Saturday, June 11, 2011

Lofoten Islands - Svolvær

Friday is what we like to call a "travel day." Starting the morning in Stockholm, we bussed to the airport, flew to Oslo, then to Evenes Airport. Missing the last bus to Svolvær, we headed east to Narvik, where we wandered around the city to multiple hotels before finally finding one that was both open and staffed. Oh, and staffed it was. Words can't even begin to describe how much of a character the old man was.

After a good night's sleep under the midnight sun, we headed downstairs for a traditional Norwegian breakfast, complete with smoked salmon and herring, pickled herring, eggs and meatballs. Next it was back to the bus, heading southwest to Svolvær. For the entire 4 hour bus ride, it was nothing but beautiful seascapes and mountains jutting straight out of the water. We arrived in Svolvær at 1:40 and rushed to the tourist office before they closed at 2. From there, we rushed to three different sporting goods stores for fuel, maps, and a replacement waterproof shell, which Chris accidentally left in Narvik. But we won't talk about that anymore.

With gear in hand, we started the hot (yes, that's right, hot) walk to the campsite. While we are in the Arctic Circle and there is snow on most of the peaks around us, it was nearly 80 F today! We are pretty sure this is unusual, but who knows?

Within seconds, the tent was set up and the stove had water boiling for a quick lunch of pad Thai (yeah, we eat well while camping). We spent some time planning the rest of our days in Lofoten, then headed out for a dinner hike. A short ascending trail led us to the perfect spot to set down our packs and make lasagna for dinner. Our view was spectacular (see blog pic).

Tomorrow we head to Ramberg to check out the white sandy beaches and dip our toes in the Arctic Ocean.

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