Lofoten: Reine to Å

Day 4: Reinefjorden

I started the day with a short swim in the sea. The water was only 11'C so I was only in for a couple minutes. A refreshing start and the hot sun meant that I was able to warm up quickly without diving back into our roasting tent. Our plan for the day was to first pop into Reine to buy some fresh bread and fruit, before exploring the various branches of Reinefjorden. Then later paddle and walk to Buneset beach to see the midnight sun – the last chance at this latitude this year.

Given our midnight ambitions we took a slow start, and it was around 11 before we set off for Reine. It was a scorcher of a day, so we were both in just our paddle tops with board shorts on. Amy’s Gul drysuit has a waist entry system, which allows the legs to be left behind on warm days. I use a dry top and dry trousers combo, which gives me even more flexibility, though slightly more risk of some water getting in if I ever take a swim (though when I have tested it I have stayed fully dry).

We stopped briefly at the Coop and ate an ice cream, before starting our explorations. We started by paddling up Vorfjorden to where we had initially planned to camp. It was a nice paddle up the fjord, and ended in a very pretty tidal bay. This would have made a pretty camp site. However at the end of our lunch stop some flies found us and would not leave us alone. They would have made camping there miserable, and the views did not compete with our actual campsite.

On the paddle back up Vorfjorden, I borrowed Amy’s new spare paddle. It is a very different shape to my two, inspired by her Gearlab Kalleq paddle, with some adaptions to make it to her wants. The main difference is its made of wood rather than carbon. I was surprised quite how much I liked paddling with it. It gives a very different feel to mine and has various option of grip and paddle style as it does not have a shoulder. I think I will make a duplicate and have it as my reserve – that way I can vary my paddle style and grip by switching to my spare, if I get tired or blistered using my main one. I paddled the rest of the day with this paddle.

From Vorfjorden we continued round to Kjerkfjorden. On our way towards Rostad we had a couple of moments where small motorboats seemed to take a long time to notice us, despite our bright boats and attire, but we made ourselves seen in time. As with everywhere in Lofoten the views were fantastic. Amy was tiring somewhat, and it was approaching time to start prepping dinner, so we decided to head back to camp and explore the remaining two fjords during our midnight-sun paddle, if we had the energy.

After dinner of pasta and tomato sauce we were suitably recharged, so headed out at around 8 pm in search of the midnight sun. Unlike earlier in the day where there had been a light wind, it was completely wind-still and as we paddled up Forsfjorden we marvelled at the clear water and the reflections of the mountains.

Given the popularity of the kayak paddle to Buneset yesterday, we were surprised to find that we were the only kayaks at the end of Bunesfjorden. As we hiked up the pass, we started to wonder if the tour organisers realised something that we did not, as we saw low cloud on the other side. When we reached the saddle we discovered that there was a layer of fog lying in a band, a little above the beach to a little above us, but not as far inland as we were. Despite not being the scene we had hoped for, it was quite stunning in its own way. As we clambered down the path to the long beach, we counted 23 tents set up along the edge of the beach. They were dwarfed by the hills and the beach, so it did not feel crowded. The campers mostly seemed to be couples or small groups of friends around our age, and the atmosphere was chill and relaxed.

As we wandered out to the water the fog was thickening and lowering. Given I was still wearing my dry trousers and kayaking booties (which are tough enough to hike in, including our trip up Reinebringen) I enjoyed wading out into the sea with small waves break around me.

We sat for a while before starting the walk back through the psammere. The fog was still thickening, and we could not see the sea from half way up the beach. Upon arriving at the high-point of the pass we discovered that the fog was spilling over into Bunesfjorden.

Fortunately, it was not so thick on the fjord, so we felt happy enough paddling on the relatively traffic-free Bunesfjorden in the thin mist. As we switched on all our lights and walked our boats out of the shallows we watched the thicker bank of fog pouring over the pass behind us. We were relieved to find that the fog had not yet reached the main Reinesfjorden, and we enjoyed sunset colours over the hills as we paddled back, with the imposing sight of sea fog pouring in through Bunsefjorden and Kjerkfjorden behind us. It was past solar midnight when we hauled our kayaks ashore, and despite the lack of midnight sun sighting, we had enjoyed the evening.

Day 5: Reine – Moskenes

We awoke to anther glorious day, and packed up to head on down the coast. Our destination was not far off as we were aiming to stay at an official campsite for a couple of nights. We had chosen this as a place to take stock, before venturing round the southern tip of Lofoten - with its notorious currents - to the more remote north western side. We planned to stay two nights to have a rest day coinciding with forecasts of strong winds and heavy rain.

As we paddled under a bridge on the way out of the fjord, we heard a Scots accent asking ‘do you reckon that’s them’ – two other Scots who we know, living in Trondheim, which we had chanced to bump into when eating dinner in Reine a couple of days before.

It was a pretty paddle down the coast, in calm sunny conditions. We gazed up at Reinebringen which we had climbed two days before. We turned into the dramatic Djupfjorden (deep fjord) for lunch. While eating we heard and saw a landslide at the back of the fjord, by a snow patch – a reminder that Lofoten is no place to be trifled with.

Once out of the fjord, I used my VHF radio for a call for the first time on the trip (having received various weather forecasts and announcements from the costal radio operators each day). I was pleased that the costal radio operators confirmed that that could hear me clearly during this radio check – something that is not true when paddling near Trondheim.

The ideal paddle conditions half made me think that we should have spent less time in Reinefjorden, and pushed onwards to enable us to paddle the Moskenestraument tidal currents in these conditions. I reminded myself that we were here to enjoy what Lofoten had to offer, not race around and we had certainly enjoyed our time in Reine.

Moskenes arrived almost too soon, and the campsite had no easy landing spot. The only available landing spot was onto large, jagged rocks, in a bay where it smelled like they were pumping raw liquid sewage. The campsite was busy, but I was able to get a spot for two nights, though they were almost out of campervan sites. All the tent spots on maintained flat ground were taken, so we had to find a spot on the rough, steep and mostly boggy hillside – which made us question why we were paying for the privilege. Though there were some advantages: showers; an indoor cooking area (so saving on gas); washing machines; easy filling of water sacks; and a small pub for a beer in the evening.

Day 6: Rest day, and visit to Å

We had decided to take a rest day, as we felt our bodies needed it. With many midnight trips on top of our day paddling we had been going on too little sleep. It was also windy and rainy so paddling was not as appealing a prospect as usual – though the wind seemed a lot less than was forecast.

After a lazy start to the day (my breakfast merged into lunch) we decided to head into Å, an old fishing village that was now a museum and holiday rental place. Before that, we had some repairs to do. Amy’s drysuit neck seal had a tear, and one of our thermarests had sprung a leak. With the repairs attempted, it was a 4.5 km walk into Å, via a couple of small villages. Quite soon into the walk I discovered that my raincoat was not being 100% rainproof. As we continued through the moderately heavy rain I discovered that neither were my rain trousers or Amy’s raincoat- all of which are from Paramo, and have been thoroughly tried and tested. It was very annoying and I arrived in Å very soggy and working hard not to be too grumpy.

The museum was about the history of Å: a fishing village where captains of small rowing boats (four crew + captain) paid the land owner in fish for the right to fish and use the land to sleep. The richer crews would stay in small rorbu, while the poorer crews would sleep under their upturned boats. The fishing season lasted from January to April, and they would dry their fish in the icy winds. The boats were small, and conditions tough – I am glad to be in a kayak rather than their boats, and with a drysuit to protect me from the cold of summer, let alone the icy winter - with little or no sunlight. The museum was quite interesting, but could have done with more information displays. In the museum shop, I caved in and bought a tacky tourist rain-poncho for the walk home, hiding it under my now-sodden raincoat. On our walk home we bought food so that we had supplies for the next 6 days in our kayaks, as well as dinner of curry for that night.

We passed some time that evening in the pub, writing up the blog of the first few days, expecting not to be starting paddling until the mid afternoon. Suddenly, just before midnight, our plans changed with an update of the weather forecast, suggesting that the wind would die down enough to paddle round the southern tip of ‘mainland’ Lofoten in the tidal window at lunchtime, rather than having to wait until the window at 10 pm. It would need an early start to attempt one of the main crux points of our plan...

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