Bodø - Sakrisøy

Our hotel is not only very modern, it also includes a breakfast buffet. We have a leisurely breakfast and enjoy the delicious food. We don’t have much time, though, because we have to pick up the car at 9 o’clock at the airport, which is within walking distance here. We rent a gold Toyota Yaris Cross 4WD Hybrid from Hertz. In a bit of a hurry, we collect our luggage from the hotel and drive straight to the car ferry. We have a reservation, but we have read that you need to be there fairly early to get a place on the popular ferry. Everything works out: We park the car on the ferry and are allowed up to the passenger area on the upper decks, with seats in front of large windows. The crossing to Moskenes in the Lofoten takes three and a half hours. We keep going out on deck to admire the scenery.

Shortly before we arrive in the Lofoten, we stay outside the whole time and marvel at the mountains that suddenly rise out of the sea and keep growing larger, and at the small colourful cottages.

And finally we are back on this wonderful Nordic island chain. We are overjoyed. Without hesitating, we drive straight to Å, the southernmost place in the Lofoten that can be reached by car. This is where the E10 ends. We drive to the car park and walk to the cliffs at the outermost edge of Å, with a view of the mountains and the open sea. The path is quite muddy, but the view more than makes up for it.

We get our groceries in Reine, a fishing village a bit further north. Afterwards we drive to our accommodation, and we seem to have hit the jackpot. It is a mini-villa on Olenilsøy, an island right next to Sakrisøy with its famous photo subject (a yellow house in front of a mountain) and Hamnøy, the photo hotspot par excellence. The accommodation is really very small, but modern and nicely furnished. We look straight out at the sea and lots of Norwegian cottages. The location could not be better. We quickly stow our luggage and drive straight to Hamnøy, the place we were looking forward to most. The cottages in front of the striking mountain are just as beautiful as we remember them.

A little further north, in Ramberg, we buy the last few things we need in a larger shop. Back at the accommodation we make ourselves really cosy. We snuggle up in the rocking chairs in front of a small (fake) fireplace. In the evening we first enjoy a little apéro and then cook curry rice. We are too tired to watch a series, but we still play a round of Monopoly on the tablet.