Heading home

This week has been hectic, we've seen a lot of the places we wanted to go. We've got into a good habit of doing something unplanned and unexpected each day, and the unexpected events were the most exciting.

After the kayak trip in the harbour this monday, we were offered to participate in a helicopter rescue practice with the rescue service. Of course, we immediately decided to give it a go! Being on the "victim" side of the pratice gave us a good insight in how a helicopter rescue from water goes, and talking to the crew afterwards answered a lot of questions. Thanks for letting us join, it was really a great afternoon!

We had a chance to visit Bjartur in Vestmanna, Morten in Kvivik and Mogens in Hvalvik, and hiked to the top of Slættaratindur, the highest mountain (882 m) with Paul and John, two guys from the Czech Republic. Afterwards, we visited Gjogv again, and had waffles in the cafe. All in all, some great days with socialising, good food and some good hikes in the countryside.

Thursday the weather was calm, and we were up for an early start (4.30 AM) on a kayak trip around Nolsoy. We started out in calm water, and our wake-up call came when we rounded the northern tip of the island. Big reflecting waves for around 2 km required some attention - but it was manageable with a good margin, and we continued to the southern end of the island, spotted some impressive caves, and rockhopped ashore for a 3 hour break, waiting for the current to carry us north towards Torshavn again. The last part of the trip, 10 km crossing back to Torshavn, was a bit longer than expected, in some places the current was still southbound. We made it with half an hour more of paddling than planned, and got a taste of the rather complex currents in the fjord between Torshavn and Nolsoy.

The afternoon was spent on the water with a group of the Faroese kayakers. All rudders were flipped out of the water, and we practiced edging and rudder strokes - you guys rock! Keep practicing, we hope to meet you on the water in the future!

Our stay on the Faroes is now near the end -- we're heading home today, and are now counting the hours until departure. I'm looking forward to coming home (and i know that Jesper is as well), but still I'm feeling a bit sad to leave this beautiful place. The atmosphere, people and nature here is addictive, and I'm sure that I will have to go here again sometime in the future.

Thanks to everyone we have visited and talked to, and to the folks in Denmark who helped us during the last three weeks - you've been a very important part of this great adventure!