Vágar, the Faroe Islands

Our scheduled Gasadalur hike was unfortunately cancelled due to high winds and rain, as the rocks were unprotected and would have been too slippery and dangerous. Luckily, the tour company suggested another hike in a (slightly) more sheltered area so we didn’t have to miss out. The new hike was absolutely beautiful with sweeping views across the cliffs and ocean. We ate our lunch perched on rocks overlooking the sea, before heading back to the start of the track where we had free hot drinks provided by the cafe to hikers.

Today’s lecture was Vikings in America, presented by Sturla Ellinvag, an ever so handsome Norwegian who stars in a new series about vikings and viking myths in America, along with Peter Stormare, the Swedish actor you would recognise from the original Fargo movie. I’m hoping the series will be available in Australia, for educational purposes of course…

The port talk about our upcoming destinations of Vestmannaeyjar and Reykjavik later that afternoon was also fascinating. I hadn’t realised that Iceland’s history was so rooted in literature and that it still influences Icelanders today. The country is tiny and only has a population of around 300,000 people, yet it publishes 1500 new books every year and a number of these books frequently sell out on the first day they become available in bookstores. There are benches around Reykjavik where you can download the first chapter of various books using a QR code on the bench, and the Reykjavik was named ‘City of Literature’ in 2011 by the UNESCO World Heritage Organisation.