Kollafjordur, Faroe Islands
This morning, we arrived at our first port-of-call on the trip; Kollafjordur in the Faroe Islands.
The first thing that I noticed (and was mildly disappointed about) was the grim fact that the Faroe Islands don’t appear to be included in the list of non-UK locations in which my EE phone and data contract will work. So, although I had a roaming phone signal, I would need to purchase a ridiculously expensive add-on to enable me to retrieve emails or do anything remotely useful with my phone other than play Spider Solitaire on it. Needless to say; the emails and blog uploads will have to wait until I get to Iceland (which IS included in the list of non-UK locations where I can use my contract data – providing I can get a suitable signal).
We were up early (7am), to enable us to get breakfasted before having to be out on the quayside to fulfil our tour escorting duties. Tracey was down for a Panorama on-the-bus-off-the-bus tour, while mine was billed as a ‘Hike to Streymoy Sill’.
I’ve been asked to escort several ‘Hiking’ tours over the time that I’ve been working on the ships, and I can honestly say that they’ve invariably been a bit of a disappointment. At best, they tend to be a gentle stroll along roads and tracks, perhaps to somewhere vaguely picturesque or interesting; at worst, they’re too short, and over before they’ve begun (which was the case of one that I did on the last cruise to Norway, and consisted of a walk along the edge of a lake that lasted no more than 25 minutes, and everyone was surprised to see the bus waiting for us at the opposite end of the beach).
In contrast, I’m pleased to say that today’s hike was a proper, pukka ‘hike’. The 3 miles length, 2 hours walking duration was absolutely on-the-nail, and it consisted of a steep climb at the start, followed by a level, but lofty section as we crossed from one valley to the next via a high pass, and then a boggy descent into a small harbour village, where the coach was waiting for us, and a WC was available for those who needed it. A fine, thoroughly satisfying walk indeed!
The landscape we walked through is the result of glacial erosion, the ground having been cut away by moving ice, revealing long ‘sills’ (as in Streymoy Sill) and leaving waterfalls and glacial debris in its wake. I was impressed with just how tough the initial climb was, after we’d emerged from the coach halfway up the moutainside, and equally impressed by the resilience and determination of the 21 passengers in my group, many of whom had come prepared with hiking poles and proper walking attire. It was clearly a bigger challenge for some than others, but there were two guides (one at the front and one at the back) and myself (floating somewhere around the middle of the group), to ensure that a helping hand was there when required, particularly on some of the trickier sections through boggy terrain and crossing water courses.
By the time we’d descended to the warmth and comfort of the coach, I think everyone felt that they’d achieved something, and that we’d all earned our lunch. After a short diversion to a viewpoint/photo stop, to see across to one of the other islands (of which there are eighteen, and all accessible to and from each other via under-sea tunnels), we headed back to the ship, and was back by 11:15.
Kollafjordur is a tiny port situated a few miles from the main port and city of Torshavn, in what seems like the middle of nowhere. Torshavn is a major container port, though, and can get busy at weekends. When that happens, cruise ships are shuffled out to the secondary port, like we were today.
As we sailed away down the fjord towards the North Atlantic Ocean, Union Jack bunting fluttering wildly in the wind, many passengers remained inside, huddled together in the Columbus Lounge, where the Royal Wedding was being shown on a big TV. By the time we’d hit open sea, the young royals had become hitched and the Marco Polo was bobbing around in a four and a half metre swell. As the afternoon wore on, the seas got rougher. I played three of games of draughts with Andy in the Card Room and lost them all (he plays chess – well – so the odds are slightly stacked), after which we had an early dinner and retired to the cabin with a take-out beer, to watch a movie and some classic M*A*S*H.
Fortunately, the rough seas shouldn’t be for too long (although reports are suggesting we’ll be rocking and rolling throughout the night); tomorrow, we are due to arrive in our first Icelandic port, Seydisfjordur. Tracey and I are not down for tour escorting duties, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for 4G on my phone.
