Journey to Lofoten Islands

Ice on Haukland beach in winter, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Winter dawn at Haukland Beach, Vestvagoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Jan 2010

Tuesday I’ll be heading 2,000 kilometres north to the Lofoten Islands.  While Wales is relatively close to Norway, it is always a fairly long journey to get to Lofoten.  I’ll leave Wales at 3:30am for the 3.5 hour drive to Gatwick airport.  I then catch a flight at 9:00am and after a long layover in Oslo, I’ll finally arrive in Bodø at 6:30pm.  In Bodø I’ll do a bit of shopping for food and stove fuel then sit around the ferry terminal until 1:30am when I take the ferry to Moskenes and finally arrive on the islands.  The ferry building is open 24 hours and heated.  I’ve spent many a night here and it’s a saving grace for a cheapo like me.  Normally the ferry takes around 3 hours, but this boat will also be stopping on the island of Røst, so I wont get to Moskenes until around 6:30am Wednesday.  Though this means that I should at least get a few hours of sleep so I wont be too wrecked after 27 hours of travel.

If the weather is good when I arrive I might walk to Reine and catch the ferry over to Vindstad and hike out to Bunes beach for a few days.  Or my other option could be to hike up Reinebringen and camp up there – one of my goals for this trip.  If the weather is crap, the most likely scenario, I’ll probably try and get to Stamsund to rent a car which will also be my home for the next weeks.

 

Lofoten islands winter landscape photo, Norway

Photo: Stormy winter landscape, near Kvalnes, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Jan 2010

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