Faroe Islands, Day 6 — Suðuroy Island

Early Wednesday morning we took a ferry from Torshavn to Tvøroyri, a small town on the southernmost island of Suðuroy (although it is larger than most Suðuroy towns).

The weather was sunny and the ship was big and comfortable. We ate some breakfast and then explored several levels of the ship until we found an open deck where we snapped a couple of pictures.

There are a lot of places to see and hike on Suðuroy, but we had only 7 hours until we had to catch the return ferry. So we decided to skip the most famous hike to Hvannhagi, in favor of shorter Kikarin hike. This allowed us to see more places.

Our first destination was Eggjarnar, the sea cliffs near village Vágur.

The road to Eggjarnar is very narrow and quite steep. Basically, it’s a one-lane gravel road. Fortunately, we did not encounter any incoming cars. At the end of the road, there is a small parking lot and a couple of abandoned buildings. They turned out to be an abandoned radio navigation station that used to guide the British ships during WWII. The overlook from the parking lot is nothing special, so nothing prepares you from the jaw-dropping magnificent view from the edge of the cliff.

Our next stop was Akraberg, the southernmost point of The Faroe Islands. There is a picturesque lighthouse at the end. There are tourist paths to the lighthouse, so we just climbed over the fence and found our way among sheep trails. We were able to go beyond the lighthouse but the view from there was not as impressive as from Kallur lighthouse.

From the southernmost point on Suduroy we headed back to its northernmost village, Sandvík. It is a nice, small place with good views onto the sea. A small, uninhabited island of Lítla Dímun is quite close to it.

The monument above is erected in memory of Sigmundur Brestisson, the person who introduced Christianity to Faroe Islands. He was attacked and had to flee his home on Skúvoy island and swim to Sandvík (at least 8 miles), but when he finally got to land safely, he was murdered by a greedy farmer for his gold bracelet.

Our final destination on Suðuroy was Á Røðini or Kikarin. It is a short hike through a valley to sea cliffs (what else would one expect on Faroes, all roads lead to sea cliffs :)). The hike starts at the small parking just before the entrance to the tunnel that leads to Hvalba village. It is an easy and short hike (less than a mile one way).

When we made to the end of the hike, at the age of the cliff, we found a picnic table that was occupied by a bunch of people who were singing some folk songs. Very romantic songs, love-love-love. Loud and clear. For some reason, this sweet and cuddly kind of “romantic” is not how I would describe the nature of Faroe Islands, so I felt some dissonance in my sensory input. For me, “rugged” and “freedom” describe Faroe Islands nature much better.

We returned home that night to the views below. Words fail me once again…