The Edge of Existence: Update on April 27, 2009

The last time I wrote an update I was yet ignorant to the splendor of what I like to think of as the edge of the western world (not geographically). Little glimpses could be caught of this glory as we sailed into harbor in Torshavn (which translates to Thor’s Haven or Harbor) and probably had the largest crowd this ship has seen for a welcoming. We also were able to go on a tour of the islands while we would have normally sat anchored just outside of Torshavn (I later found out that the fuel was paid for by a local). This all was given to us from a town of 20,000 people and a country of only 48,000! Little did I know that this was only the start of an amazing adventure on the edge of civilization.

Being on watch the first few days, I didn’t get to experience a whole lot. Sign up lists for on shore events were filled basically right as they were put up as our crew was desperate to get off of the ship. We were also forewarned of the hospitality of the Faeroes, which may have motivated some of us to try and get out more. Unfortunately I experienced little more that meeting a couple of kids the first few days (more on that later), but on my first off day I had an adventure that I will never forget.

It all started with a push from some friends. Like I had previously stated, I was too late to sign up for things all week, and this included a huge day on Monday (which is most everybody’s off day) which was an opportunity to go see the town a little better. This included many different things, and fortunately there was plenty of space for me to jump on one of the trips. We started by hiking around Torshavn to a nearby mountain (they are hard to miss here) then proceeding to hike around it. Our leader was a man whose name I can only pronounce as “Berger”, and was from a nearby town. He told us all about the history of the city, and the country. I rather enjoyed the history, and we even saw a restored ancient Viking ship (they founded the Faeroe Islands), and were told a story of some thieves.

When we made it through the towns, we were with nature herself. A couple of us climbed higher than the rest (almost on accident, but also because of pride) and got a glimpse of what surrounded us. I told the guys around us that if I were ever fortunate enough to write a book that this would be how I’d describe the edge of the world. The picture I have posted with this blog post is from this point. The reason I felt like I was at the edge of the world was probably because of the abrupt end to the mountains falling to the endless sea that commanded the horizon. The regality of the scene took my breath away.
After more walking around the mountain, with beautiful landscape to one side, and a rocky slope to the other, we stumbled upon a town, our destination. The place made me feel as though we had abandoned civilization for our own utopia in the middle of Asgard (had to use a Norse allusion). The green of the grass that rolled down the hill it sat upon and into a sea so beautifully blue and pure that it seems heaven isn’t so far. The few houses seemed to hold ghosts, and the silence was enough to put one to sleep. Apparently this town was rather important, as it held a few historic places. There was an old cathedral that was being built during the Middle Ages, but was never finished due to a massive loss of money as an effect of the black plague on Europe, and the Faeroe Islands. Also, this was the childhood growing place of a famous king that led the Faeroes away from paganism more towards Christ. It also had the oldest church that is still used today as a church in Europe. A lot of History in such a small place, so different from where we come from!

After the tour of the town we went back to Berger’s house for an early dinner. We were served infinite portions of pita bread along with all the things to go inside, salad, fruit, chips, juice, and other things. This was all topped off with a nice glass of tea and a delicious dessert. After this we were taken back to the ship barely able to move any more, but the day had just begun. After letting our stomachs settle down from all of the excitement, four of us embarked on a trek to find the swimming pool that was free to Ships Company. We eventually stumbled upon it and were able swim for 45 minutes and jump off all of the diving boards and things. We also used the sauna for 15 minutes. This was a nice experience, since it had been a while since I was able to swim. After the pool, we returned home once again just to leave a little bit later. We spent the rest of the night stuffing our faces (again) with pizza, and hanging out with some locals.

When we returned from the pizza extravaganza (I also tried whale meat, blubber, and rotten lamb, and I would never recommend any of these “delicacies”) I was surprised to see a foreign van just outside of the ship. Apparently, a man named Leif Erik has a ministry in the Islands that consists of taking things that are of little or no value to their original owner, and giving them to those who may need them. This guy was at our ship at least once a day giving us everything from bread and pastries to shirts and shoes. We also had some people from a local bakery give us their leftovers from the day every night. I think most of Ships Company gained about 12 pounds while we were in the Faeroes.

The kids I had previously mentioned seemed to never leave the ship. While we were in Torshavn, they were there literally every day, usually right after school until we closed at 11 pm. I was able to hang out with them often, and played basketball and a little bit of football. They made a bunch of friends here, and they are just a couple of many kids who spent a massive amount of time here. Both of them also want to come back to the ship when they graduate from school.

We set out from Torshavn after a week of bliss and blessings on Thursday to head to the nearby town of Klaksvik, which was a town of about 4,000. In this port, I honestly didn’t get out for as much sight-seeing as I’d like, but that was my fault. I did get involved in quite a bit of sport though. On Friday, a team of us headed out for volleyball at 9:30 but unfortunately things weren’t as we expected and we ended up just playing within our own group. That was okay, and we did talk to a few people from the area, but we didn’t get to play against them. On Saturday I had a busy afternoon. It was a day off, so I had the chance to sleep in until 1:30 before eating, and then hanging out with those same kids (they followed us to Klaksvik). At about 4:00 or so, I was asked if I’d like to play soccer and I agreed, since I wasn’t doing much anyways. We left and played for about three hours, from about 5 until close to 8. When I got back I ate and rested for I knew what loomed in the future. At 11:30 we went out for a prearranged night of basketball. This was an absolute blast, and ended up playing 5 on 5, with one girl each. It was basically Ships Company versus the locals, and what a time we had. We played until close to 2 am, and then came back and I was finally in bed by 3.

After a rather uneventful Sunday afternoon, we started work at 9:30 pm in preparation to leave by 12:15 am. Many of our officers thought this would be impossible but we proved them wrong. I worked with loading the cars onto the ship with the crane the whole time, which was rather fun. As we left the port, there was a large crowd of people singing and praying for us, with a band playing even. Just one last blessing before we left. As we pulled out of the harbor, the air was filled with the cheers and honks of horns, and with fireworks. You were a blessing Faeroe Islands, but now it’s time to get back into the real world.