Video report about the trip to Lofoten
This report is about the tour: Lofoten islands
In July 2017, we visited Lofoten for the first time and I personally will remember this trip for a long time. Firstly, the Lofoten Islands are simply beautiful, and secondly... (oh, that's me). And in the very first, we had an incredibly cool team. Just imagine - landscapes that make your legs give way and your comedian neighbors, who quickly turn this fact into a joke. Fortunately, you have the opportunity to take a sneak peek at our adventure - I traditionally filmed a vlog on this trip. Watch the video from warm Norway and subscribe to our channel.
It all started in a Norwegian town with the wonderful name Bodø. Although we are more accustomed to calling him Bodo. We flew there from Oslo, took a speedboat and rushed to Svolvær.
Along muddy paths we are moving towards a secret PLACE OF POWER, the true name of which should not be spoken out loud. And along the way we are trying to solve the main problem of tourists in Lofoten. we are trying to understand where the sea ends and the lake begins... Yes, you are right. The campaign has just begun, and we are already suffering from garbage. And it will only get worse.
Despite the abundance of snow and ice in the surrounding landscapes, the weather in Lofoten turned out to be unexpectedly hot. Finally, real summer began (the previous couple of weeks we were freezing in Iceland) and we urgently wanted to swim.
A very difficult day. Against the backdrop of unnatural (for the Arctic) heat, we climb up a completely stupid pipe to find out that you can’t swim in the long-awaited lake at the top (it’s always like this in Norway). The fighting spirit is broken, the spears are dull, we go to the monastery - a tiny hut on the edge of a seaside swamp.
Swamp sheep have grown flippers and virtual bells... And we are forced to slurp through the mud and ask the local population for water to drink. Yes, many in our place would have gotten drunk long ago. But we relax differently. Watch and remember - we wash the dishes in the most beautiful sunset north of the equator.
Mermaids and trout didn't stop us! We descend to the town of Leknes to realize the main dream of a tourist - to get to a grocery store in the middle of a hike. Although our backpacks are full of food, we still want something like this and we happily trample the path and asphalt just to make it to the store (before our bus crashes to the next island). Yes, in the evening we get through a tunnel to the island of Flakstadøya (Flakstadøya) and set up camp in the middle of someone’s unfinished dacha. I don’t know how to explain it, but it was one of the most romantic evenings on a hike in Lofoten.
The landscapes disappeared into fog. We walk and chat so as not to fall asleep while walking. But at the end we get a super prize - the picturesque village of Nusfjord with houses on stilts, dried fish and a retro store.
In contrast to the cloudy and heavy day yesterday (see the previous episode), today’s journey around the island of Flakstadøya seemed easy and extremely picturesque. There were no big changes in altitude, we walked along the sea, admired the new (for us) Lofoten Islands and even had lunch without hiding anywhere, but rather, turning out in the sun. In the evening we arrived in the town of Ramberg located on the northern coast of the island. Therefore, the weather here is somewhat different - a strong wind drove wisps of fog over the water. In Ramberg we went to the supermarket (yoghurt!!), settled into an official campsite (minute showers) and did some laundry. Taking advantage of the endless daylight, by 23:00 I climbed onto the observation deck on Mount Nubben and watched the sun below the horizon.
Interested in a seaside holiday? A deserted sandy beach surrounded by picturesque cliffs? I know such a place! This is Kvalvika beach on the island of Moskenesøy in Norway... Well, yes, in Norway. What's wrong with that? This is one of the Lofoten Islands located slightly beyond the Arctic Circle. A very popular holiday destination. But tourists here are unique - they climb more and more into the mountains, and rarely hang out on the beach.
That’s why it’s relatively deserted on the wonderful Kvalvika beach, where we ended up with backpacks and tents after crossing the mountain range. Along the way we climbed Mount Ryten to get some air. Hehehehe. Let's get some air. It turned out 100 percent)) But the adventures didn’t end there - we went to a nearby beach along an extreme trail. And then they completely fell away from the sea into the swamps. And this is instead of staying on the shore and swimming with the Norwegians))
Fast and wet day. The struggle against gravity and laziness continues on the island of Moskenesøy (Lofoten). We are desperately rushing to the boat to cross the next fjord. And so we clumsily climb over wet rocks, ignore Horseid Beach, resist the wild wind and make almost no breaks. But at the end of the day we get a well-deserved reward - a comfortable campsite with a hot shower and a shoe dryer.
After yesterday's hardship, half of the group stayed to relax at the campsite, and we went on a radial trip to Stokkvik Bay. In the end, we didn’t go down to the bay itself, but we had lunch on a stunningly beautiful pass, almost got involved in another sporting madness (running for a bus) and finally saw swamp rabbits in person.
Radial towards Hermannsdalstinden - the highest mountain on the island of Moskenesøy. Due to the difficult terrain and lack of time, we never reached the top, but we visited such magical valleys that we even began to worry about our comrades who missed it all - what if a toad strangles them?
The grand finale of the hike - 3 hours before the ferry we run to the express ascent to Reinebringen (the coolest panorama on the Lofoten Islands) and sing with a guitar (only classical, only hardcore).
Kirill Yasko, May 2018
Hiking schedule for Norway and Iceland