Our port today started at noon.  We got off the ship as soon as we could and headed to the bus stop so we could get to Torshavn (the main city).  Ahead of us it looked like half the boat had the same plan that we did.  When we saw the group of people waiting for the bus, we changed plans. First we had to go back to the ship because my husband forgot his key card.  We were lucky that there were so many people disembarking that we were able to get through without his card.  The only time you need it is to get through the port gates, they use a facial scanner on the boat.  

After we regrouped, we decided to take a local tour that was offered through the information center.  (Ship excursions are notoriously overpriced.). There were three tours available and two of them were only a little over an hour. We chose the three hour tour.  The first tour was full, so we had to wait an hour and a half for the bus. We walked up and down the Main Street. We checked out a grocery store and quite a few marketplaces with a lot of wool items for sale.  The only thing I bought were some magnets.  

The bus brought us to the town of Skala.  We picked up a farmer and she showed us where all her fields were located. The sheep are currently up on the mountainside. They come down to the lower fields in the winter.  She is actually a biologist who works in the city, but farming is her side job. She shares it with her whole family.  Her grandparents had 11 children and five children work on one side with one farmhouse and the other five work the other side with another farmhouse. 

We visited the green farmhouse.  She said that each side helps the other gathering the sheep, slaughtering the sheep, and mowing the fields.  Each side has 100 sheep and usually they kill about 100. That is the meat that they eat for the year.  

The town built a road right through their pastures, so they included a tunnel for the sheep to be able to go up and down the mountain.  

They gave us samples of dried meat and sausage on pieces of bread along with water or beer.  I am not a big meat eater, but I took a bite of the dried meat.  It was not for me.  I didn’t bother with the sausage because I knew I would not like it.  They had a few things for sale like soap, knitted wool headbands, and some crackers.  I tried a sample cracker and they were delicious.  We got to meet a three month old lamb.  He was not interested in pets or pellets, but very excited about milk.  

One of the women told us about whales in the water and that each year they are hunted and each member of the town gets some meat. When everyone has some meat, they stop hunting.  That makes a lot of sense to me.  

We went for a walk through some ruins of an old village.  Our tour guide translated an older man’s stories.  He knew some English, just not enough to tell us himself.  We also learned that these beautiful public areas are paid for by the town, but created by volunteers.  

This was a swimming pool for the town, but was made smaller for younger kids to spend the day. 

Every story they told about a house that was taken down or an area that was destroyed was attributed to the owners of this white house. I thought it was fascinating that they were knowingly destroying parts of history.  

I love the views here and this cool stone fence.  

Our last stop was at this house.  The family here has three children.  One is in Denmark at the University studying to be a doctor.  A lot of children go to study in Denmark and about 30% do not return to the Faroe Islands.  Our tour guide was also studying in Denmark and just home for the summer.  

The owner of the house made us homemade cinnamon rolls and offered us coffee or tea.  That cinnamon roll was delicious.  She is a primary school teacher in the town where the ship docked.  Children in the Faroe Islands learn three languages: Faroese, Danish, and English.  

She told us about how life is on the islands and answered any questions that we had.  I love learning about other cultures so I found this to be very interesting.  She also knits wool sweaters from the sheep on the island and says it’s pretty itchy.  

The Faroe Islands are beautiful.  It seems like a very peaceful lifestyle.  The temperature is pretty consistent year round, but it does get very windy.  They also only have a few hours of darkness in the summer and only a few hours of light in the winter.  I think that would be tough to handle.  I would not mind visiting here again.