The Lure of Lofoten Islands
Scandinavia was a destination I had always wanted to visit and when I actually got down to planning a trip there, my research led me to believe that Norway was a spectacular destination to go to. While researching Norway I realised that everything there was beautiful but a small archipelago beyond the Arctic Circle caught my eye and I decided that I absolutely must go there.
After days of exploring the main cities of Oslo and Bergen, gorgeous fjords and waterfalls and doing some unbeatable treks, I made my way to the Oslo airport to catch a flight to Bodø in the north, wondering how anything I see or do could rival all that I had already experienced.
Everything was automatic at the airport and I barely encountered another person while checking myself and my backpack in. If it was going to be so deserted at the capital’s airport would I meet another human being in faraway Viking islands?
The flight took off on time and even though it was night, I could not sleep because we flew over the sea along the amazing Norwegian coast dented with several fjords and variegated mountains whose black summits were sprinkled with white snow and ice. It was around 11:30 pm when I landed in Bodø and I decided to walk to the port to catch my boat to Lofoten Islands scheduled to leave a couple of hours later. As I approached the sea, the sun dipped delicately to touch the surface of the water and at midnight, rose back up and started making its way up towards the sky.
The subdued lights painted the sky pink and blue which reflected in the water like an impressionist painting. I was thrilled to witness the midnight sun!
Walking along the sea, I reached my ferry to Moskenesøya, one of the four main islands of Lofoten and embarked on the short journey. The boat was fairly empty and once again I thought I might be the only one on this remote archipelago. Once again I could not sleep despite the comfort because the views were just too irresistible. A few hours later, I arrived in Moskenes and got down at the port and looked for my host. There was no one to be seen, and at 4 am I was standing at the port thinking about what to do, when a couple and their dog came to catch the next ferry to the mainland and offered to call my host. I spoke to them for a few moments when Martin drove down and picked me up. We drove to his house nearby and I went to sleep till around 11 am.
Exploring the island
He lent me his bicycle which I rode around Moskenes. I visited the fishing village of Tind with its pretty fishing cabins called rorbuer. Cod fish were hanging from a wooden framework to dry, a practice harking back to the days of the Vikings more than a millennium ago.
I rode the bike on the main road stopping at lovely sights like little fjords between green hills and reached Reine, rated consistently as Norway’s most beautiful village several times in a row. A viewpoint opens onto a calm sea framed by little red cabins to the right and dark mountains all around with one tall peak dominating the landscape. Reine certainly lives up to its reputation.
Here, I looked for a tourist office but stumbled upon ReineAdventure, an adventure sports centre run by Camilla, a friendly Swedish girl who gave me all the information I wanted about hiking, kayaking, cycling and boat excursions. She was curious to know what I, an Indian was doing there all alone with a bike, so I told her I was staying with someone and he had lent it to me. She asked me who it was and when I said Martin’s name it all made sense to her. It turned out, they were friends.
Since I was from India, she called her friend Ann-Elin who also worked there, to speak to me because she was travelling with her boyfriend to India.
We ended up having a friendly chat together but they were not keen on letting me go. Unfortunately, I had to leave because Tom, a traveller from England I had met elsewhere in the country was arriving at the port at 1 pm and I was to pick him up. I said bye to my new friends and promised to come back.
Tom and I went to the village of Å to leave his things at his hostel and explored this quaint hamlet with its red cabins. We saw huge fish and walked around near the fish museum.
We met a couple of French girls who were camping — Norway allows wild camping anywhere unlike France — and they were also fascinated by the place.
We continued visiting the quiet and serene environs and wandered outside the village. After some time, I decided to ride back to Martin’s where we had some home-made beer. Martin is from Slovakia and works as a fisherman in Lofoten and told me about his dreams of owning a house here.
Islands, beaches and socialising
The next morning, I rode back to Reine where I met Camilla, Ann-Elin and her Costa Rican boyfriend Aldo for tea. They told me that they had spoken to Martin and had planned a dinner party for me at Camilla’s place. We were all very happy with this proposition and looked forward to meeting.
I was joined shortly by Tom with whom I took a boat to Vinstad in order to hike for 45 minutes to a white sand beach called Bunesstranda. It started raining as we walked across a desolate meadow but that didn’t dampen our spirits. We finally reached a ridge beyond which lay a stretch of white sand and patches of black sand with a big whale bone lying on the ground. A sheer black mountain played hide and seek behind misty clouds. We sat and contemplated this scene for a while, had our sandwich lunch and made our way back. As we approached the jetty the rain stopped and as our boat returned to Reine, the sun came out and dried everything.
Since the weather was now glorious, I absolutely wanted to climb Reinebringen because the view from the top was supposed to be great.
Tom agreed to join me since the path was not going to be slippery. I had developed a knee pain since my previous treks so even though the peak was barely 450 metres high, the steep inclination took a toll on me. On the way we met Elizabeth from the USA and Simon, her Norwegian friend. We decided to hike up together. After a struggle we made it to the summit which was but a narrow ridge with a sheer drop on either ride.
The view did not disappoint — in fact, it was so beautiful, it felt unreal. It was like witnessing a magical land beneath our feet!
At the top, we met the French girls from Å and pretty much everyone we had all individually crossed paths with in Lofoten! It was time to go back down for I had a dinner to attend.
After a knee-breaking descent I said goodbye to Tom who got a ride back to his hostel in Å. I appreciated the help from my new friends; trekking always creates great bonds. Simon and Elizabeth decided to drive me to Camilla’s. Like me, they were leaving to Narvik on the mainland the next morning, but unlike me, they had a car and were going to drive through the whole archipelago and offered to take me along. I happily agreed!
At Camilla’s place Simon asked if they knew a place for them to camp nearby and instead, they too got invited to the dinner and Martin invited them to sleep at his house! There was an Indian menu that Martin had prepared.
He had remembered me telling him earlier that Norway was so expensive that I could only afford to buy bread and eat it with cheese or salmon so he cooked a delicious feast! It was a wonderful night of merrymaking.
The next day, Simon, Elizabeth and I spent around ten memorable hours driving through the other islands of Lofoten through dramatic mountains, fantastic viewpoints and pure, virgin beaches like Ramberg and Haukland, which give you the impression that you’re on a tropical island, and reached Narvik at night.
After expecting to be all alone near the North Pole, I ended up making a whole lot of friends and having the most enjoyable time in the Lofoten archipelago not just thanks to its astounding natural beauty but also because of the enhanced social experience of making so many friends in a remote corner of the world.
Getting there and getting around
Norwegian has affordable flights from Oslo to Bodø and there are ferries from there to Moskenes. It is also possible to travel to Narvik by road or rail and drive to the Lofoten archipelago.
In the islands, although there are buses, it is best to rent a car in order to be able to see and do as much as possible.
Norway is not a part of the European Union but is included in the Schengen zone. Its currency is the Norwegian Krone and it is a very expensive country to visit.
Hi, I am Prajwal Madhav. I hope you enjoy my posts.
