We hadn't intended to do two boat tours on this day, but in the "Land of Maybe" you take what you're given. When the weather cooperates, you take advantage. We left the campground at Torshavn and headed west, back over through a subsea tunnel to the island of Vagar. Past the airport, we found the village of Sorvagur and stopped at the local Magn for a second coffee and a pastry.
We also hadn't planned on doing two RIB boat tours - we thought the first tour was of the regular variety. We found when we arrived at Blue Gate tours in the Sorvagur harbour, and they handed us suits to put on. Time to suit up!
This tour took us out from Sorvagur to the head of the fjord, past the village of Bour and a beautiful waterfall cascading into the sea. We saw seals and even a few puffins still hanging around. Across the fjord, we circled the jagged island of Tindholmur and then the Drangarnir sea arch, waiting for just the right moment in the waves and tide to make our way UNDER the huge stone arch.
We made our way back along the far shore to the harbour, where we disembarked and doffed our gear. Climbing back into the van, we traversed the width of Vagar eastward and back over to Streymoy island, following the scenic roads down to the Gamlaraett ferry port. Arriving early, we made ham sandwiches in the parking lot while awaiting our RIB62 experience.
And they did not disappoint, in what was a top-two experience of the entire trip. This time we donned suits AND visored helmets before jetting off across the water to the towering cliffs of the island of Hestur. Our guide Aron took us up the east side and around the top end, where we could also glimpse nearby Koltur island, before the tour began in earnest down the imposing and wave-sculpted western edge.
We skirted the rocks, in and out of inlets, and finally entered the world largest sea cave, Klaemintsgjogv.....through one of its THREE entrances. It was a surreal experience, between the imposing cliffs loomed high above, and the eerie and gurgling silence in the caves, punctuated by the occasional crash of the surf on the rocks. Seabirds were everywhere, fulmars and gannets and black-backed gulls....and of course, sheep dining in places where it made no sense at all.
At the urging of the small group, Aron also had some fun on the way back to the harbour, showing us the speed and angles this rib boat could really handle.
Windswept and weary with salt-splashed faces, we drove back to Torshavn and returned to the campground for another night, markedly quieter this evening after the ferry departure to Iceland. While Jane rested in the van, I walked downtown for a few pints at the Mikkeller Pub before making my way back to seaside and slumber.
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