The Lofoten Islands – Norway

29th May 2019 – 3rd June 2019

We stayed one more day at the amazing midnight sun spot in Bleik and enjoyed a lovely walk along the beach, spotted various birds including afew white tailed eagles, but failed to spot any puffins that lived on a large rock just out in the sea. On our way back we walked through the small village and we were dumbfounded to find a Liverpool football fan who had spelt Liverpool in his lawn, which we only noticed as the lawn was on a large slope. But they did have signs saying Liverpool fan parking only ! I think if they were an Arsenal fan, David would have knocked on their door. That evening, the sky was cloudy and so midnight sun. It is so strange not having any darkness, we look at the clock and see the time getting later but when you look outside it is like lunchtime. We have to shut all the blinds in the van to try and create darkness and our body clocks are confused. Mind you, it must be strange in the winter not to see daylight. I am not sure I would be able to cope with that. Maybe this is why you can’t seem to find any alcohol to buy and lots of knitting wool for sale. It was with a heavy heart we left Bleik. The most amazing place to see the midnight sun and a memory that will last a lifetime. We are now heading South into Vestvagoy, Flakstadoy, and Moskenesoy which make up the Lofoten Islands. The landscape is truly majestic and breathtaking, the region is a mecca for amazing walks, canoeing, diving, climbing, surfing and skiing. We followed the E10 through the island as this is the only main road and to be honest, in some parts only wide enough to fit us through. Luckily there are plenty of passing places and everyone is very considerate. All through the landscape we saw racks and racks of fish drying in the open. The Lofoten Fishery remains an important seasonal fishery that attracts fishermen from Finnmark in the north to Mandal in the south and is a fascinating sight. At this time, fish factories all along the Lofoten are working at full stretch and huge quantities of fish are hung up on the drying racks. In June the dried fish is taken down, graded into eighteen different qualities and exported around the world, with Italy being the biggest customer. The fishing villages scattered all along the islands are a perfect landscape for a photographer. The traditional building material in Norway for most buildings is wood and it is coated/painted in a deep sienna red, which was easily obtained before the introduction of industrial paints and so the tradition continues. A lot of buildings also have a grass roof and at this time of year, plenty of yellow daisies scattered amongst the grass aswell. Most of these little villages are very small, one road in and one road out and fairly quiet as the season starts from mid June until the end of August. We meandered slowly along the E10 stopping for the night as some of the most picturesque of places. I know I keep going on about it but the landscape is just amazing, everything and more that we had imagined. As we were driving (well David of course !) I spotted a church spiral near Gravdal and asked David to stop. Luckily there was a lay-by which David could pull into. David decided to keep Chloe company in the van and just as I get out, a tourist coach pulls up and 50 plus Germans jump off and start heading for the church, what timing ! So, I followed the throng into the church and it was lovely to see inside. A beautiful wooden structure painted in pretty colours. There was I assume an interesting talk about the church, if only I could speak German and then the lady started to sing a traditional Norwegian song, it was beautiful. Now I was pleased the coach had turned up, as I am sure if it was only me, I would not have received such a rendition. The following day we stopped for lunch on the edge of a lovely sandy beach with a waterfall on our left ( I am not making this up !) and to our amazement people were surfing in the sea ! OMG, they must have been freezing and they were mostly young girls but they had wetsuits on that covered ever part of their bodies accept their faces. Admiration all round. David took Chloe for a walk and came back and said you never guess what, there’s a little cafe and it’s selling WAFFLES ! We are in the middle of nowhere and we have found WAFFLES ! Well it was like I had won £50,000 on the lottery. Off I go with my purse and inside this little hut was an elderly Norwegian and his wife with flasks of tea and a little hot plate to make waffles. Homemade raspberry and strawberry jam was on offer aswell. They were delicious and worth the £7 (for two). The most southerly point on the islands is A with a little o on the top, but I do not know how to type this ! The fishing village was gearing up for the season with all the small fishing boats ready to hire, one restaurant which was open and a small bakery. I said to David ‘oh lets go in’ I can’t remember the last time I went in a shop ! As I pushed the door it was on a pulley with a large stone weight behind it and a museum of a bakery. On display to buy was some small bread rolls, small loaves and cinnamon buns. Shall we get a couple of cinnamon buns I said, not at £5 each came the reply ! So we shared one. The sun was shining and there was some people outside including a young English family with three young children, which is the first English we have seen in Norway and Sweden and they had driven in their car here aswell. They had driven over 2,800km, what an amazing adventure for those children to be experiencing. David also met a young guy on a motorbike from Amsterdam who was on a tour for 5 weeks, travelling through Sweden and Norway. Travelling with him was his lovely little black Spaniel dog who had pride of place zipped in this own little bag on the front on the motorbike. Just brilliant. The next morning we took the 4 hour ferry crossing to take us to the mainland of Norway. The Lofoten Islands was all and more that we could ever have imagined, it will stay in my heart forever, it was the midnight sun that did it for me