Reine - Sakrisøy

Rain, wind and fog, that is today’s motto. Here in the outer part of the Lofoten the weather changes often, typically with short showers and at times strong wind. But we do not let the weather gods stop us from discovering more of the Lofoten.

In the morning we drive to the beach at Fredvang once more to take a few photos. Three days ago, on the drive to Hamnøy, we already made a detour here. Back then a rainbow greeted us at the viewpoint looking out over a beach, and a sea eagle circled above us. Fredvang lies at the very north of the island of Moskenesøya. We cross over from the E10 on the two concrete Fredvang bridges, each 240 metres long. In three days we take the same bridges to the start of the hike to Kvalvika Beach in Lofotodden National Park.

In Ramberg we do some shopping and look into a few other shops as well. We were already here yesterday, when we photographed the red cabin at Rambergstranda.

The fog gives the landscape a mystical atmosphere that is perfect for photography. In Reine we photograph a mountain from a bridge. The narrow wooden footbridge, with a railing on either side, is wet from the rain, yellow and red houses stand on the slope ahead of us, and above them the tip of the mountain is lost in the haze. Reine is the administrative centre of the municipality of Moskenes and lies on a peninsula just outside the mouth of the Reinefjord. The day before yesterday we climbed Reinebringen above Reine, and at the top it was heavily overcast and foggy.

In Sakrisøy a fishing cabin makes an idyllic subject. The yellow fishing house stands by the water with a roofed wooden frame beside it, and the mountain behind it hangs in the fog. Yesterday we bought a Kanelsnurrer at the fish restaurant here. Sakrisøy lies on the E10 between Hamnøy and Reine, where the road crosses the mouth of the Reinefjord on bridges from island to island. The next day we come back in better weather, when the mountain is easier to see, and once more a week later.

In the afternoon it gets too wet for us after all, and we go back to our little cabin at the harbour in Hamnøy, where we are staying for five nights. It is a rorbu, the name for a house in a fishing village where fishermen who travel in live during the big seasonal fisheries. They are needed far less for that today, because fewer people take part in the fishing and the fishermen live on board the large fishing vessels. It has become common to rent rorbuer out to tourists. We enjoy the view of the harbour and the mountain of Hamnøy from inside and edit our photos.

In the evening we have rice with red wine sauce and veggie sausages. They are probably what attracts the seagulls in particular. At any rate, the whole time we are cooking and eating, hungry seagulls come to visit right outside our window. On our very first evening in Hamnøy we already watched the gulls over dinner, looking out at the harbour.