Day 1: Midlife crisis dropping
Recently, one of my brothers turned 40. As a birthday present I organized a midlife crisis dropping at an unknown place. The only clue he got was a packaging list, with a lot of attention for waterproof clothes.
I spend a while on mapping all highlights, hiking trails and connections between the islands. Besides some impressive tunnels and ferries, the faroer also has a ‘flying bus’. A helicopter makes 3 times a week a tour around the islands. Tourists can only book a one way ticket per day. To prevent that all spots are taken by tourists. However, it is heavily subsidized and therefore one the best places to experience a helicopter flight. The aim was to include a trip in the midlife crisis dropping as well. But is remained uncertain till 7 days before the flight, as you only can book one week in advance.
I divided the island groups over the four days of our trip. And booked 3 camp sites (yellow marks) in advance in the hope we could sleep in our tents. Faroer islands can have 4 seasons in one day, so camping would be guaranteed.
On the day of departure we wake up at 4:30 in the morning. An Uber taxi is our first transportation vehicle of the day, many would follow.
At the airport of Schiphol, my brother figured out where he would sleep that evening. Cross fingers for the weather!
Via a transit stop in Kopenhagen we are heading north-west. Over the mountains of Norway, still covered with snow. Most of the flight over the Atlantic is hidden by clouds. But when we approaching the faroer islands, the sky turns blue. My brother is sitting besides the window and has a brilliant overview over the green cliffs and the blue ocean when we are preparing for landing.
Helicopter Vagar-Mykines
The airport of vagar is a small building with a short landing strip. They had to build a ramp on both sides to ensure sufficient length of the airstrip.
We put our luggage in a small rental car in front of the airport building an return for another surprise. The onboarding safety video for the helicopter which will bring us to the famous island of Mykines.
While we are watching the safety instructions about a sea landing, all of sudden a large group bikers arriving in the building. They start changing clothes and packing their bikes. Looks like they are returning to the mainland after a long charity ride over the islands.
A small van brings us to the airstrip where the helicopter is landing exact in time. The transfer from the bus to the flying bus already boost the adrenaline of two 40 old boys.
Take a seat and off we go!
The 15 min flight gives a superb view over the sharp cliffs, waterfalls and the island Mykines.
The landing and off boarding is even more memorable.
Mykines
The island Mykines has only 8 inhabitants. Most of them are retired. We are obliged to take a guide to make hike over the island. Our guide grew up as a one of the two only children on the island. The other one was het brother. They got schooling from a teacher which came by helicopter on a weekly basis and who stayed on the island for a week. Till the next teacher arrived for the next shift.
After a tour in the village, we are heading for the Lighthouse. This area is known for the large amounts of puffins.
A steep climb at start, but the views and the silence makes it all worthwhile.
The cliffs are indeed crowded with all kind of birds. The clumpsy puffins are the most remarkable ones.
Around 18 h we have to gather near the harbour. And to our surprise, much more people show up. The whole afternoon we did not see any other living soul. Apparently , they were staying in the little houses of the island.
The captain of the small ferry shows off his steering capabilities and arrives with an impressive sliding u-turn in the narrow harbour area.
Before we can onboard, they first have to upload the boat. A large amount of wood is pilling up on the quai. It looks like the sunny day and the smooth sea surface initiated many activities which probably were waiting already for a while.
Camping Torshavn
We have to walk from the ferry arrival harbour to the airport to pick up our rental car and luggage. A 3 km walk.
With our small but convenient Toyota Yaris, we are heading for the capital: Torshavn. 45 km from the airport. After a quick supermarket stop, we are arriving at he first camp site Camping Torshavn close to sunset.
Here i learn that my brother did not sleep in a tent anymore for the last 20 years. And never in a small one person tent, which he could borrow from the third brother. I was not aware of this when i planned the dropping. So the night will become an adventure on its own.
It was a long day, with a lot of travelling, many types of transportation and already a lot of impressions. The weather made the arrival the best i could hope for.
Close to the ocean we both fell asleep in minutes. Wondering what the new day would bring.
