Imagine you live on one of the most remote spots in Europe. You tend your sheep farm, as your parents before you. Then, one slippery winter day you slide off the steep road leading away from the wind blown bay where you manage to make a living.
You are paralysed waist down, after a miraculous survival. Your insurance company refuse to pay up. Everybody expect you to succumb, move to town, get the social services and benefits where the system wants you. So that is what you do, 'cause your name is not Ástþór Skúlason. He is a stayer. The toughest man I have ever met.
The farm Melanes has the exceptional view of Europes longest bird cliff, towards Latrabjarg.
It was late in the season, but I pushed on and reached Làtrabjarg, which is the end of the road in Europe when you go west. Few people inhabit this part of Iceland and I got to know a fine selection of them. They brought me to search for stray sheep before they were sent off to the slaughterhouse. I can't imagine you get better meat than this.
Panoramic view of Làtrabjarg, an amazing bird cliff and Europe's westernmost point.
Be warned, this could easily be a literally DEAD END. Well, the road surely is.
Eyvi and Jacob took me sheep spotting.
The ocean is 300 meters below.
Borgar, a most peculiar guy in an isolated farm introduced me to some of his skills and interests. Making window frames from driftwood, restoring tractors and bulldozers, making the finest hangikjøt you can dream of. This is sheep meat hung in the smoke of sheep shit. Yes, you heard me. And it tastes like heaven. Check it out in this episode of Paul i Vesterled - Pauls heads Westwards.
Borgar lives here, opposite Patreksfjord town. As he says; "Maybe it is not worse than anywhere else".
Hangikjøt made by Borgar. Meat does not get any better than this.
Sometimes on your trips, you meet people that just take care of you. They fix things for you, introduce you to fun activities, makes amazing stuff possible and over all contribute to radically improve your experience of a place.
I already introduced you to Gunnar, who invited me to motorised outdoor action with big tyres and water splashing in the "Monstertruck-episode", but Samuel Örn Erlingsson was no less of a door opener. He is into the other kind of horse power. The one that comes one by one, on four legs...
A classic pose. It is time to leave the high pasture.
The horse gathering is a social event.
Herd of Icelandic horses in Skagafjordur
Samuel Örn Erlingsson in his right element.
sun - snow - rain ... in one day
Samuel Örn Erlingsson
The days spent with Samuel were truly rewarding. Just by being himself he demonstrated the Icelandic culture of hospitality. It was an adventure from the first time we met, when Samuel was one of the drifters riding across Kjølur.
We had delicious, tender horse meat in his home with his wife Ásta (a famed athlete), we made traditional food - Slautur -with his mother and sisters and we travelled to the south and the north in order to ride and check out horses.
Wherever we came, Samuel had friends, and I slowly realised that he is some kind of a hotshot or celebrity on "The Rock", after serving many years as a sports commentator and "horse man" in Icelandic TV. It is said a book could be written about all his fun/erroneous statements when he was the "expert commentator" of all exercises in the winter Olympics, years ago, when they only could afford to send one reporter ...
They breed both for physical quality and looks, making a thousand shades of brown ...
Skagafjordur horse gathering
Going to Skagafjordur was special. You will see in the episode that the horses are driven down from the high mountains and gathered in the valley, before split between the farmers. There's singing og the great local tenors, drinking, competitions and an extremely social warmth. I was allowed to do pretty much whatever I wanted, and riding across Iceland some weeks before had made me rather comfortable on horseback, so this was pure fun.
Eating horse meat
Yes, I am a horse lover in double sense. The dinner in Samuels place was among the best. The cut is rough, but tells you a little story about the tradition of eating the horses:
Icelands first television sets were installed after the US base in Keflavik was established and they started broadcasting the kind of stuff the USAnians are served by their broadcasters. Iceland did not produce until much later, and this is probably an important factor shaping the Icelandic culture. They are much more "americanised" than the rest of the Nordic countries, and differs greatly from Norway when it comes to experiencing nature. Where we would walk, they drive.
rush our traffic jam in the mountains ... Click the images!
Gunnar Birgisson - my kind of guy!
Why walk when you may race?
ATV fun x 2
Paul Olai-Olssen dressed up.
Welcome to the Machine
Horse power is the magical word. Monster trucks. Big wheels. ATV's. Their complete fascination for these noisy machines is in total contrast to the love of the Icelandic horse, which is more up my alley. Conflicts between these two groups of "horselovers" are frequent, as far as i experienced, the situation is rather clear cut. You love the animal or the machine. In this episode, it is all about the machine.
Gunnar Birgisson is totally local!
Stripped of their engines and horse powers...
Icelandic men...
... are not men at all. I mean, they love to play. They are surprisingly childish and do not take themselves very seriously. At least none of the numerous guys I was lucky to get to know.
As always, men behave more relaxed and are generally more fun when women are not around, that is a universal fact, but the interesting thing about these fellows, is that they may look like a bunch of brutes at first glance, which they soon prove not to be at all. Just overgrown kids, basically. Great to be around. Helpful, caring and considerate. Experimenting, daring and drinking. Problem solving and self ironic.
Atop Tindfjöll the easy way.
Paul Olai-Olssen in a leaking outfit.
Gunnar Birgisson the cave man.
Gunnar as cave man
Gunnar Birgisson had more to show me. Let me explain that I first met him on the Faroes, where he and a bunch of guys arrived by zodiacs, after crossing from Iceland. A mad venture, obviously. He told me that he could fix and arrange whatever I wanted to in Iceland, if I wanted to come. I wanted to come. He fixed things. And we naturally became good friends. Gunnar is a one-of-a-kind kind of person.
"I have more to show you," he told me. "Come on, it is going to be fun!" I knew Gunnar by then, so I was naturally sceptical. My death wish is very, very weak, and the expression in his face made it clear that what he had in mind was more than a walk in the park. Have a look at the video below. I am not going to tell where it is, as people are not encouraged to go there. If you do, please bring rope, helmet and a non leaking dry suit!
And that was all for for now. Next episode next week. Here's the sunset over Vestmannaeyjar:
See the episode above, and click on the images for better viewing, as in all my blog posts. This time, I have visited Thingvellir, or rather Þingvellir, which has a special place in Icelands history. Since 1930 it has been a national park, and since 2004 it has been listed as a a World Heritage Site. This amazing place lies in a rift valley on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, literally in between the continental plates.
diving through the crack in Silfra
Diving in Silfra
There are many good dive spots in Iceland, most of them related to some kind of geothermal or seismic activity. I met Tobias Klose that is running dive.is, a great company providing the best of equipment and security. It is fun to get to know people that show true enthusiasm for their work, and Tobias seems to have found his place in the world. He sent Andri Ómarsson to guide me. Silfra is one of the most spectacular destinations for any diver looking for spectacular scenery. No live to see at all, but who needs fish when you can stretch your arms out and touch two continental shelves?! This is unlike any dive, any place - strongly recommended.
the crack on the bed of Thingvellir
Andri Ómarsson and Gunnar - great buddies
Kleifarvatn
This lake is found only half an hours drive south of Reykjavik, in a desolate volcanic landscape. After an earthquake in 2000, the lake started draining by one centimetre per day, but it is still there, so I assume the crack has later been clogged up. What emerged in the southern end of the lake after the quake, was some holes from where gas and hot water stream out, followed by shivers and rumbles.
Alþingi
What Thingvellir is most known for, is that the "Althing" found place here from 930 until 1798, being the parliament of Iceland from the time when it took 17 days for the most remote chieftain to reach the supreme legislative and judicial authority of the country. Iceland was not easily travelled back in those days, so it took a while, even if this place was chosen partially because of its convenient location... The law speaker spoke from the Lögberg, the law rock, and was elected for periods of three years, in an amazingly open democracy.
Hellisheidi geothermal power station
Geothermal power
Five major geothermal power plants provides about a quarter of the nation's energy. In addition to electricity, the geothermal water heat up and provide hot water for most buildings in Iceland. Hydro power makes up for the rest of the electricity need, making Iceland close to 100% nice on the environmental clean energy scale (read more in Scientific American). If they only could run those monster trucks on batteries, then I would be really satisfied with them (more about those monsters in a later episode...). Hellisheidi geothermal power plant is actually the biggest of its kind worldwide, quite a cool thing to visit, bot to see the drill holes all over the mountain (vulcano) and the station itself, with its visitors centre.
There are three main reasons why The Faroe Islands are so special to me. I will not rank them, as they depend on each other, but I tell you, that you never experienced people, traditions and nature like you do here. And then there's the combination, when wonderful people do traditional stuff in spectacular surroundings!
Ólavsøkudagur
Being proud of their Norwegian ancestry, the Faroese tend to guard the traditions better than we do. To honour a long gone, once common king Olav - the holy Saint Olav - they have their biggest annual celebration in late summer in his memory. They actually made it their National Holiday (never mind the Danes), and the party goes on for three days, with July 29th being the main thing.
beloved Brynhild (hif)
true Faroese ...
... and "Faroein"
Rowing competition
Again based on old Norwegian customs, there is a Faroe Championship in rowing the "færing", a slender rowing boat for six to ten rowers plus cox. There are classes for youngsters, female and male and the teams have been through a cup every weekend the last two months, before the grand final in Thorshavn the 28th of June, as Olavsøka begins.
Esbern í Eyðansstovu
Stockholm Syndrome Medal
open home...
Chain dancing
It is hard to describe all the simultaneous events going on through the days, but choir singing, concerts and speeches are an important part of it, as well as happily mingling in and around the houses in Thorshavn. This all culminates with massive participation at midnight, when a considerable amount of songs are sung with all verses, bottles are emptied and armes are hooked into each other for an impressive group - no, mass - chain dance. Gotta s
ee it to believe it. It continues into the night in Sjónleikarhúsið and is something you will never forget.
Ehhh... late at night, this is what you might end up in (called "gladfylla" in Norwegian):
You did remember to click on the photos, right, to see them better?
Eivør Palsdottir, or rather Eivør Pálsdóttir as they write it in the Faroe Islands, was introduced to Kristian Blak (see the episode Kristian Blak) as her parents suspected that her vocal potential was out of the ordinary. Kristian immediately recognised her unique talent, and this was the beginning to her career, touring Italy at the age of twelve, releasing the first CD at 16. She's got a fine website and an album being released this month, check out Eivør.com.
Eivørs brand new album " Bridges "
a mentality to help
I had never heard of the girl, but got a tip and was allowed to surprise her band as they were jamming. This is just one of the peculiar examples of how the Faroese never gave me a "no" when I asked for help in any form. They certainly need you to ask, if not you get no help at all, but as soon as you make your request clear, the solution is right there. Never seen anything like it.
So, as I uttered a wish to see where Eivør actually is from, she called her parents who arranged a surprise super-dinner for me. Her cosy dad (peace be upon him) served whale meat hunted by himself. Later, Eivør sat down with her drum to sing for me by the sea. Not once, as we were not really satisfied with the first attempt, but twice, in spite of her experiencing extremely busy times, recording the album "Larva" in between concerts in three continents.
on the big stage
After I returned from the Faroe Islands, she was doing a tour of Norway with our famous band Vamp and Kringkastingsorkesteret - an explosive combination. I was welcome to shoot them in Oslo Spectrum, where Eivør was exactly the same kind personality as I had gotten to know in her little village Göta, out there on the remote islands in the North Atlantic.
Eivør Pálsdóttir anno 2009
the Faroese
From all my experience with Eivør, I have to say she has my greatest respect as a person, with all the small flaws and challenges that includes. I am very grateful to her totally lovely family and wonderful manager Sigvør Laksá, who is actually her neighbour. Sigvør gave me a bed for the night and left it to me to wake up her unknowing teenage daughter early in the morning. Can you imagine having a bearded stranger leaning over you when you wake up after a late party night? The girl was totally cool about it, adding to my admiration of the Faroese mentality. They're something else.
VAMP - "I full symfoni II"
A big thank to VAMP!
Vamp was worried that my sound recording from Spectrum would be below their standards, which it most certainly would be, so they let me use their own sound and I mixed some of their shots with mine. I owe you guys a big one for that, and hope the result pleases everybody! What a great bunch you are.
and...
... one more thing. During the editing, it occurred to me, that Eivør were actually flirting in my direction. This theory I aired for Sigvør, when talking on the phone.
"-No she did not," she replied very promptly.
"-Well how do you know? You have not seen the clip!" I wondered.
The answer was simple: "-We don't flirt in the Faroes."
I had to laugh, kind of relieved. "-So you mean, the fact that I had no luck with women during my three months on the island do not have to mean they they did not like me?"
"-Not at all."
It takes a while to understand the ways over there. Good luck with it. And enjoy the episode.
Here's one of Eivør's music videos. Now tell me what you think of that voice?!
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!
