Today we woke up in the small fishing port of Vestmanna, Faroe Islands in northern Streymoy.
Three options for exploring the island began in the early morning. The Vestmana boat tour took us around the bird-cliffs and grottos north of the village. Leaving town, we saw fisherman pulling in their catches giving us a genuine feel for one of the region’s most important resources. Continuing, we saw over a dozen bird species including puffins, common guillemots, fulmars, black guillemots, red throated divers and seagulls.
Other guests enjoyed exploring the landscape by bus which brought them to the remote villages of Streymoy and Kollafjordur where they stopped to see an old Faroese church maintained with a traditional Faroese turf roof. They also visited the family of the last working sheep farmer in the area who has committed to raising his family in the same working traditions as his ancestors.
The third expedition enjoyed a vigorous hiking tour to the top of village to bask in a panoramic view. On the hike, they encountered sheep as well as a variety of local plant life including, hairy stonecrop, heath milkwort, wild thyme and dwarf willow.
Staying closest to the sea our underwater specialists spend the morning exploring the waters and encountering unique finds such as the snail fish and the lump sucker.
By the afternoon, we were off to Iceland.
After lunch, we heard from our Global Perspectives Speaker, Francis Lam, who presented an intimate view on the rise of Faroese cuisine to a global audience. By embracing their limited range of options, these local chefs have introduced us to the subtleties and depths of the Faroese palette. Some of the main staples include, langoustines, local fish, horse mussels, herbs like angelica and wild thyme and turnips.
Following Francis, we heard from Dagny Ivarsdottir who gave us a compelling, fun and warm introduction to her homeland of Iceland. She covered national pride, local life, and Icelandic views in comparison to the rest of the world.
