Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

Where you've been and what you done
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TravisGill
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

Post by TravisGill »

Faroe Islands Image Day 6 - Tue, 12 Sep 17:

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Map of Day 6: Today we took it easy on the mules and spent most of the day enjoying a hike out to Sørvágsvatn Lake.

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Just some of the art that made the hostel feel homie.

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This very content cat, named Felix, seemed to enjoy the company of the hostel guests.

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The hostel even has an aquarium. Is it cat proof?

After a relaxing morning we casually packed our hiking gear and saddled up the mules for the short trip to the traillhead.

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The only dirt roads we rode on during our Faroe Island adventure.

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There's always a black sheep in every family.

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Sørvágsvatn Lake rests just above sea level by about 40 meters.

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Overlooking the cliffs that drop hundreds of kilometers to the ocean.

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Sørvágsvatn Lake flows to the Atlantic Ocean via a small falls.

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Earth and Water. Yin and Yang.

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We came across these rock bricks. Previous hikers had moved a lot of them to make their initials.

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We moved some bricks around to spell "FO17" - Feroe Islands 2017.

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On our way back we found a nice spot on the grass and had a snack. I enjoyed taking pictures and then eating these Skittle candies. Afterwards, I wondered if the sheep were using this same patch of grass recently? Yuck.

After the hike, we rode the short 20 km to Gásadalur to find a late lunch at the cafe.

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Passing through the small village of Bøur.

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Traditional homes in Gásadalur. Unfortunately the cafe there was closed for the rest of the year - I guess we visited the Faroes a bit late for the tourist season.

On our way back from Gásadalur, in the town of Sørvágur, my clutch cable (the one we replaced in Iceland with a bicycle cable) broke.

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Fortunately I had a spare! The spot we broke down was a large parking area with the warming afternoon sun and the sounds of kids playing soccer nearby. We replaced the cable, strengthened the jury-rigged clutch lever, and were riding again after about 30 minutes.

Before long we were picking up groceries for our dinner and heading back to the hostel to relax for the rest of the night.

Tomorrow we plan on returning to the capital of the Faroe Islands - Tórshavn. We'll sight-see the capital before we board the ferry on Thursday to Denmark...
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

Post by Ktmbrock »

Great write up :D
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

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Faroe Islands Image Day 7 - Wed, 13 Sep 17:

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Map of Day 7: Today's plan was to visit more of the main island of Streymoy and finish the day at the capital city of Tórshavn.

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Sidenote:
Camping in Iceland and the Faroes is A LOT different than in the USA. In the USA you find camp in a designated camp area assigned to you and then you generally stay in that area unless you have to use the bathroom which is usually a porta-pot. In contrast, here there is just a large grass field where you find a spot and set up camp. The shared facilities are set up like a hostel where people can come together in a shared lounge, kitchen and sometimes laundry. The toilets are flushable and clean with hot water and a shower. Cost is very reasonable and you get to meet some interesting folks who enjoy traveling as well. Personally, I like this way of camping more.
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This was one of our first mornings without clouds blessing us with an incredible sunrise. The circular rings are fish farms.

We had one more place we wanted to visit in Vágar - Trøllkonufingur or Trollwoman's finger.

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The gate to Trollwoman's finger.

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A pretty falls along the trail. This hike is turning out not to be very scary considering that we're hiking to an OLD TROLL FINGER.

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Whatcha think? Does it look like an old troll-woman's finger?

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Some Faroe horses enjoying the green grass and the sunny day.

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Overlooking the town of Sandavágur and saying our goodbyes to Vágar Island before returning to the island of Streymoy.

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The tunnel to Streymoy Island.

The highlight of the day was reaching the top of the Sornfelli overlook. This provided some
of the best views of the entire trip. At the top is a parking area and just around the fence there is enough room to park a couple bikes. What a view!!

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My mule Apache.

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We travel enough to know that views like this, with favorable weather, and without crowds are a rare thing. We did our best to enjoy and capture the moment.

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I rested my helmet on this pile of rocks but then realized that it made for a great picture.

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The hill going down (and up) to the Sornfelli overlook is quite narrow with limited visibility around the high-cliffed corners.

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On our way down from Sornfelli overlook we quickly realized the view on the other side is also great. Time for another picture opportunity.

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On the way to Norðradalur we got to experience some nice twisty roads.

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At the bottom I figured it was worth launching the drone to capture the memory. Chantil did the flying while I rode the curves.

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Coastal views.

We arrived in Tórshavn in the hopes that someone might be able to fabricate a more permanant solution to my broken clutch handle. The motorcycle shop guy recommended a place outside of town and was even nice enough to show us the way by being our guide vehicle as we followed him to a go-kart place. The owner of the go-kart place was also really nice but could not provide anything better than what we already had. Oh well, at least he had go-karts! Chantil and I rode 9HP go-karts around the track for about 10 minutes and had a blast. An unexpected enjoyment of our day!

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Chantil getting briefed on the art of go-karting - "Don't use the gas and brake pedals at the same time or you'll spin-out."

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Go Karting!! Who knew 9 HP could be this much fun!

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I wish I had remembered to write down the name of this great guy. He was the owner of the motorcycle and go-kart place. He even joined us for the last portion of our race. I hope that his business does well and he introduced a whole new generation to the enjoyment of go-karting.

We moved along south to the ferry port village of Velbestaður where we saw a unique way of loading vehicles...

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...the entire bow of the ferry lifted open and a hydraulic ramp lowered to the brow. Cool stuff.

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A Faroe flag painted rock marks the turn to the ferry terminal.

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Ocean views abound when you're on an island.

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Narrow "buttercup" roads.

Continuing south, the quite town of Kirkjubøur offered a relaxing evening of walking around while enjoying the setting sun.

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Kirkjubøur is at the south tip of Streymoy Island.

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The red-trimmed windows seemed to set the homes in Kirkjubøur apart from the other Faroe villages.

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A seal providing a nod to the sheep? The Danish word Færøerne reflect an Old Norse word fær (sheep). Faroe Island can be literally translated to "Sheep Island".

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For what the St Olav's Church lacks in character it makes up for in it's history - the oldest church in use in Faroe Islands, built in 12th century.

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The church had a unique stained glass decorated gate. Elegant!

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Close up of the stained glass design.

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Magnus Cathedral ruins dated from about 1300. This rock wall was placed more than 700 years ago!

A 700 year old Cathedral is impressive but not as impressive as...

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... this wooden home. Kirkjubøargarður continues to be a livable home and was built in the 11th century!! Even more remarkable is that this home is build from wood. Since there are no forests in the Faroes it's believed that the wood came as driftwood from Norway.

It was getting late so we left Kirkjubøur and made our way back to the capital of Tórshavn where we were one of only three tent campers there that night.

Tomorrow we will explore a bit of Tórshavn, enjoy a nice dinner, and then board the ferry sailing to Denmark...
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

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Faroe Islands Image Day 8 - Thursday, 14 Sep 2017:

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Map of Day 8: Our final day in the Faroe Islands. We relaxed most the morning and then went sightseeing around town. We treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner and then boarded the ferry for Denmark...

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Chantil walked to the local grocery and found bacon! I know it looks like a simple breakfast however it had been some time since we had a breakfast like this. When we travel, breakfast is sometimes an afterthought so having a place, and the time, to cook a breakfast like this is a real treat.

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From the campsite lobby you could watch the ferry arriving right on schedule at 14:45. Wow, where did our day go? Perhaps we should see more of Tórishavn before we have to board the ferry tonight?

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Before we left the camp, Chantil wanted to show me something... It turns out there is this large papasan-styled swing made out of rope. We had fun pushing each other in it while smiling like little kids.

Our first stop, the Nordens Hus.

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Sheep are a vital part of the Faroe Islands and are even found in their art and sculpture.

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A sculpture just outside the Nordens Hus contrasts well against the lightly clouded blue skies.

We then rode over to the Listasavn Føroya, the art museum containing mostly permanent exhibits of Faroese artists. These are just a few of my favorites:

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Gomul bygfahús by Elimborg Lützen.

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Close-up of Gomul bygfahús by Elimborg Lützen. It's remarkable how much thought was put into each pen mark.

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Heyst by Tróndur Patursson. The bright primary colors appeal to me.

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Closeup of Heyst by Tróndur Patursson. You can see where heavy black paint was dried and then followed with a lighter spread of black creating a colored silhouette around the heavier paint.

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Nation Building by Edward Fuglø is the Faroe Island flag made from mixed media items found in a grocery store.

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Kíkurin by Jógvan Sverrason Biskopstø. This sculpture is completely made of wood! The organic and natural look of the foundation is especially interesting.

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Vindur by Torbjørn Olsen.

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After the art museum we walked through the Viðarlundin Park and enjoyed the leaves...

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...trees...

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...and outside art. Unnamed sculpture in Viðarlundin Park.

After walking around Viðarlundin Park we rode to the Skansin area for some more sights and dinner.

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Skansin Fort was built in 1580 to protect against the increasing number of seaborne attacks and pirate raids.

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Lighthouse at Skansin Fort.

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I wonder when these rocks were originally cut and laid for this beautiful walkway?

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Chimney on top of a traditional home near Skansin.

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M/S Norröna sat tied to the pier while trucks and forklifts were busy offloading all the supplies from Iceland.

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Aarstova Restaurant - A well designed logo on a traditional Faroe architecture should give some insight to the cost of our dinner. It was expensive... however we felt a celebration dinner after traveling across Iceland and the Faroe Islands would be an appropriate ending to our 26-day vacation.

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The restaurant was traditional and well designed with this large sheep's head on one of the walls.

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Simple decorating paid respect to the traditional meals served.

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After dinner, the ferry was ready to board. We efficiently checked in and managed to ride up the ramp and under a cargo trailer where we then strapped down the mules for their 1.5 day trip to Denmark Image...
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

Post by qcnr »

Excellent write ups there. Love this thread. Enjoy your stay in Denmark, but it is a bit flatter
than where you have been already. Will you be coming up to Norway?
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

Post by TravisGill »

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The ride report section of the thread has come to an end. It saddens me a bit to write this. It's very similar to the feelings that Chantil and I both had a few days after arriving to Germany. It was an emotional challenge having to start a life of "responsibility" after being on the bikes for over a month. We both just wanted to keep riding on.

This last winter season allowed me to remove my mule's engine so that I could get the drive shaft replaced. I also got some progressive springs for the front and an upgraded shock for the rear. In April the engine was ready to put back in and it took me a few weeks to get the mule all back together. Everything was done just in time as we had prepared a four-day trip from our home in Germany to the Romantic Road and Black Forest. A ride report on this will follow shortly.

We will be ready for more adventure in the future. We've got some great ideas planned for the next couple years.
  • UK and Ireland
  • Swiss Alps and surrounding countries
  • Portugal Adventure Country Tracks (ACT)
  • Morocco
In honor of completing the ride report we've put together a short, 4-minute, video of our Iceland and Feroe Island adventure. Enjoy!



Please feel free to leave comments on the ride report of video. We'll answer each one!

Cheers,
Travis and Chantil Gill
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

Post by TravisGill »

qcnr wrote: Thu May 17, 2018 10:02 am Excellent write ups there. Love this thread. Enjoy your stay in Denmark, but it is a bit flatter
than where you have been already. Will you be coming up to Norway?
Thanks so much for the kind comment. As far as Denmark, we just passed through on our way to Germany. It was as you said - flat. As far as Norway, it's definitely on our bucket list but we've realized that it's a BIG country that will require more time to visit than I'm allowed with my current employer. It will have to wait until 2020...
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

Post by qcnr »

No problem, when you do make it, I'll put the kettle on and get the biscuits out. :D
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

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qcnr wrote: Fri May 18, 2018 5:51 am No problem, when you do make it, I'll put the kettle on and get the biscuits out. :D
Thanks for the Norwegian hospitality! Skål!
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Re: Iceland and Faroe Islands - Bridge Between Continents...

Post by OB1 »

I was wondering where you acquired the GoPro mount on the front of your helmet as I can't seem to find it on their website.

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Great ride report, by the way!
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