A few years ago I had bought a plastic bottle at the Baltic Sea meant for sending a message per postal service or by water. Nevertheless, as it happens with souvenirs sometimes, it just lay around.
In April of this year I took it with me to Japan with the best intentions and I got as far as writing the message while in Japan. Not that Japan does not have enough shore… I just never got the chance to throw it in the ocean.
This time, going to the Faroes, would be different. I flew there, undid the plastic seal, wrote another message on the back of the original letter and had my daughter throw it into the ocean waves at Tjørnuvík. I imagined the bottle traveling for quite some time in the ocean before anybody would ever find it.
But the very next day I got an e-mail from the first finder and I quote her message:“We found your letter in a bottle on the may 24. 2008, in Tjørnuvík on the Faroe Islands… at 18.30.. sorry it did not get so far. My son at 8 was the happy finder. We live in Thorshavn and was just walking on the beach in Tjørnuvík. If you don´t mind we will pass the bottle on??
from a family in Thorshavn”I asked them to pass it on once more and I would love to hear from the next “message in a bottle” finder.
Margo holding up the bottle before she threw it into the ocean at Tjørnuvík.
Hej Føroyar: dagur 3 on the Faroe Islands
May 24, 08
Day 3
Saturday morning we woke up early as well. With the constant daylight there seems to be a different inner clock.
View from Mariann’s dining room window onto the fjord
Another window looking up the same fjord
Scary drive up on the partially unfenced mountain roads towards Gjógv
The road we had to take
The beautiful gorge of Gjógv
Somebody fishing
The very picturesque town of Gjógv
My friend, Mariann, a true Faroese woman
More of this tiny town Gjógv’s ocean view
Sheep running around everywhere…
Gjógv’s local school house
Sheep everywhere…sometimes one of us had to get out to chase them off.
Here we are at Tjørnuvík beach
Opposite the beach we are facing the luscious mountain side of Tjørnuvík
Facing the “village” side of Tjørnuvík
Getting beautified on the Faroes
A celtic princess in the making…
So much sight-seeing left us tired. But not too tired to go to bed way past midnight again. This has something to do with the day light which keeps lingering.
Hej Føroyar: dagur 2 on the Faroe Islands
May 23, 08
Day 2
It is difficult to know when one is done sleeping for the night as it never got dark. We had gone to bed at 1:00 a.m. the night before and the sky looked the same in the morning when I opened my eyes…
Today would be a busy day as this was our first full day sight-seeing.
Untouched nature everywhere
Lots of sunshine creating shadows
Marsh marigold, appointed Faroese national flower, is found in ditches and wet places
View onto Tórshavn, the capital city of the Faroe Islands
War remnant – our ten-year old could not resist from climbing up to lie there like a cat in the sun
Another grass roof which needs to be cut on a regular basis
Crowded liquor store just before closing time on Friday-
As much as the Faroese like to drink, the liquor shops’ opening hours are no match:
Stores are closed from Friday 4:30 p.m. – Mon 1:00 p.m.!!!
Dry riverbeds – some Faroese mouths really go dry on the weekends
Near heaven
Nature at its core
No other tourists, no shops, no neon signs
White clouds, blue skies, green mountains and gray rocks
The end of our day:
That night the sky had a beautiful blue color and stepping out of my friend’s house, I could see the church to my left.
Taking a look to the right down the street
As with the previous night I did not get to bed before 1:00 a.m. My friend and I had too much to talk about in the 17 years we had not seen each other.
Hej Føroyar: dagur 1 on the Faroe Islands
May 22, 08
Day 1
We left Frankfurt for Copenhagen at 2:30 p.m. and after a three-hour lay over we arrived on the Faroe Islands at 8:15 p.m.
By the time we got our luggage – which had to be sniffed by a dog for illegal drugs – it was about 9 p.m. and we finally got to see my friend Mariann!!
The dogs does its “sniffing dance” around each bag
Stepping out of the airport we were welcomed by this special light reflected on the mountains. They were bathed in a warm golden light giving the impression of having landed somewhere in the desert! Another passenger from Norway compared the Faroese mountains to what she had seen while living in Lesotho, Africa. This would be just the first of many different faces of the islands..
It was an hour drive to my friend’s town Skála and daylight hardly showed any signs of letting up. It was a beautiful drive along coastal roads while also passing through tunnels and crossing a bridge.
The Faroes have a population of close to 49,000 people and 70,000 sheep, the latter of which we saw a lot of. McDonald’s has not invaded the islands yet as it will only open a branch if the population reaches 50,000.
Driving from Vagar Airport, the international airport in the Faroes on the island of Vágoy, to my friend’s home in Skála on the island of Eysturoy.
First impressions…
Church in Sandavág
Passing small towns
Note the time on the church clock. This is as dark as it would get while we were there.
Travelling book: 175 Science Experiments
Would be nice to meet some book finders and please leave a comment – any language will do – below.
This is a good book for all science fans – at home or in the classroom.
