Our Trip to Lofoten

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    OUR TRIP TO LOFOTENBy CLARA and DANIELMarch 2016

    Hamnoy, Moskenesøya Island

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    On a whim one rainy day in the midst of a rainy Irish winter, we applied for a 2-week housesit in Oslo. Knowing we will be leav-ing Europe indefinitely in June, we thought we should try and see more of Europe while still here. And having booked Oslo, wethought we should see more of Norway whilst there. With 2 weeks available, and a long-standing desire from Daniel to visitsome mountainous islands off Norway’s North West coast, that is how we came to be walking the Lofoten peninsula in earlyMarch.

    INTRODUCTION

    Leknes area, Vestvågøya Island   2

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    The Lofoten peninsula is a series of islands, now connected by bridges andtunnels that stretches into the Norwegian Sea. They lie between the 68th and69th parallel, so are well above the arctic circle. However, thanks to the gulfstream, they have one of the highest temperature anomalies relative to theirlatitude, and we read that the climate remains relatively hospitable even in

    winter. Encouraged by this, we planned to walk and camp our way aroundthe peninsula during our two week trip there. This was partly driven bybudget, given Norway’s expensive reputation, and partly by the need to getsome walking & camping practice in ahead of our Iceland trip the followingmonth. It had been 2.5 years since we had done any backpacking and camp-ing, and we had well and truly forgotten the despair of the midnight naturecall and the backache of a night in the tent.

    We flew to Oslo, and from there on up to Bodo, before transferring to thesmall plane that took us to the town of Leknes, in Lofoten. On the flight toBodo we had a window seat with a superb view over ridge after ridge ofsnowy peaks running right to the coast. It was breathtakingly beautiful andgave a taste of what was to come. We had a stopover in Bodo where wecould size up the other people waiting for the flight to Leknes. Most looked like photographers, and one group in particular stood out - 10 In-donesians with thousands of dollars of camera gear hanging around their necks, brand new snow boots, jackets, pants etc. We felt like 3rdworld citizens in comparison, dressed as we were in our 4 year old hiking jackets and boots. There were also a few local women flying, andas they waited for the flight to be called, they knit one purled one their way through various jumpers and hats. We left behind a coastline ofhigh snowy peaks and 20 minutes later flew in over the Lofoten islands, to a miniature, but more dramatic version of the coast we had justleft.

     

    We didn’t know what to expect - would there be snow, would it be deep, would we be warm enough, would we find a place to camp? We hadno idea, partly as information is hard to find, and partly because conditions are so variable from one year to the next. We had trained for theprevious month or two in Ireland, gradually building up the kilometres we could comfortably walk, and slowly increasing the weight we werecarrying. We were not as fit as we wanted to be, but who ever is? We tested our gear in the Irish weather and were confident that at leastwhen walking, we would be fine. The big question mark for us was how would ourselves and our equipment perform in extreme cold or snow.We had super warm sleeping bags, but we hadn’t tested them below 0 degrees, and although our gear seemed warm enough in Ireland,

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    Approaching Bodø airport (click to enlarge image)

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    would it stand up to a northerly wind in Lofoten? In packing, we struck a balance between bringing warm gear and having a total weight thatwe could carry for several hours a day. In the end, despite counting every gramme that went in the bag, Daniel had 23kg on his back whileClara had 17kg. We knew the bags might feel heavy, or we might be cold, but that is why we were there - to do what we really enjoy doing,being out in nature and challenging ourselves in a new environment.

     

    On landing, we were excited to see deep snow all around, and although the roadsand paths were cleared of the heaviest snow, the path from the airport into thecentre of Leknes was slippery, and slow-going. We weren’t going to get far in 2weeks at that pace! The first thing we did upon reaching town was to purchasecrampons; and these changed our lives in a way a 50 euro purchase rarely can.After some grocery shopping, we set off for the room we had booked in a B&B, afew kilometres outside the town. We had booked this room for the first and lastnights of our trip, so we could leave our computers / city clothes somewhere whilewe walked. We arrived at a picture perfect Norwegian house, with numerous out-side welcoming lights and a level of warmth and comfort inside that befits a coun-

    try with one of the highest GDP per capitas in the world. While showing usaround, Ingrid, our host, pointed us in the direction of the sauna, and after a turnthere, we were well refreshed from the travel and hauling of our heavy packs.

    The next morning was to be thestart of our big adventure; heading out into the snow to walk and camp our way around theislands. We had an initial plan for the first 2 days, touring a nearby peninsula, before pass-ing again through Leknes on our way further down the chain of islands. Our lovely host, In-grid, was horrified at our plans, concerned we would be cold and insisting we come back

    and stay with her if we needed to, for free. We rose the next morning to a snowstorm, but un-deterred, we loaded up with our packs and headed out, making our way through the ankledeep fresh snow on the road. We were surprisingly comfortable walking, warm, dry and veryexcited to be out in such beautiful scenery. A few hours later, after we had turned inland toclimb a minor pass to the other side of the peninsula, the snowstorm had turned into a bliz-zard, and we could hardly see each other, let alone watch for oncoming traffic. It was exhila-rating to be out in that weather, well equipped, and comfortable, and the conditions didn’t

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    Clara showing off her crampons

    It’s cold out there! Clara’s frozen fingers un-der her mittens

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    concern us for walking. However, we reasoned that if we couldn’t see them, any driv-ers peering out through snowy windscreens also wouldn’t see us. We debated turn-ing back, but figuring we were close to the saddle, kept going, and minutes later be-gan the descent. We strode into the village on the other side of the peninsula, happyto have made it, but concerned about the rest of the day. We had reached our desti-

    nation for that day, but it was barely noon! We wanted to stop and enjoy the scenery- snowflakes were softly drifting down around us - but the minute we stopped walk-ing, we froze. An all-over cold, from shivering scalp to numb toes. Although the tem-perature was around 0 degrees, with the wind chill it felt more like -10. We wanderedfor a bit, searching a suitable place to pitch our tent and found a clump of trees inwhich we could pitch away from the road. We set up camp and lunched, and thor-

    oughly frozen from the inactivity, we climbed in. We lay

    frozen stiff in our sleeping bags, wearing 5 or 6 layers,and only after a few hours were warmed sufficiently tohead out again. We explored the coast until sunset, be-fore returning to base and the eventual warmth of ourtent. The idea of collecting and melting snow to cook withwas almost too much, and we surely burned more calo-ries doing that than we received from the noodles we fi-nally ate. It was a long night, broken by regularly dislodg-ing fresh snow from the tent roof, and the morning

    seemed even colder. 

    We woke early, but decided there was no point gettingstarted yet, and facing the same dilemma as the previ-ous day. We had come all this way and didn’t want tospend our afternoons hibernating in a canvas cell. Whilelying there that morning we discussed a Plan B. We love

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    Across from our “campsite” in Sennevik, looking towards Steine

    A fellow traveller warmly dressed for the journey

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    seeing a place at walking pace, and were enjoying the exercise andexertion of carrying our bags. But our legs can only carry us and thebags for so many hours a day, and so we had an issue in how tospend the rest of the time. We decided to return to the comfort of In-grid's house that evening, and look at booking more accommoda-

    tion around the peninsula for the remainder of the 2 weeks. We fig-ured that if we had a warm base to return to in the evenings, wecould walk during the day, and still enjoy the beauty of the place.We completed our loop of the peninsula to arrive back at Ingrid’s,who confessed that she had almost come to get us the previous eve-ning in the storm, but didn’t know where to start looking. We spent awonderful evening there with her, warm and comfortable, and chat-ting for hours. That evening she offered us the use of her house forthe entire two weeks,

     

    for nothing. She was leaving the following

    morning for 10 days and claimed we would be doing her a favour ifwe stayed whenever we liked, and kept an eye on the place, andthe handful of other B&B guests arriving in her absence. An amaz-ing lady, incredibly kind, and so at ease with everything.

    Next morning we booked a hostel in the active fishing village of Ballstad in a neighbouring peninsula and set out for there. We walked sev-eral kilometres on a minor road, and eventually came onto the main road. It was snowing, cars were racing past, and we were consideringfinding a spot to hitchhike from, when a car pulled up and offered us a lift. We gratefully accepted! This was not the only time we were of-fered a lift while walking, and when we did actually stick our thumbs out, we generally got a lift within 10 or 15 minutes. Most of the time wewere hitching less than 10kms, and were just hitching as the road was too busy for safe walking, but on 1 occasion we got a ride for nearly

    30km. Mostly it was local residents who picked us up, but a few times we got lifts from tourists - Norwegian and foreign. We didn’t see any-one else hitching, and when we did hire a car later in the trip, we were itching to offer a ride to someone, but there was no-one!

    We spent 2 nights in Ballstad, in a picturesque wooden fishing cabin, along the water. Upon checking in, we were told that just that morning100 refugees had checked out, having been housed there for several weeks. Really, we thought?! Here, above the arctic circle, almost atend of the road, in a tiny village of less than 1000 people? It seems they are sent anywhere that can house them. And that reminded us of thecouple of families we had seen at Bodo airport who looked out of place, not warmly dressed, and we wondered whether they may have been

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    Clara walking confidently on the icy road

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    refugees. Indeed every time we were at an airport here we saw what we took to be refu-gees, in small family groups or lone males, looking somewhat uncertain and carrying nobaggage. We felt for them, these individuals, at the mercy of some logistics schedule man-aged by a distant authority, incredibly far from wherever they began their journeys. A fewfaces from the million that have been the news headlines in Europe for the past year.

    It was in Ballstad that we first saw the fish hanging out to dry. The Lofoten area is know forits fishing and drying of Arctic cod. Fishing is big business on the islands, and cod is themost valuable catch. They fish the cod in winter, after the adults have made their way800ks south from the Barents Sea to spawn in the Norwegian Sea. Once fished, they aregutted and hung out to dry … until mid June! Every knoll and hill-top was either laden withracks of drying fish, or being prepared to receive fish as they were caught. The result is aspeciality called stockfish, which is only produced in any great quantity in Northern Nor-way. Many other countries have tried, and failed, as a unique combination of temperature -not too warm that flies are a problem, but not too cold that the fish freezes - wind and salin-

    ity is needed to preserve the food in this way. The result is an incredibly nutri-tious food, with 1kg of stockfish having the equivalent nutritional value of 5kgs offresh fish. We can report that it is also delicious! Ingrid’s husband cooked it forus one evening and the texture and taste were unlike any other fish we hadeaten. Not only is it fished commercially, but also by individuals, and a smallrack of fish can often be seeing hanging in the porch of houses, even in the cen-tre of town. Not sure how the neighbours feel when they are downwind of it! Oneman who gave us a lift one day told us that he catches 500 to 600kg of fishevery year, some of which is dried, some frozen, some cooked fresh, some

    given away. No big deal, just a regular guy catching 600kg of fish. Ingrid’s tripwhile we were there was to visit her daughters who live on mainland Norway,and before her trip she went to the harbour and bought 20kg of fresh cod. Shehad the lot gutted and boned, and paid 40 euro total - 2 euro a kg! She thenfroze this and packed it in her bags for the trip. To those of you reading from Ire-land, sorry, we had no room in our rucksacks!

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    After our Ballstad trip, we headed further down the peninsula, visitingthe town of Ramberg where we had booked a B&B. It is a mere 30ksoutside Leknes, but is on the outer shore of the islands facing the At-lantic, as opposed to the inner shore facing Norway. With its openviews, more dramatic peaks and beautiful beaches, we savoured the

    long walk we had to reach it. The rigours of our first few days in Lofo-ten caught up with us in Ramberg and we were both sick, a nastycold, our first in almost 3 years. We retreated gratefully to Ingrid’shouse, feeling charmed to have such a lovely base to rest in. After afew quieter days there, recovering, and doing shorter day walks, wehired a car and toured north to the village of Henningsvaer and southto the end of the road, at the village of Å. Henningsvaer is a prettytown, with one of the busiest fishing fleets in the region, and the addedbonus of 2 nice cafes. Along the way we visited some of the beaches

    of Lofoten - Utakleiv, Hauksland and Vik - which lie about 10kms fromLeknes. They are justifiably famous, and regularly feature on lists ofEurope’s best beaches (think long stretches of pure white sand, withcrystal clear water and backed by steep rocky peaks. And think lesssun loungers, more coat and hat!). Further south, the neighbouringtowns of Reine and Hamnøy are the star attractions in the peninsula -if you google Lofoten, almost all of the pictures that appear are from

    here. It is the quintessential Lofoten scenery of high mountains cut byfjords, with tiny villages of colourful fishermen's cabins built on stiltsover the water. While touring here we encountered another quintes-sential Lofoten sight: minivans full of photographers desperate to getthat famous google shot. They are on a fixed tour typically for 2 or 3days, visiting well-known spots at fixed times of day to maximise lightconditions, disgorging their load of photographers, who line up with

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    View from Fredvang, across from Ramberg

    View from Ramberg towards Fredvang

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    cameras and tripods (sometimes one in each hand) andsnap the same image. Half an hour later they are off to thenext beauty spot on their whirlwind tour. They dashedabout, with an all consuming desire to have THAT shot ofLofoten, and seemed oblivious to all the other beauty all

    around. Being in the midst of that was jarring after the slowpace of our first week there. For us, the car is a great wayto quickly see a lot of the landscape, and a great shelterfrom the elements, but we prefer the slow and satisfyingappreciation of the scenery that comes with walking. So af-ter 3 days of touring, we were content to hand the carback.

    Incidentally, the car was a hybrid, one of many hybrid orfull electric cars we saw in Norway. In fact, 25% of new car

    sales are electric, thanks in part to huge subsidies from thegovernment to reduce their carbon emissions (their elec-tric cars are almost carbon free given 99% of Norway’selectricity come from hydro power). These subsidies in-clude no VAT, no registration tax, free public parking, freecharging, free tolls on bridges and tunnels, free ferries and in some places permission to use the bus lanes! With all these incentives it wouldseem remiss not to buy an electric car! When we reached Oslo, i t was not unusual to see 3 Teslas in a row charging on the street. In Lofoten,despite the snow, the roads were a pleasure to drive on, and thanks to a huge fleet of graders, were regularly cleared of snow. The cars allhave studded tyres which provide good grip, even on ice, allowing those brave enough to drive as if on dry roads. We first learned this on

    one of the rides we hitched, where our driver, in response to a question about the area, steered with his elbows as he unfolded a map andpointed to various parts of it, all the while cruising at 80km/hr on an icy road. On another ride, Singaporean tourists picked us up, and nerv-ously steered at around 30km/hr. When it came to our turn, with the experienced-winter-driver-Daniel still in licence limbo-land, Clara was driv-ing, and reassured by the grip, ventured forth at around 70km/hr, hands in the 10 to 2 position!

    The other fascination for the Lofoten winter tourists is the Northern Lights, with a view (or a photo!) of these being the ultimate goal of many.Most check constantly the apps on their phones that forecast solar and geomagnetic activity, as well as cloud cover, to predict the hour by

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    Reine after a snow fall

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    hour likelihood of seeing the aurora borealis. In a B&B one night, some excited German tourists told us that tonight was the night, and weduly headed to the porch to look up. There was “something” visible, a sort of series of white flashes, but nothing like the aurora borealis aswe know it from pictures. However …. having left Daniel’s camera outside for a few hours to photograph it, it turns out that the camera sees itdifferently to the naked eye, with green streaks clearly visible. Locals told us afterwards that the full array of colours is visible to the eye whenthe activity is strong, and is mesmerising to watch, even after a lifetime under it. Maybe another trip, another time ...

    We were expecting Norway to be frightfully expensive, but were pleasantly surprised. While fresh fruit and vegetables are expensive - maybedouble what we pay for them in Ireland and France - non perishables were similar or just a fraction more expensive. There are cheap optionsfor most products, and we chose one such block of hard cheese on our first grocery trip. The packaging was brown and when we openedit,

     

    the cheese was brown. Brown like butterscotch. And somewhat rubbery. Very bizarre, and very hard to believe i t was not solid caramel wewere having on our wholewheat crackers. Even with our aversion to throwing food away, wenever reached the end of that block! Alcohol and meat are notoriously expensive, as is fast food,but we weren’t in the market for these (on this trip anyway!). Early in the trip Daniel caught con-junctivitis, necessitating a trip to the doctor’s. The bill? A mere 20 euro. What was even more as-tonishing than the price was the process. Having taken a ticket at the dispensing machine in the

    waiting room, and waiting an hour, the first question he was asked when his turn came was …the month of his birth. Thrown, he con-fessed to March - a big no-no. He wasdispatched to another practice (andanother hour long wait), where thedoctor he did see explained that resi-dents are allocated to a practice ac-cording to month of birth. Tourists aresupposed to be seen wherever they

    turn up, but clearly the first lady didn’t like the look of his weeping eyes! The nextsurprise was that the doctor refused payment, telling him instead to pay at an un-supervised machine in the lobby on the way out. There was more evidence of anhonest society everywhere we looked, from unlocked bikes left outside, garagedoors wide open, honesty systems to pay for coffee in garages etc. What a coolway to live! Thanks to conjunctivitis Daniel had to wear glasses -

    Clara’s glasses(!) because the boy left his behind!

    Who said budget travellers can’t afforda luxurious lunch (a tin of sprats)!

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    And what a cool place, in every sense of the word. The incredibly beautiful scenery, and friendliness of the people were highlights, and al-though visiting in winter limited us to exploring by road, we saw enough to inspire us to return. A summer trip maybe, with the option to hikethe peaks for a view from above. We stayed in Ingrid's for our last few nights, and took pleasure in preparing a dinner to welcome her backfrom her travels. What a difference she made to our trip! Even more appreciated than having a lovely house to call home, was her kindnessand generosity. Something that will stay with us for a long time.

     

    Following Lofoten we spent 2 weeks housesitting in Oslo, and will now have a 2-week stint in Ireland. After that we fly to Iceland in mid-Aprilwith Canada following Iceland. So see all you Canadians in June!

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    View over Leknes and its “backyard”

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    TIPS FOR A TRIP THERE2

    Ballstad, Vestvågøy Island

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    Some practical information on visiting Lofoten ...

    How to get there:

    The locals, and savvy visitors, fly into Evenes on the north of the pen-insula, from where it is a 4-hour drive to Leknes. A good option if you

    will be renting a car. Otherwise, there are (slightly more expensive)flights into Leknes, via Bodo. The main airlines are Widerøe, SASand Norwegian air shuttle. Ferries from the mainland are an optiontoo - even in winter - and a car ferry runs from Bodo.

    Geography:

    Lofoten is a series of islands connected by bridges or tunnels. Themost scenic section stretches from the capital of Lofoten, Svolvaer inthe north to the town of Å in the south. This stretch encompasses the

    islands of Austvågøya (where Svolvaer is), Gimsøy, Vestvågøy(where Leknes is), Flakstadøya (where Ramberg is) and Moske-nesøya (where Hamnøy, Reine and Å are). There is one major roadthat traverses these islands - the E10. The distances are short: Svol-vaer to Leknes is around 70km, and Leknes to the end of the road atÅ is a further 65km.

    Highlights:

    The southernmost part of the peninsula is the most scenic, from

    Ramberg to Å. Reine is the most famous village here, followed by itsneighbour, Hamnøy. The town of Ramberg is also lovely; although itlacks the traditional fishing huts on stilts, it has a beautiful beachand gorgeous views of the mountains.

    Some great beaches are Ramberg, Flakstad (just a few kms fromRamberg) and in the Leknes region: Utakleiv, Vik and Haukland.

    Beautiful white sandy beaches, with a view to the dramatic peaks fur-ther up or down the coast.

    North of Leknes, the town of Henningsvaer is pretty, and as an ac-tive fishing village is a good place to watch the trawlers returningwith their catch, and the cod hanging up to dry.

    Ballstad, although not particularly pretty, is another working fishingvillage with fish a-plenty!

     

    Shopping:

    The larger towns of Svolvaer or Leknes are the places to stock up ongroceries. We weren’t in Svolvaer, so can only speak for Leknes. Inthe centre of town there are several supermarkets, in the followingascending order of price: REMA 1000, Bunnpris and Coop. We

    found REMA considerably cheaper for many of the same productsto be found in the other two. Coop is a bigger shop, so more suit-able if you need a large variety. By law, all large supermarkets areclosed on Sunday, but the Bunnpris opens a small portion of theshop, selling essentials.

     

    There is a good Bunnpris in Ramberg too, with prices fairly similar tothose in Leknes.

    Reine has a Coop, but for our small sample of groceries it was a

    whopping 50% more expensive than the prices in Leknes. Emergen-cies only!

    Another decent small chain is Joker, which aswell as groceries, sup-plies table and chairs and a large thermos of coffee, for around 1euro (the one in Ballstad has free refills for any of you caffeine ad-dicts out there).

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    Coffee: 

    We struggled to find nice cafes that were open when we wanted cof-fee. Leknes has what looks like a lovely cafe, called Huset, but itwas undergoing refurbishment while we were there. We heard fromother tourists about a nice cafe in Reine, but we couldn’t find it whenwe visited. The Statoil garages have machines dispensing ok coffee,and the Joker supermarkets are handy if you are stuck. But don’tcount on finding coffee before 8 or 9am in the morning; even the Sta-toil doesn’t open until 10am (on a Sunday).

     

    Further north there arelovely cafes in Henningsvaer, a town that looks very well set up fortourists generally, with nice looking restaurants, galleries etc.

    Restaurants:

    With the high cost of dining out, we didn’t sample the restaurants.

    And for this reason most accommodation options seem to be self-catering. Several locals, as well as Norwegian tourists, told us thatthe dining out in Lofoten is generally disappointing, with most restau-rants offering pizzas, burgers and kebabs. Incredibly, fish is hard tofind, and (in their view) poorly prepared. The one exception is John-sen’s Fiskerestaurant in Leknes.

    Language:

    Everyone we met spoke English well, so no problems on that front.

    (The only exceptions were Daniel’s doctor and the pharmacist whofilled his prescription - the pharmacist wanted to explain that heshould put cream on his lower eyelid, but lacking the vocabulary, in-structed him to put it on the edge :-)

     

    Walking in Lofoten:

    Lofoten is really a wonderful place to walk, and we can’t recommendit highly enough. The scenery is stunningly beautiful, and with theshort distances from one bay to the next, you are richly rewardedwith new views for every few kilometres walked. Indeed, the scenery

    is so stunning, and the distances so short, that is hard to appreciateit fully if you are whizzing around at 80km/hr. Outside the E10 (and acouple of other routes listed below), the roads are quiet, and pleas-ant to walk on. Drivers on these roads are courteous and may evenoffer you a lift as you walk. As a glance at the map will reveal, thereare numerous peninsulas off the main road (the E10), with localroads giving access to these areas. The roads follow the coast and

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    Daniel meticulously followed the instructions!

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    the views here are beautiful - ideal places for walking. Getting tothese peninsulas will mean short stretches on the E10, and we rec-ommend hitching these stretches, as it is both unsafe and unpleas-ant to walk on. Hitching should be no problem, and as well as sav-ing you from walking on busy roads, is a great way to meet the lo-

    cals. We hitched around 10 rides, and never had to wait long. Theroads to avoid are: the E10, the 815 between Leknes and Stamsund,and the 818 from Gravdal to Ballstad. Note that Sunday morningsare very quiet, so if you start early, you could even walk on theseroads.

    Wild camping was easier than we thought. Once you are not on theE10, or in a town, finding a quiet place to pitch your tent should beno problem. This is particularly true the further off the E10 you wan-der. The locals on Lofoten seem very welcoming of tourists, and as

    nature lovers themselves, enjoy seeing others walking, camping andappreciating the magnificent scenery. We didn’t need to ask tocamp on anyone’s land, but imagine they would be more likely tosay yes than in many other countries!

    Our experience here was in winter, and walking in summer shouldbe easier. The numerous hiking trails will be accessible then, andwith even more visitors, there will be more potential lifts.

     

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    LOFOTEN IN BLACK & WHITE3

    Haug area looking towards Flakstadøya Island

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    Mortsund (seen from Ballstad), Vestvågøya Island

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    Vik beach, Vestvågøya Island

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    Vareid and Vikten area taken from Ramberg, Flakstadøya Island

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    Rolvsfjord, Vestvågøya Island

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    Leknes area, Vestvågøya Island

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    Gravdal area, Vestvågøya Island

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    Leknes area, Vestvågøya Island

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    Haug area, Vestvågøya Island

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    Ballstad, Vestvågøya Island

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    Looking towards mainland Norway (taken from Ballstad)

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    Flakstad beach, Flakstadøya Island

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    Looking towards Vikten area from Fredvang, Moskenesøya Island

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    Fredvang area, Moskenesøya Island

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    Looking towards Ramberg from Fredvang, Moskenesøya Island

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    Olstind mountain, Reine, Moskenesøya Island

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    Vikten area taken from Ramberg, Flakstadøya Island

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    Dan Out And About