To continue the festive over eating we decided to walk up to the BBQ hut on the hill on Boxing Day evening. Having struggled to find it the past few times we were up there we thought we would take a different route to it via the Baptist Kirk and the high point on the hill. This route may well be marked but with the ground covered in deep snow and sleety showers we still managed to get well off track and had to forge our way through the snow drifts, walking on just a few inches with one step sinking in over our knees with the next! All good fun though and eventually by torch light we spotted a completely snow covered BBQ hut.
Daniel set to cutting wood and after a while we got the fire lit, although I don't think our attempts would impress Bear Grylls, but hey, It did the job! Soon we had wine mulling on the bbq with Salmon for main course and toasted marshmallows for dessert. Fattening up for winter....
As we walked back in the very late evening we dived for shelter from a hail shower behind the shop and a voice called out from next door at the bar, next we knew we were invited in to celebrate with the locals... although one had lived in southern England for three years and other lives in Edinburgh and only home to Bjarkoya for a short time. It was a bit amazing to be sitting in a pub on a small Norwegian island and have a Norwegian speaking in Aberdonian Doric! A very special night to be welcomed in and treated like locals ourselves!
Bjarkoya is about one and a half times the size of Papay but with a much larger population. Transport links on the island are amazing though served every day by several speed ferries as well as the slower ferry, its also soon to be joined to the neighbouring island of Grytoya by tunnel, considering Papay gets two car ferries a week its surprising to us. We are currently waiting out the storms and it looks likely we will be spending New Year here in Bjarkoy too, something other to look forward to!
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