I was lucky enough to go to the Faroe Islands in the summer this year as part of the Scottish unit (Caledonian Chaos). 20 explorer scouts and 5 leaders went from Edinburgh at the end of July to Torshavan, the capital city, getting there before the actual jamboree for their national day Olafstoka, St Olafs day.
The Faroe Islands are located roughly half way between Scotland and Iceland. An outstanding 18 islands rise out of the Atlantic Ocean. They are made up of volcanic rock with very few trees and little vegetation, all connected by under the sea tunnels and roundabouts.
It was a very pioneering based camp as we had to make our own camp areas and dining shelters, which consisted of pallets, pioneering poles & tarpaulins. I think our Scottish unit shelter beat the rest!
The activities were great fun and ranged from abseiling, to exploring nature, to catapult building and kayaking in the sea. I did not enjoy kayaking and let me tell you the Atlantic is very cold!
Being Scottish on an international camp is epic. Obviously, everyone wears a scout uniform, but we stand out with our kilts and bagpipes. We all shared parts of our culture-on-culture day, swapping whale for haggis and Irn Bru, everyone loved the Tunnocks too (our sponsors). We also shared dances, we joined in with the traditional Faroese dancing and because we’re Scottish we hosted a whole camp ceilidh.
I can’t thank the unit leaders enough for all the training camps beforehand and making the Faroes so special for us.
Before going I listened to other people saying that these camps are life changing and I didn’t know what they meant, until now. I have made so many friends across the globe with some awesome friends across Scotland.
Since being chosen at the end of last year to coming home I feel like my confidence has grown and that the Faroes will stay with me forever.
I’d like to thank all the people that supported me and helped me prepare to go, my leaders at the 82nd and finally the unit leaders who gave up their time for us.
My advice if you’re thinking about going abroad with scouts, you definitely should!
Cerys Balchin from the 82nd Craigalmond Explorers
