power, puffins, and prison

Now that I have your attention…

We set off today for Vágur Island. The destination was the west coast of the island at the very end of the road. We were on a journey to view Múlafossur Waterfall, a gorgeous waterfall which drops down, in a single drop, over 60 meters and ends in the Atlantic Ocean. This definitely was a destination with my name on it.

We set off after making a stop for espresso drinks of choice.

Climbing out of Tórshavn, we were enveloped in a cloud.

We could just barely make out formations spinning on the hills above us. Wind turbines. Looking eerie in the cloud fog, they also sounded eerie as they spun. Kind of an other-worldly moment as we parked across from the stand of the power-makers.

The Faroe Islands have set a goal of producing their entire electrical energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2030.

It was not long until we began to break out of the cloud.

And then the vistas showed up.

Remember the above view. We shall return to it.

One amazing vista after another. Too much for one soul to hold.

The road ended as we reached our destination. Múlafossur Waterfall. A small path through the grass marked the way.

But….. just as the waterfall came into view, a woman standing nearby pointed at a puffin just on the edge of the promontory. A puffin!!!

This was a totally unexpected sighting for this time of year.

My anticipation grew with each step I took, bringing me closer to the actual waterfall I had experienced through photos and videos posted on the Faroe Islands Instagram page.

Múlafossur Waterfall. I could hear its power before I could see it. Then there it was, thundering over a cliff into the sea below!

Here it is on its way to becoming powerful waterfall.

Awesome!!

Turning around at the end of the road, we began our drive home, stopping in a church along the way for afternoon prayers.

Our drive continued….

Now, about prison…..

On the early part of the drive to Vagar, about the time the skies cleared, we pulled over for gaze at the land below.

A sign outside the structure that was just a few yards below us read; Joel Cole, art gallery and studio. Access was through a signal gate with the words “prison/probation”. Hmm. We chalked it up to a weird translation of something or other, as we have seen a number of very odd translations of Faroese.

Determined to stop on our return, we did just that. Pulling up to the signal gate, pushing the red button and waiting for a good bit…. the gate finally swung up, and in we drove.

As we neared the main building, an armed guard stepped out. I quickly parked the car, got out, and called out: “Hi! Is this the art gallery?” To which he responded, “It’s a prison!”

Uh oh.

I asked about the artist’s sign to which the guard said something about a small building in the complex and the artist.

We then made a hasty exit.

Googling later I found a Forbes article entitled, The Coolest Prison in the World?” “The prison only has room for 12 inmates, and is only used for nonviolent offenders serving brief sentences. Each get their own individual cell with a working television. They also have a mini-golf course out back to while away the hours. But would you look at those valley views? ”

Yes, a day to experience power, puffins, and prisons.