We started our journey in Tromsø, where we rented a car and drove to Tjelsundbrua. Read Part one of our drive in this post.
The bridge at Tjelsundbrua (brua means bridge) marks the start of the Lofoten island chain. Until now we had been driving on ground connected to mainland Norway, but by crossing the bridge we were entering Hinnøya, the northernmost island of Lofoten.
At one village we saw a sign for a garage sale, and we pulled over to have a look. The gentleman having the sale said he was 72 years old but he didn’t look a year beyond 60. He credited his good health to not smoking, eating lots of fish, and eating lots of berries. He said he picks lots of berries in July and then freezes them for the rest of the year.
We continued on. The weather excellent: sunny and warm. The dashboard thermometer went up to 17 degrees in places.
The road was quite narrow, and due to guardrails and steep shoulders it was not always possible to pull over for a photo. But at Fiskefjorden we found a pullout. I scrambled down the steep embankment to the edge of the water where there was a nice reflection of the mountains.
We stopped at Husjordøya, a small little island where an interpretive trail led past foundations of ancient longhouses.
We had stumbled out of the car with our running shoes but the mossy, marshy ground was quite wet. We returned to the car, put on our waterproof hiking boots, and started out again.
Some cabins lined the shores opposite the island.
At sea level the snow was gone but you could tell that this area was covered with snow not long ago. The birch trees were just starting to leaf out. It was one of those days where you know that spring has sprung.
The evening before, while staying in the shipping container, we had cooked up some cod burgers. We had a couple left over to have a for lunch. We turned up a side road and found a spot overlooking a fjord.
We crossed a bridge to the next island: Austvågøya. The beautiful scenery kept on going and going. We were amazed at the color of the water in places.
Some people sure have a nice views from their houses.
We turned off the main road toward the small hamlet of Fiskebøl.
We walked around a bit and took pictures of the nice scenery.
Down the road we found an old abandoned jetty.
The amazing scenery went on and on.
We passed the town of Laupstad, tucked underneath a towering mountain.
What a spectacular day!
We finished our day in Svolvær, where we stayed in a historic fisherman’s cabin.