Skip to main content

We are all at sea


We set sai from Denmark. . First up as we wander round our new home on the boat for three nights we see a young lady with a very small pet cage next to her. It seems about the right size cage  for a pet rat. I look closer to see she has a small animal on her lap that is not a rat 

 

We ask what it is. " It is my pet hedgehog" she says. She further explains that she collects hedgehogs and she had made a special trip to Germany from the Faroes to pick this one up. Because of the type of hedgehog it has stiff fur rather than bristles. She asks me if I want to stroke it. Given the position of the hedgehog on her body I politely decline  her kind invitation and also decide not to take her offer of a close up photo of the hedgehog. 

Several hours later we see her  with three young blond male admirers in tow. The power of attraction of a hedgehog ! I would have never have thought it! 

This morning  we pass through an oilfield. All of the oil platforms have their own names and I understand the oil platform you can see in the distance in the picture below is called "Derek" ! 


 

One full day at sea and then we wake up and we are at the Faroe Islands  for 6 hours.  The Faroes are " head office " for the ship and almost all the staff are Faroese. The town is a pretty little town with buildings with grass roofs. Must be hard work with the lawnmower. Or do you use a goat? Actually a goat on the roof would be appropriate as in the picture below this is the parliament building hence there are probably a bunch of old goats inside the building as well! 

 

 


And then there is the modern version of the Viking longboat. 


 


At 3pm we sail again. We sail down past the outer Faroe Islands with dramatic views of the mountains complete  with vestiges of snow.


 
 

 We go to the Simmer Dim restaurant that night for dinner. And lo and behold look at the feature wall of the restaurant 

 



And then out into the Atlantic for the run up to Iceland passing some spectacular mountain vistas of the Faroes as we leave 


 


 


Tomorrow morning. - Iceland!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The last post!

How do you summarise a motorbike trip around the world from Tokyo to Los Angeles?. With difficulty!   Well we are not into record setting. But we believe we are the oldest couple in the world to ride a motorbike “ two up” ie with pillion passenger, right round the world on one season  Let’s start  off with the statistics for the little trip  -                                                                    Total mileage.        34,416 km *                                                        No of days travelling        165                                                      No of countries visited       29                                                     Max temp on bike               41 deg C                                                     Min temp on bike                0 deg.C                                                          No of punctures.              One                                                          No of breakdowns.         One                 

Chapters 1 and 2

WHY MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES ? I have always been interested in adventure. Over the years I have climbed mountains, parachuted, had my private pilots licence, dived, sailed and done various adventurous pursuits (with various degrees of success I might add!). Motorcycling has been one of the later activities. Why motorcycles?  Firstly it is all a bit easier on the body as one gets a little bit older. This is of course on the assumption that one does not inadvertently part company suddenly with said machine!  Secondly, it does also require a bit of brain power - intellect you might say if that does not sound snobby. There is also, to me, an element of "man and machine" about motorcycling. Then if that is not enough justification in itself there is  the scenery and the absorption into the landscape you are passing through. On a bike you see much much more than in a car, bus or train. You are aware of nuances in the landscape, you smell the smells and you become more than just

And a volcano stopped us!

What a day. First thing this morning it was off to check the rear tyre of the bike. Oh the relief !  The tyre was rock solid and the same pressure as after fixing yesterday.  So it is a pack up and first day on the road today. We get on the way with a just a little bit of nervous excitement.  On to the  Japanese motorway system we go. And what a delight. The traffic is orderly, calm not going to fast and not too thick. We track right in towards Tokyo itself before bearing West. Yes, there were lots of spaghetti junctions - It looks like The Los Angeles motorway system but it is so much easier (and slower). Japanese politeness really shows thru’. However there were lots of toll booths - we had chopped thru  about NZ$50 in the first hour and a half  Then we are on to the slow bit and off the motorways.  It was about a four hour stop and start crawl thru the urban sprawl of greater Tokyo. However I did find time for some serious reflection - I also saw a hotel called - and I kid you not