Monday 7 August 2017. After a day at sea, we arrive in the Faroe Islands - previously just a name on the shipping forecast. But whilst we were due to dock in the capital, Torshavn, our place was usurped by another cruise liner and we found ourselves along the coast a little way at a place called Kollafjord (Faroese = Kollafjørður).
We were on an afternoon tour and got off the ship after breakfast for a walk and to admire the reflections of waves on the bow of the Celebration. Once we set off on our walk we found a group of despondent crew members walking back to the ship. "No wifi," explained one. A serious blow to hard-working people with families thousands of miles away.
It is unbelievably peaceful here in the fjord. If it weren't for the fish factory behind us it would be ideal!
A row of boat houses belonging to people from the village of Kollafjørður just up the road. We'll be calling there later to have a look at the church.
A couple of boats with mid-boat engines are moored at the end of the row. Here they sit facing the gorgeous scenery of the fjord. The horizontal lines of exposed rock on the hillsides are the results of the movement of ice before the layers of permafrost melted after the last ice age.
Afternoon comes and we get on a coach for our excursion, head through a tunnel and get this view of the capital of the Faroes, Torshavn. It's one of the smallest capital cities in the world, but home to around a third of all Faroese people.
Our coach stops a couple of times for photo stops. No... we weren't trying to spot the Faroese Hondas, Hyundais and Skodas...
We were looking out to sea to this small volcanic - or once-volcanic - island. Faroe is dotted with these cairns that you see in the foreground. Before roads, they led the way from one village to another.
This little mobile wooden hut (look for the wheels!) had spaces between the slats and was for hanging and drying fish. And yes, the roof is covered in grass. It will not be the only grass roof we see on this trip.
Our next stop is at a village called Kvivik. The road down involves a sharp turn from the main road and because of a car wanting to turn out we have to go past and then find a place to turn the coach around before we can turn off ourselves.
We stop in a coach park up the hillside from the village which is reached by walking alongside the river. A Faroese Polperro! The river is the River Stora. This is no great expanse of water but never-the-less it is full of rocks and drops and makes for a most agreeable gurgling of water as you make your way down in to the village which clusters at the river mouth.
Not far from the car park you start to walk past houses and cars have only the path to travel down which is narrow and does not have any great protection by way of wall or strong barrier to prevent falling off into the river. If you visit, please allow cars to pass without the driver having to risk this. It's their village after all. We saw cars having to wait whilst groups walking three abreast refused to get into single file. Just rude... The church is not the original, but dates from 1903. The oldest occupied house dates from the 1700s.
Kvivik meets the sea and the River Stora flows out via a narrow channel with a high wall on one side and a mysterious curved grassy bank to the right.
This is part of the remains of a wall. There are two Viking houses here. In fact Kvivik was one of the first places in the Faroe Islands to be settled.
Another view of the Viking hut remains. On the left a small side entrance can be seen on the extreme left and the hearth, in the middle of the room where smoke from the fire would go up into the roof, helping to both seal it and keep it free from rodents. There would be a small hole for the smoke to escape through. In the right-hand hut some separation into rooms or stalls for animals can be seen. Animals would be kept inside to add their warmth to the hut.
We move on to the village of Leynar, to meet a wood turner and see his creations. We had seen grass roofs before, both in Norway and Iceland. The weight, particularly when wet, helps keep the roof rooted (sorry!) when the winter gales come. They can be left to grow long - there were plenty of examples - or can be cut by lifting a mower up ... or a sheep or goat!
The wood turner is Ole Jakob Nielsen. Only half of us fit into his workshop and we were right at the back. The smell of wood and linseed oil was intoxicating and the shower of splinters and shavings as he demonstrated his lathe made those closest shrink back a little!
Ole Jakob introduced himself and showed us how he made - of all things - light shades! In order to get light to shine through wood it has to be cut to a thickness of between 0.5-1.0 millimetres. As we were at the back we were the last out and when asked Ole Jakob immediately agreed to pose for a photograph. His unusual felt hat had been made by his daughter and the long back with the curl stopped shavings from going down his collar!
Whilst the other people from the coach came in to see his demonstration, we had a look around his gallery and shop. It's fair to say that this is not a cheap shop, but the goods are unique! We looked at the price of a lamp but it was almost four and a half times as much Danish krone as we had brought for the day. We did buy a small fruit bowl.
A rather demonic mask on the side of Ole Jakob's workshop then it's back onto the coach and a return by way of a very long road tunnel to Kollafjørður where we visit the old Lutheran church.
It is one of nine that were built between 1830 and 1850. This particular church was built in 1837. Our guide speaks about it, giving us a rendition of the Faroese National Anthem in the Faroese tongue and with quite a decent voice which earns him a round of applause.
Apparently all Lutheran churches have a model of a ship. St Gregory the Great wrote that the Church is a ship that takes us from birth to death and it has become a feature of all Lutheran churches.
Kollafjørður church has the traditional grass-covered roof. We get back onto the coach and drive back to the Celebration. Tomorrow's destination is Lerwick on the isle of Shetland.
