If you look very carefully at a map of the North Atlantic ocean, you'll see some little dots mid way between Iceland and the north coast of Scotland. Those specks are the Faroe Islands. They were settled about 900 AD by Viking farmers from western Norway.

For hundreds of years they were a "county" of Denmark. Now they are officially a "Self-governing Community Within the Kingdom of Denmark. " There are about 45, 000 people who speak "Faroese," the Viking language which was spoken 1000 years ago in western Norway.

Lying just below the Arctic Circle and on the same latitude as southern Alaska, these 18 small islands have a rugged beauty that is quite impressive. The steep cliffs attract sea birds and these islands contain hundreds of thousands of nests making them a major habitat area. The clear, pure sea water is teaming with fish.

The photo above is of the western coast of Streymoy Island. There is normally some form of precipitation at least 280 days of the year, so this view is on an unusually clear day.

The view above was taken from 2,300 foot high Skaeling Mountain on Streymoy, the highest point in the Faroe Islands.

The standard of living is very high and there is an excellent infrastructure of roads, tunnels and ferries. It's easy to visit delightful villages like Gjogv("jagv") on the north east tip of Esturoy Island.

For many years Susan and I had hoped to visit our friends in the Faroe Islands. Finally, in 2000 we arranged it.

Our wonderful friends Fridhild, her husband Niklai and daughter Femja live in the beautiful village of Kollafjordur on the east coast of Streymoy.

Niklai, a captain and part owner of a large shrimp trawler was away for several weeks off the coast of Greenland. Fridhild, a high school teacher, provided a wonderful, warm welcome.

The photo above shows us with Femja and Fridhild. Not only is Femja cute, she speaks several languages fluently, just like her mom. It's always a pleasure for me to be surrounded by lovely women!!

At the end of June, the temperature "soared" to about 50 f. (10c.) !!! Niklai's father, Frithiof, wanted to take us fishing.

The photo above shows Sue getting into a boat lovingly named after Fridhild's and Niklai's daughter. Kollafjordur is in the background.

The attractive capital of the Faroe Islands and only large town is Torshavn, Population 16,000 on Streymoy Island.

Do you want to know more? Here are some useful links.

http://www.tourist.fo
http://www.faroeislands.com