Life on Mykines

Ten people live here. Only one tiny pier protect the boat landing from the open Atlantic, all other sides of the island are steep bird cliffs. It is simply an extremely extreme place, but ever so beautiful. Eight months of the year, plus stormy days in summer, they rely on helicopter to reach the bigger islands to the east. To the west, there's only the sea.

The houses in the village are mainly abandoned in wintertime. 

Katrina

Tourists coming here are mainly those who can afford to be "grounded" a day or two in bad weather. It is of course a dream come true for ornithologists or the average adventurer, but even most faroese people have not made the effort to see this awesome place, where you can get a bed and some grub in Kristianshus. They only have 35 beds, so booking is a good idea in high season. Katrina will take well care of you.

The making of an art gallery and a studio, along with a small hotel are in the process, but I do not know how far the work has come. Anyone know, please add info in the comments, and I will fill in fresh facts here.

Esbern

I visited the island at three occasions back in 2009, for the puffin hunting (see episode 1),  Kristians Blaks concert (episode 4) and as part of the circumnavigation. Kayaking out here was unreal, as conditions were very favourable. Even so, I had two of the most dramatic experiences I ever had in a kayak out here, you will see one of them in this episode, and the other in the next. I never intended to be a "first timer", but as you will see in the program, I went were no man has been before. Kind of by accident. I really did not intend to do it, believe me - but I was sucked into it, literally ...

An old breed of sheep thrive on the green hills.

This weeks scrap-video:

True to new habit, I'll give you a bonus video. This one comes with no subtitles, but it is hardly needed, as the hoisting of fuel barrels and peculiar stairway-elevator speaks for themselves.

As you can see, Esbern and Katrina are totally dedicated to life on their island - as long as the kids also like it - but they sure have a bucketful of challenges in their daily life. How they cope through long hard winters, with a new storm thundering in with each low pressure, is more than I understand. But they have personalities built to endure.

Thanks so much for your hospitality and help and good luck with building a Mykines for the future!


... and here's the short bonus feature: