Forms of the Landscape

It's January and in Toronto it should be snowing, but the rain taps on the window. I can't help but be reminded of the sound when Jane and I were waiting out the rain in the portable kitchen of the Klaksvík campsite. In Faroe, you must be patient and let the rain pass, but sometimes you have to step outside to get a view of the fog covered hillsides and the otherwise peaceful stream erupting in a torrent over the edges and down into the broad valley.

A lot of learning Faroese is about understanding the forms of landscape. You can't help but notice this in the names of the places you visit too. I'll sit staring at a map for hours asking, "what are all these lines and names?" There appears to be some labyrinth on the approach to Enniberg on Viðoy... and everywhere else, for that matter. Looming over Klaksvík's eastern side lies Myrkjanoyrarfjáll, sitting on a podium of uncultivated pastureland (hagi) and exposed basalt rock (hellusvað) high above the outfield (garður), and when you look around, each mountain (fjáll) seems sculpted in a similar way. If you were climbing these mountains, you would encounter these labyrinths, braided around the green hillsides (grøna líð) as stretches of cliff called hamar. The cliffs are unclimbable and must be circumnavigated, but the sheer number of them rising up a mountain is staggering in itself, not to mention the clefts and gorges (gjógv, singular) that run lengthwise down the side, often carrying the streams (àir, à is the singular) over the edges of the cliffs as torrents and waterfalls (fossa og fossur) into the broad valley (dalur). Myrkjanoyrarfjáll does seem to be growing dark, as it's name implies, especially when the light moves behind it or the fog or rain rolls in. You can climb to Klakkur on the opposite side to get a view of it if you wish...and with it, you'll get a view of Kunoy, and Kalsoy and the eastern bays of Eysturoy. Looking ahead there seems to be nothing below you. Far out to sea, (sjógv) beyond the peaks, there is nothing but Svalbard and the Arctic, hundreds of miles to the north. Maps and the names given to the features, much like in Gaelic names on Scottish maps and Icelandic in Iceland's maps, can tell us a lot about the area we are traversing.

If you're going to visit, it's a good idea bring along Føroyar Topografiskt Atlas 1:100 000 printed by Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen in 1999. The map varies in it's availability online (check Stanfords) but it's usually available in all the bookshops, so don't fret if you can't find it before your trip. Also available are the much more detailed (1:20,000!) collection of maps. If you're planning on hiking or want to know the names of specific mountains, hills, valleys and so on, get the specific map for the area you are visiting. 37 maps cover the islands. The trails in Faroe are difficult to find, so having these detailed maps will be helpful. Keep in mind that these maps were printed in 1989 and so many tunnels and road projects are not shown. There are much older maps at the same scale called Dýpdakort Føroyar. These are rare but can be found in some shops.