, along with dozens of old ledgers still on display. Most of the books nowadays have a set price. From there we went to a store where we were treated to coffee and local pastries.
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| main street, which we walked down the middle of |
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| some are of local birds |
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| local artistry on buildings |
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| this way to coffee |
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| The Old Bookstore (1914) |
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| wild poppies even grow in sidewalk cracks |
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| old Book Store ledgers |
I’ll share a few things about the village of Flateyri.
*To get to the village, we had to drive through a dark one-way tunnel cut through the rock which is 15 kilometers (approx 9 miles). Cars going one direction have the right of way, while those going opposite direction have to pull off in designated areas. I tend to be a bit claustrophobic, so I had to read to keep from feeling like I could breathe normally. Locals have an annual choral performance inside the tunnel (acoustics are supposedly incredible).
*Population of Flateyri is 2,700.
*The playschool (kindergarten?) is located next to an old folks home and they all have lunch together, which is beneficial to all of them.
*Gas price is $9 a gallon.
*Flateyri has a 9 hole golf course but because of their fewer hours of daylight, they can actually have a midnight golf tournament.
* From mid-to late June, it remains daylight for 24 hours. In the winter, they can get as few as 3-4 hours of daylight. Locals celebrate when they finally see the sun after so many months of darkness.
*Lupine (similar to our bluebonnets) was brought in from Alaska in the 80’s to help stabilize the mountain sides. However, it has become invasive and grows everywhere now. Many locals don’t like it because it has overtaken the wild blueberries which were always harvested in the summer months.
*Locals as well as guests use unfiltered water only.
*Sheep are allowed to run free so drivers must carry sheep insurance in the event they hit and kill one.
*An avalanche in 1995 buried 17 homes and killed 20 people.
*The first potato in Iceland was planted here.
I’m
sure she told us much more, but these are the ones I made note of. From
Flateyri, we drove about 45 minutes to Nupur to visit the Skrudur garden. It
was relatively small, but totally worth the visit! I’ve never seen such huge
poppies (they grow wild here and come in white, yellow, orange and red). There
was also beautiful lupine in purple, pink and white and all sorts of other
blooming plants.
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| Ronnie walking toward Skrudur garden gate |
written in Icelandic
I was curious what this said so I used google translate to read "Madurinn sair og plantar. Gud gefur avoxtinn." Best I can tell, it just means "flower gate" which makes perfect sense. Below is another gate made from whale jaw bones that is inside the garden.
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| whale jaw-bone gate |
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| purple or blue lupine |
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| 5-6 inches in diameter |
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| white lupine |
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| walking trail outside garden |
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| old wagons in the village |
After arriving back at the port, we walked a short distance
into town to look for some Christmas ornaments. Another ship was also in port,
so there were tons of tourists helping out the local economy. Again, we were
fortunate that it didn’t rain and the weather was pretty much just “jacket”
weather.
Words can’t really describe how beautiful the countryside is in the summertime. However, I’m quite sure I would not like to live there the other 9 months of the year. You won’t be surprised to know that I took many photos. It’s hard to pick just a few, so please indulge me. The ones below are some of my better "bus photo" photos. Not as sharp as I'd like, but hopefully you can get the idea of just how magnificent the countryside is.
