Living in a time warp

Aug 12, 20205 min read

Updated: Apr 19, 2021

We are living at such a fast pace that sometimes I think that what we have done in the morning happened a day or two ago. Flying visits to some places seem as if they lasted a week. The best point of reference is the timed and dated photo gallery on my phone. We often review that to fill the gaps in both our memories and the boat log or to find out when we were at some point in our adventure. Our first day of sightseeing in Torshavn was one of those time warp days that seemed to last longer than just one day. Mark woke up and got stuck into video editing while I was still in bed enjoying morning meditation and an easy pace as I am on holidays and don't need to turn my kiosk on. We were waiting for the news regarding the corona test and that morning the negative result arrived via text message. It was somewhat of an anti-climax to receive news of what we already knew but, nevertheless, it meant we were free to roam the Faroe Islands! Mark also received some good news the day before - the sale of his catamaran was going through. To complete the transaction he had to print a Bill of Sale, sign it, scan it and send it back to the broker. We figured out that the Port Authority's office could be our best shot at achieving all of that and after a walk around the port, which first led to the shipyard, then back to the boat, then to the ferry and container shipping terminal and a few rounds around that place before we found the office! We pressed the intercom and someone let us in, not even waiting for our explanation of the reasons why we were visiting. We walked up a set of winding metal stairs to a really nice office with an awesome view of the port and the marina. Masks weren't required and when we eagerly explained that we had just received our test results and were healthy, the lady laughed and asked 'How do you know that we are'?! Reassured that life was going on as normal, we proceeded with getting our business done. The very helpful lady printed the document for us, waited for us to complete it then scanned and emailed it back to Mark. Taking advantage of the office Wi-Fi, Mark emailed the PDF to the broker and, happy with the completed task, we left. I was truly surprised at how easy it was, after finding the office of course! Thank you Torshavn Port Authority! After a quick stopover at the boat we asked Google to lead us to the post office so we could mail the hard copies to England. Google calculated a 25 minute walk through the amazing Scandi-style town of Torshavn. This calculation didn’t take into account the novelty of this place which demanded a photo nearly every step of the way! As we climbed up the hill on which the town is located, we photographed wooden houses with grass covered roofs and high stone foundations. A lot of proud home owners had their windows decorated with pot plants and ornaments and almost all of the gardens were nicely groomed. Without even seeing anyone we could feel the laidback ambience of this place. Spotting a surreal scene of a little blond-haired girl, sitting on a horse in the back garden of an ordinary house whilst braiding the horse's mane demonstrated the quaint nature of these magical North Atlantic islands that we are lucky enough to have sailed to. The post office was located in big industrial building on the top of a hill but we had to further delay getting there as the other side of the hill was going down into a valley filled with fog. We could see the tops of windmills on the other side of the valley, blue skies above and milky fog beneath. The valley was really a bay and as the fog shifted in front of our eyes, the rocky island on which the windmills were sitting were revealed, as well as the surface of the water and some houses near the waterfront. The changing view deserved attention so we stayed a while admiring the transforming landscape. It was hard to leave that behind but finally we did and went to the post office. The interior was clean and modern. The lady who served us was so helpful, totally fluent and arranged the registered airmail return of the Bill of Sale. Torshavn is the capital of the Faroe Island and yet it really doesn't feel like a city. We spotted a net-fenced field with city geese and a field of sheep further down the road. Later we detoured around a duck pond where some ladies were feeding the ducks and seagulls were there taking full advantage of the easy feast! We took the same route down the hill towards the marina and stopped for lunch in a Scandinavian sandwich bar. The variety of sandwiches was extensive and we were really happy with our choices. We sat on the rooftop terrace enjoying the food and the view of Torshavn in beautiful Faroese sunshine. We wanted to recruit a new crew member, as a gorgeous dog belonging to some guests of the restaurant kept coming to us for attention but I don't think the owners would have been happy to part with this friendly woofer. After leaving the sandwich bar through a maze-like exit we went back to the boat, made some phone calls and went on exploring the oldest part of the town full of tiny houses with grass-covered roofs and people still living in most of them. The fog that had previously cleared came back and was now wrapping the town once again. It got cooler with the sun well behind the clouds but it made the place look even more special. Not everyone was impressed with tourists walking around but it couldn't spoil our mojo and we carried on happy with the proof that we were of no threat to anyone! After a good look around the old town we headed towards the residential area and the beach. More beautiful houses and lots of locals enjoying their summer on the beach, paddle boarding, kids climbing rocks and jumping into icy 12.5 degree water! We walked back towards the shipyard along the coastline path. Massive fishing boats were in the dry dock undergoing some work and we marvelled at the sheer size of those ships. We slowly made our way back to the boat and checked on the rules for using the marina shower facilities before we got our shower stuff and made our way there to wash the dust off and unwind. What about the time warp? So much happened yesterday, that already in the early afternoon, I thought we had two or three days in Torshavn! I often feel like that about this journey, as it seems that some places were left behind a lifetime ago. The best thing is that the joys of this adventure just keep coming!