Done with Faroe Islands
…at least the planning, that is…
I was originally hoping to arrive in the Faroe Islands without making a plan.
“I’ll just see how I feel each day,” I told myself, once I had finished mapping out the locations and relative qualities of the campsites that I’ll be required to sleep in.
About a week ago, myself said, “Yea, right.”
I started getting a little nervous, with good reason, that this could lead to me just sitting in my car for most of the trip unable to decide what to do.
So I’ve been spending time during the week figuring out what activities I might choose between each day, and what routes I might take to explore.
I find Google maps to be an excellent resource for such planning, plus the Visit Faroe Islands website directed me to other resources to help me find locations where I can hike and take pictures.
Seeing as I prefer to hike alone, and I am aware that going on long solo hikes on the Faroe Islands can have various dangers (rapidly shifting weather at all times of the year, the surprising ease in getting lost, especially in the thick fog that can roll in quickly, the often steep and slippery cliffs), I’m concerned that my physique won’t hold out like it used to.
I found a site that provides GPX files for hikes, which is basically meter by meter trail guides that I can download to my iPhone and watch, plus I have an app that allows me to edit the trails, so I have modified many of the trail files to provide guidance for the first 2 to 3 km into the trail and then the return to the starting point.
I feel confident that 5 or 6 km per hike, especially in the hilly terrain of the Faroe Islands, will be quite sufficient to satisfy my hiking desires for a day.
My Faroe Islands Google maps… from the top left: Hikes, Campsites, Photo Opportunities, Driving Routes
I’m currently planning on skipping the southern-most island, which I visited with Anna back on my first trip to the Faroe Islands, so I have not included it in the pictures above. I might change my mind, but I think there is plenty for me to explore without adding another ferry trip.
I might take a short 20 minute ferry trip to one of the northern islands, if I feel so motivated. We shall see.
I have a general plan for a potential strategy for where I might go and when, although I’m also leaving things somewhat open, in the sense that I haven’t actually booked camp sites in advance. I hope this will satisfy the needs of the part of me that wants to “take things as they come” to feel that I’m still the intrepid adventurer.