Backpacks And Big Appetites Part 2

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Fish and chips in Tórshavn

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Mikkeller brewery in Tórshavn

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Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroes

As one of the smallest capitals in the world, Tórshavn was a great hub for our travels in the southern Faroes. From here we were able to enjoy the gorgeous harbor town as well as catch ferries and travel to other islands.

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Our day in Sandoy

Sandoy is an easy 30 minute ferry from the island of Streymoy and made for a nice day trip to explore one of the lesser visited islands of the Faroes. We took the car ferry from Gamalaraett and were able to take our car with us, which I would highly suggest. The Ferry to Sandoy is not super small but is also not large so if you can I would try and book ahead of time to secure a spot. Otherwise, you play the common game found in the Faroes, waiting in line for the ferry. You can book here

Ship: M/F Teistin Travelling time: 30 min   60 Skopun - gamlarætt               From: Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

On Sandoy there are a few easy hikes that provide some great views of sea cliffs along with some quaint little villages like Dalur and Húsavík. If you time it right, you can also connect at Sandur on the island to take a ferry to the even more remote island of Skúvoy. We weren’t able to make the times work but hear Skúvoy is great island to see puffins outside of Mykines. Overall it was nice to get out and experience one of the lesser traveled islands. Also since it was a very clear day, Sandoy provided some great views of the neighboring islands.

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Fossa Waterfall

On the way back from Tjørnuvík we stopped to check out the Faroe Islands tallest waterfall, Fossa Waterfall. You can easily view it right off the highway or if you up for another hike you can hike up to the halfway point for a better view. Pictures below are from the halfway point. Supposedly you can also hike up to the top tier but it is really hard to find the path and we were fine with the view we had.

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Waffles and Tea in Tjørnuvík

After finishing the hike, we noticed a sign in town for homemade waffles. After hiking this sounded like an amazing idea and gave us a chance to meet a lovely Faroese man. He welcomed us into his home, made us fresh waffles with cream and jam and hot tea & coffee. It was just perfect. Look for his sign in Tjørnuvík!

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Hiking in Tjørnuvík

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Hiking in Tjørnuvík

Our first full day we decided to do an iconic Faroe island hike above the town of Tjørnuvík, a small village right at the ocean on the northern most end of the island of Streymoy. It was known for amazing views that did not disappoint. The hike is the old walking path between Tjørnuvík and Saksun before the roads were built. We didn’t complete the whole hike as the path was pretty muddy and at time unclear but we enjoyed the epic views looking out onto the ocean over the town of Tjørnuvík.

Important to note that the last section of highway on the way to Tjørnuvík is not for the faint at heart. It hugs the cliff and is pretty thin in width but I promise the town, the hike, the views... they are worth it.

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Mulafossur waterfall

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Scenes from town of Gasadalur and the Mulafossur waterfall on the island of Vagar.

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A week in the Faroe Islands

Matt and I go on a lot of trips abroad as we love to explore new countries and cultures. When traveling, we love to read other travelers blogs about the places we are heading so we can get an insider look that a travel book just can’t provide. This blog helps me to pay it forward to fellow travelers and offer insight into some amazing places we have experienced. This time that place is ... The Faroe Islands!

I had wanted to visit the Faroe Islands for over a year after seeing it from some of the travel bloggers I follow. The scenery looked unreal. The hiking looked amazing and while it has gained a lot of popularity in the past years it still remains unique and untouched from a tourist perspective versus neighboring Iceland. The Faroe Islands are made up up 18 different rocky, volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic between Iceland and Norway. They are connected by tunnels, ferries and bridges and are a natural sight to be seen. The pictures you will see won’t even come close to the in person beauty of these islands, but hopefully by us sharing our experience here more people will be inspired to come and experience this unique and beautiful place .

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Day 2 video recap of the TMB

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Don't want to read through the whole blog? Just want to see a quick recap of each day? This is the post for you! Here's a recap of day 1 on the TMB!

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There are so many signs on the TMB and they all guide you on your way. Here is a recap of all the signs we saw on the TMB.

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Essential to your TMB hike is your backpack and what you put in it. People carry all different kinds of weight and no one is right or wrong. I was 98% happy with what and how I packed so I broke it down for anyone who is looking to do the TMB in the future and wants some advice.

Backpack: Northface 40 liter pack ( w/ all the patches) Provided enough room for all my things and easy storage pockets to get things quickly Did not fill fully. Total packed weighed about 15-16 pounds with all my stuff. This was more than enough weight to carry on the hike!

TMB Packing List 1. 1 long sleeve sunblock shirt from Under Armour (Best thing I brought. Super cooling and didn’t have to worry about putting on greasy sunscreen on my arms. This is a MUST HaVE!)

2. 3 quick dry performance short sleeve tops (Easy to wash and dry quickly each night for multiple day wears. Only needed 2 as I didn’t even use 1 of them until I was flying home. Nice to wear a clean shirt on the plane though😄)

3. 2 pairs zip off hiking pants– zip off to shorts!

4. 1 pair black leggings Wore these on the plane ride to and from as well as nights when it was cold on the mountain

5. Raincoat and packable down jacket (Even though it didn’t rain, used rain coat as a wind jacket up on top of the mountains where it got chillier. Also, who knew it wouldn’t rain? We were lucky. Other people we met had a least one day of rain, so a rain coat is a MUST.

6. Casual outfit to wear post hike at the refuges/in town ( I had brought a tank top and a pair of knit pants that were easy to wash and dry. This was really helpful for multiple day wears)

7. Comfy sweatshirt (This was my “luxury” item. I didn’t really need it, but I wanted it. It was nice at the end of the day to cozy up in while I was in bed)

8. 3 pairs hiking socks/ 1 pair regular socks (we used SmartWool for hiking socks. Invest in good socks. It is worth it. I brought three pairs which worked out for multiple wash and wears)

9. 3 sports bras (I rotated these and wore them the entire trip. Brought seamless styles which I was able to wash every night and dry. Provided good support for hiking and were fine for rest days as well so I didn’t have to bring a regular bra.

10. Underwear You can go either way here on how many pairs. My husband brought Exifficio travel underwear which is quick wash and dry and only brought 4 pairs for the 2 weeks, even saying he probably could have gotten away with 2-3. I think here it is personal preference.

11. 1 pair hiking boots/ 1 pair flip flops We only brought our hiking shoes which we wore basically all the time and our back up shoes were flip flops to wear in the refuge post hike and in the shower if needed.

12. 1 bathing suit/ 1 hat / 1 head buff/ sunglasses

13. 1 quick dry travel towel / 1 sleep sheet ( depending on where you stay towels are not always provided. Also refuges require sleep sheets for all guests so it is worth it to bring your own)

14. Toiletries- eye mask and eye plugs are a must if you plan on staying in the dorms at the refuges. Also bring sunscreen. We went through a whole bottle.

15. Entertainment- card game, headphones, iPhone to take pictures, small snacks (Highly recommend bringing some snacks with you as you may find yourself hungry on the trail with food far away. But remember everything you pack you carry , so don’t go overboard. Also the cards came in handy to play at night post hike

16. Rain cover for backpack ( even though it didn’t rain and I didn’t use my rain cover I was glad I had it. Also to increase our rain defense, we lined our backpack in a trash bag and put all of the stuff in it to waterproof the inside. Great home remedy trick!)

17. 2 water bottles I didn’t buy a reservoir and used water bottles instead and I regret it. While the water bottles were fine, it was annoying to constantly reach back and try and grab them and put the back anytime I wanted a drink. Matt had a reservoir water pouch that he stored in his bag that had a hose that hung at his side to drink from when needed. It was super easy and hands free. If I did this again I would definitely get a reservoir.

18. Hiking poles I had never hiked with hiking poles but was so glad to have them for this hike. They helped both on the ascent and descent. I would highly recommend even if you have never used before.

19. TMB guidebook/map The guidebook was 98% right and even though the trail is very well signed it was nice to have as a check safe that we were headed in the right direction. Also it was nice the night before to see what was up next for the hike. We also bought a map which we rarely used but referenced once or twice. Up to you on that one. The nice thing is that we are using it as a souvenir and framing to put up in our apt as a momento of our TMB hike!

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Our 11 day Route of the TMB

Everyone hikes the TMB at different speeds, stopping at different places depending on how long you want to hike for the day. Some people do it in 7 day, some in 10-11, others in 3 and if you want to get real crazy you can do the UTMB, which finishes the trail in 1-2 days. This is what I loved most about it. You can make it your own! We followed the recommended route of the official guide of the TMB by Cicerone, which was 11 days with one rest day in the middle. This is a common book used by a lot of hikers and we saw it on the trail a lot. We made some slight tweaks based on some blogs that we had read but mostly kept to the daily breakdown of the book. Here is our route and where we stayed each night: Arrived in Les houches and spent the night @ Gite Michel Fagot Day 1 Les Houches to Les Contamines Spent the night @ Chalet CAF Day 2 Les Contamines to Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme Spent the night @ Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme Day 3 Refuge Bonhomme to Refuge Elisabetta Spent night @ Refuge Elisabetta Day 4 Refuge Elisabetta to Courmayeur spent 2 nights @ Pension Venezia REST DAY Day 5 Courmayeur to Rifugio bonatti Spent night @ Refugio Bonatti Day 6 Refuge Bonatti to Gite alpage de la pele Spent night @ Gite Alpage deal Pele Day 7 La Pele to Champex Spent night @ ptarmigan Day 8 Champex to Trient Spent night @ Auberge Mont Blanc Day 9 Trient to Argentiere Spent night @ Gite le belvedere Day 10 Argentiere to Lac Blanc Spent night @ Refuge Lac Blanc Day 11 Lac Blanc to Chamonix via cable car @ Plan Praz

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We spent our last day overseas in Aosta Italy, right outside of Courmayeur on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc. We zipped through the tunnel du Mont Blanc after arriving in Chamonix, France and were in Italy in 30 mins! Aosta, known for its ancient roman ruins, was a gorgeous quaint town to spend a night. We walked around, ate some delish Italian food and I even did a little shopping. The perfect end to our European hiking vacation!