Day 1 – Arrival and settling in

Tourists are not very common on this small, rocky island – which I noticed quite soon, thank you very much. The locals can barely contain their excitement to finally have a tourist they can help in every possible manner. Everyone is happy, welcoming and very helpful, and they seem to love to finally be able to share the history and legends of the island with someone who hasn’t heard the stories a hundred times before.

Roads seem to be virtually non-existent. I’ve spent most of the day walking down the streets of the islands only proper city, and I’ve only seen about four cars. I do know that you could take the ferries down at the port, but otherwise you’ll have to hike by foot or make your way around by horseback. The terrain of the island is pretty much inaccessible to large vehicles, but I’m fine with walking.

Just outside of the town there is a very dense forest. It’s quite fascinating – you only need to walk a very short distance into the woods to block out most of the daylight, and there’s a rich variety in animal and plant life. Many of the species probably can’t even be found on the mainland! The locals also have told me about a legend that tells about a ghost horse that can be seen in the forest during night time, and the sight of him brings luck. I’m not sure if I dare to explore the woods after sunset, so I guess I’ll just take their word for it.

Day 3 – Exploring the surroundings

After a three hour journey by ferry I reached a fort from the middle-ages, located on a peaceful point of land on the southernmost part of the island. It’s really a gorgeous place – the sand-colored walls of the fort ranging up to 8ft with the old towers even mightier, and the town square is open and light, with a beautiful open fountain in the heart of it. Close to the western side of the great wall there’s a giant bronze statue of the forts founder, which was covered in algae since a storm a few days earlier.

Even though the fort is pretty much half the size of the larger town I by now have spent about two days in, it seems to be occupied by at least as many citizens. Tourists from the mainland are still non-existent, but when you have a vacation it seems like this would be the main travel destination. I see why – unlimited access to the deep blue ocean, and the white beaches are radiant and inviting.

The evening brought a warm, red light to the fort. I placed myself in one of the ancient towers of the great wall only to be completely astounded by the incredible view. A group of tiny children was playing hide-and-seek on the town square and they ran around like confused chickens trying to find the perfect hiding spot. One small boy fell into the great fountain of the square – he immediately got up on his feet and sprinted out of the water while he hoisted up his soaking wet pants. Behind him, a little girl fought her way climbing up on the old statue of the forts founder, to hide behind one of his shoes.

Using a pair of binoculars I bought earlier that day, I saw a few girls riding their horses bareback at the water’s edge. Four horses, very happily splashing around in the water, one still hesitating on the beach while his rider tried to persuade him to join his friends in the ocean. Every time the girl tried to get her horse to obey her, his front hooves eased of the ground in a half-hearted protest. One of the girls who already had gotten her horse to get into the water tried to help her friend by riding up close and pull the hesitant horses reins – that only resulted in yet another rear by the peevish animal and both of the girls to fall of their horses.

In the days to come, I’ll probably leave the civilization and venture into the wilderness. The nature around here truly is spectacular and I can’t wait to see more of it.

Day 4 – In the midst of it all

About an hour's walk from the stunning, bright fort you can find a small friendly village which apparently is the island's midpoint. The village lies in the shade of an enormous, ancient castle, which however has been unoccupied for many years. I tried to take a closer look, but unfortunately it was closed even for visitors at the time.

The village consists of about twenty houses surrounded by a low, very old brick wall that in many places sports large holes. Just like at the fort, there is a large and open fountain in the village square, surrounded by various tiny shops selling fresh fruit.

Both in and around the village there lives many farmers. Large fields stretch out around the village, and there harvesting machines always seem to be in motion. The great fields north of the village are, however, completely empty, shining of a bright emerald green beneath the sun's strong rays. Residents call the fields by the name Everwind, because of the merciless wind over them that never seems to cease. Sometimes you can see riders race across the fields on their horses, but otherwise they are abandoned.

Day 6 – Over the mountains

On the other side of the island, placed in the shadow of a great mountain range and with an enormous pine forest beneath it, is yet another village. This tiny settlement really is well fitted for its location, with all log houses and a great wooden wall surrounding the about twenty houses. Every night, the villages iron gates are closed to keep the wolves of the nearby forest out. The villagers’ great love for animals once again shines through here, since they rather would lock themselves in at nighttime than reduce the wolf population.

Until now, I had spent a lot of time close to the sea and the thin air of the mountains made me feel a bit dizzy. It became even worse when I decided to visit a small cabin a bit higher up in the mountains, where the islands climbers usually hangs out – I couldn’t finish my quest, but had to turn back about half-way. On the other hand, just the very next day I had the chance to travel by horseback instead. One of the small mountain trails leads to a quite large mountain lake, and just beneath it in a vale, there is yet another village. There was this guy who had to move his horse down to the vale, and since he knew I wanted to go there he asked if I would like to take the horse myself.

The animal was a very clever one, with an easy and kind manner and he knew the trail very well – he had with no doubt walked the paths many times before. That gave me the chance to relax and enjoy the surroundings, which became even more beautiful as we got the lake in sight. Especially in the midday sunlight, the water glitters, circled by great mountains. The very small pieces of land in the lake are connected by beautifully crafted wooden bridges, which give the opportunity for a great walking track. I did not have the time to explore the lake more thoroughly however, so instead I took another small mountain trail, which would lead me to the village down in the dale.

Day 9 – The Vale in the Dale

Beneath the mountain there is a beautiful little village, which is divided in two by a sparkling river that a few miles farther south flows into the sea, right next to the fort I visited a few days earlier. The village’s two parts are connected by an ancient, but solid, stone bridge.

The bright little village is, just as I explained earlier, placed in a deep valley. While most dwellings are built of white wood, there is one single house built of stone, with a roof of timber wood. Behind the house there are a number of old rune stones raised in the form of a circle. Rose bushes with white and red flowers lines both the stones as well as the village's muddy roads while a dense forest lies between the village and the rest of the island’s civilization.

I was curious about the rune stones and got the chance to speak with the lady who lived in the stone house next to them. She was very happy to get to share her stories and said that the Vikings who traveled to the island many hundreds of years ago had raised the stones, but even today no one had been able to decipher the runes on them. Apparently, no one had ever been able to find a proper translation for even one of the runes, and therefore many linguists and historians alike had wondered if the stones actually came from the Vikings. Apparently, some UFO-enthusiasts are to this day trying to claim that the rune stones were made by some alien species visiting the earth.

North of the village a winding and steep path leads up to a mountain with a mountain pass completely covered in snow. It was explained to me that the gate has been blocked by snow and ice for many years now, and no one was really sure about what could be found on the other side. At first I could not really believe that such an amount of snow were to be found up on the mountain, since it down in the valley were of a very pleasant summer, but after a closer look (through my binoculars) I realized that the claim was in fact true. I actually asked a tiny boy from the village what he believed was to be found over the mountain, and after a few seconds of deep reflection, he answered “dinosaurs”. Well, I’m sure that many things can and will be found on this island, but I doubt that living dinosaurs ever will be one of them.

For the next couple of days, I’m going to travel back to the fort, and from there take the ferry to the islands main fishing village.

Day 14 - The Valley of the Golden leaves

The fishing village is located in a valley that seems to be in a state of eternal autumn. You can't even turn around without seeing golden colors - yellow leaves, orange gleaming grass, red foliage on the trees that rises high up in the air. It took a while for my eyes to get used to this change, but the experience really was extraordinary. A deep forest in the valley, called The Forest of the Golden Leaves, was very intriguing. The whole forest seemed to be drenched in a golden shining haze, which clouded my eyes even more. Small, beaten tracks went around and through the whole forest, and if you follow them you might see a few of the local riders obstacles which they use while training cross-country. Through the whole forest there also is this warm breeze that never seems to cease; it is always in movement, bringing the fallen leaves from the golden trees with it and forever making them dance.

The village itself has, just as I had previously suspected, a lingering smell of fish that never really eases. The village is located on a tiny, rocky island just beyond the woods, and it's the only place in the whole vale where you can see anything else but the golden mist. The village is built up almost layer upon layer, the houses are almost on top of each other on the rock formations while a wooden bridge connects this tiny islet to the main island. Bright colors will catch your eye everywhere - red houses, blue houses, white houses, yellow houses, turquoise houses, orange houses - all of these colors surrounds a mighty lighthouse in the middle of it all. The bottommost layer of the village is hedged with a wide pier that goes around the whole islet, and especially in the early mornings they flourish with life when the fishermen are in motion.

An elderly gentleman in a top hat told me about the myth regarding a mighty sea monster lurking in the waters outside of the village. He said that nowadays hardly anyone knows what or where the myth has originated from, but there were many different theories on what the monster is and why it is there - one of the most popular theories apparently is that the monster several thousand years ago had crashed into the sea with a spaceship, only to stay in the depths of the ocean. During stormy nights, the man told me, you might see giant arms, as of an octopus, rising and fencing through the air far out in the sea.

Even though I am returning home today, I really feel the need to visit this mysterious island again, to learn more about the splendid nature and the almost forgotten myths. This experience has been very interesting and this gorgeous island really is something out of the ordinary.