Oficially in the North!

Monday afternoon, after a lovely weekend in Switzerland, my human picked us up at the parking lot at Trondheim airport and was rather surprised to find that our new friend, Miss Chili, has grown a couple of little green babies!

Seems like her green thumb works best when it is far away from a plant!

A short hike was planned for the following morning, going up a small hill called Oftenasen. On the way, a sculptor/artist has placed a number of carved animal and troll statues along the path, some prettier than others, to put it nicely. But they provided entertainment and distracted from the ongoing drizzle.

Possibly Norway´s ugliest football fan

Not surprising that these guys are having a good time here with this weather

Freaks, if ever i´ve seen any

At the top, one can find the largest reclining chair in the world; a 4,75m high and 2,5t heavy wooden monstrosity.

On the way to Mosjoen, our target for the evening, we crossed a large wooden gate telling us we were now officially in the North. Good to know!

We were now driving the fabled Fv17, or Helgelandskysten, as it is actually called. It is one of the "must do" tourist routes in the country, stretching from Holm to Godoystraumen for 433km.

In the town of Mosjoen

A nice spot for the night, next to a drinking water reservoir

There are a six ferry crossings along the way. They are always a nice opportunity to look at the landscape and enjoy a "free" cruise, weather permitting.

Quite a few legs are indeed free in Norway, especially some smaller routes, mainly used by locals, but also a few longer and more popular ones.

Waiting for the ferry

One of the hot spots on this route is the Saltstraumen. 

This tidal current is the strongest in the world! In six hours, 400 million m³ rush through this narrow gap with a speed of up to 40km/h!

You can watch the spectacle from the bridge high up, or go down to the edge of the river and experience the incredible power of the water close up. Eddies of up to 10m in diameter form and swirl down the current - quite a display.

The largest city in the North, Bodo, European Capital of Culture in 2024, is only down the road.
It is known for it´s midnight sun (haha) and it´s strong winds (check).

It looks like half the ship is misisng

Hot and Salty, a good name for a sauna by the sea

We didn´t really stick around for very long but took a 5h ferry to the island of Vaeroy. 

This island was our first stop in the Lofoten Islands and looks absolutely spectacular on pictures.

There is one hike that takes you up and around most of the island, another one of those "best in Norway/world" experiences.

After arriving on the island at 11pm in thick fog and a quiet night's sleep right at the harbor, we were hoping for better weather when we opened our eyes.

The forecast hadn´t been good, but what we saw out there was a lot worse than not good.

After waiting for the rain to stop and finally conceding that it wouldn´t, my human set out around 11am anyways, since that was what we were here for.

The hike took her down the road a few kilometers before turning into the mountains as a muddy, slippery trail. 

This is what it could look like...

And this is what it DID look like

Any idea what these are?

Reaching the highest point at a narrow saddle, she had to take good care not to get blown off the mountain, such was the howling wind.

Getting down the other side took some great care and time. Suddenly the fog cleared somewhat, and a beach opened up down below, finally something to see.

It would be pretty much all there was to see.

After 25km and 800 height meters, hours spent in the cold and wet with a constant wind, concentration high so as not to slip in the thick mud, skipping over rocks, there was not much to show for all the effort, besides a few bruises.

The only saving grace after this day was a nice, hot shower - at the price of 9€! To hell with it!

If there was one thing to learn from today's excursion, it was that influencers must be very patient people. Trying to take good photos from a place like this, that probably has 10 good days a year, is a tiring task. 

With no weather improvement in sight, we took the ferry that same night to skip over to Moskenesoy, the next island - what else could we do?

First, we went to Å. Yes, that is the whole name of the town, one letter. That´s all they need.

And here we learned what those wooden things are, I asked you about earlier. 
They are drying racks for stockfish.
Every year, in May and June, millions of skrei, mature, migrating cod, are caught in the waters around the Lofoten islands and the products that come of it get shipped around the world.

In its dried and salted form, the fish gets sold mainly to Southern European countries, the heads go to Africa, mainly Nigeria after drying, the milt is frozen and sent to key markets in Asia, the livers are processed in special cod liver oil factories.

The tongues stay in the country and are considered a delicacy!

Very typical small town mail box system

Check out the roof!

Cod heads hung up to dry

Near the town of Reine, one can hike up to Reinebringen, one of the top viewpoints in the islands.

The way up is easy to navigate, just follow the 1978 man-made steps up to the top of the hill, gaining close to 500 height meters along the way.

The weather gods were with us today, thank you very much, and the view from the top is truly spectacular, definitely worth every single stair!