Return to Lofoten Islands Feb 2012

Winter storm over snow covered beach, Unstad, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Unstad beach in winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Jan 2010

At the End of January I’ll be heading beck north to Norway’s Lofoten Islands for another two week visit.  Seems I can’t stay away very long these days, with my last trip being this past October.

In reference to seasons though, January 2010 was my last winter visit.  So in this respect, it’s been over two years since I saw the islands with a good coating of snow.  Time of year means everything in the north, even no two months are really the same.  Though I’m slightly worried about the warmer than average temperatures the islands have had so far this winter.  I’m hoping February sees a return to normal, or there might not be any snow at all.

While early January has only a few short hours of light, the days are already fairly long by February.  At the start of my trip sunrise will be around 9:15am and sunset 3:20pm.  When I leave two weeks later sunrise will be 8:25am and sunset 4:05.  That’s nearly 1:45 hours more of daylight over a two week period.  The days grow quite fast above the arctic circle.  But the sun will still remain low in the horizon, reaching around 9˚ by the time I leave, so I should still have hours and hours of nice light to work with, weather permitting.

It’s also looking like it will be a good year for the northern lights, so as much as I was looking forward to 14 hours of sleep per night, I think I’ll end up wandering around late at night and looking towards the sky, assuming it’s clear of course.

 

view across Kjerkfjorden in winter

Photo: Winter view over Kjerkfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Jan 2010

 

Snow covered rocks at Unstad beach, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Clearing winter storm at Unstad beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Jan 2010

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