By some witchcraft, the notoriously rainy and foggy Faroe Islands were not playing true to form. We took advantage of the gloriously sunny skies by journeying to Eysturoy, the second largest island in the archipelago. It was a beautiful, scenic coastal drive, with a multitude of pull-outs to ogle the mountain views and inlets.

As my parents are avid bird photographers, no trip to the Faroe Islands would be complete without a visit to the famed island of Mykines. The westernmost islands in the Faroese Archipelago, it is known to be a significant nesting site for seabirds, such as puffins, fulmars and gannets. While I had spotted a lone puffin on our first day in the Faroe Islands, I was particularly excited to see my first puffin colony.

One of my favourite days spent touring the Faroe Islands was on Kalsoy, a small northern island that is only accessible by ferry. End to end, the island is only a 20-minute drive, making it perfect for a leisurely day trip, exploring the small villages and hiking to some epic vistas.

The first reaction I typically got when I said I would be exploring the Faroe Islands for a week was… “and where’s that”? This apparently little-known cluster of 18 islands in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland is actually an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark (similar to Greenland). I’d glimpsed dramatic photos of its rugged, wind-swept landscapes over the years, and so it had occupied a place on my travel bucket list for some time.