We set out early for Vestmanna to take a boat tour along cliffs where birds nest. Thousands of birds. A couple of people on the tour mentioned that this tour wasn’t as bird-heavy as the tours they had taken in the past, along the same route. I was upset about that, not for selfish reasons, but with concern for what is causing the drop in bird population. Is it cyclical? Permanent?
We secured tickets and then took a quick drive to Kvívík. It should be noted that if you want to see larger versions of these shots, simply click on the image.
There are Viking ruins that have been excavated and are well tended:
The two prominent grass shapes may be where Viking boats were used as the roof for shelter. More research necessary…
Every village has at least one church. This is the church in Kvívík, Faroe Islands:
Gate hinge detail:
Throughout this trip, we’ve been told that there is a strong Celtic/Irish connection with the Faroes. Some of the earliest human artifacts found on the islands indicate that the first human presence on the islands were Irish monks. I’m still wrapping my head around anybody arriving and surviving on the Faroes prior to the 1600s. It’s a beautiful country, but the remoteness and harsh weather conditions mean that whoever settles here has to be hardy, rugged and willing to make a go of it.
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We boarded our boat at Vestmanna and headed out to sea. This boat trip has been a highlight of the tour. The weather was perfect and the seas were calm.
As we pulled out of Vestmanna, we were close enough to shore to see sheep grazing on improbable slopes:
As we rounded the bend to make our way along the cliffs, I shot the image at the top of this post. Even if we didn’t see a single bird, the landscape vistas on this boat tour were worth the trip:
Finally, birds were sighted! Puffins even! I didn’t realize that Puffins can fly wicked fast. I recognize I have a long way to go in my nature photography. The longest lens I had was a 70-200 and that didn’t even come close. I thought about buying a 2x multiplier tube, But was afraid I’d lose too many stops. That was a dumb move. Should have bought and brought it.
I thought these were garbage shots when I previewed them in camera. They aren’t that good. But puffins!
More to come, as always.