Lofoten, the magic islands

The boat trip out to Moskenes, Lofoten was a memorable experience. As you near the islands, the mountains can been seen, half hidden in the clouds, rising straight from the sea. They seem to fill every inch of these islands. I wondered whether there really were could be roads on the islands. As we neared the port I turned to Greig and said “Now I can see why you wanted to come here.”

It’s no lie. Lofoten is a magical. The many tourists who come flock here from all over Europe know that, but it is probably the climber who experiences The Lofoten Islands in their most magnificent splendor.

Hanging high on the cliffs the climber sees views which are so captivating that they do not encourage attentive belaying. More than once I was reprimanded by my partner for not providing enough slack, or too much because I was transfixed by the view.

During the day the view is a clear green ocean and orange algae covered rocks. In the evening the horizon disappears and the ocean and sky melt into the same pure white. Yes, if this place was a lot further south and a lot warmer, it would be swarming with tourists. Luckily for tough climbers who don’t mind the cold weather, this place remains a paradise untainted by the crowds.

On days when the climbing had taken its toll on our bodies, or it was raining we hid in the library finishing our latest game or headed to some of the tourist sites. The Viking Museums was pretty interesting but my favorite experience was a story telling session with a woman from the island in a rorbu at the museum of Å.

We sat in the dark as she told us how in the old days before engines, the men would row boats up the coast of Norway and then, when the weather was right, over to the Lofoten Islands. All of this in near darkness in order to fish for the cod which only come to Lofoten between December and April, when it is very, very dark in the North of Norway.


She went on to answer many of the question I had in my head about cod fishing and to sayt much about the history of the Islands. She told us both about the good times when merchants would come up the coast and lean times when the people nearly starved until they eventually asked the King for special permission to trade with Russia.

In the end I gained a huge respect for the people who lived and worked on the Lofoten, which added to my love of their beautiful red rorbus and aesthetically pleasing boats. I also got a chance to try cod liver oil. I don’t care how good that stuff is for you I will never take it! Yuck!