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Published: June 25th 2023
In Bodø
Waiting in the ferry line up in Bodø.Today was the day we left for the Lofoten Islands. We arrived at the ferry terminal in Bodø and with our advanced reservation tickets, we were able to get into the proper line to ensure we boarded the ferry first. That was a smart move on our part having this all pre-booked. The ferry was packed with people travelling to Lofoten and beyond; many camper vans and RV’s in the line up. There were some people who were only walking on the ferry and it’s free for them to do so. Only vehicles are charged based on height and length.
We noticed as we were being loaded onto the ferry that we were going to be heading ‘down’ into the ferry below decks, and that the deck above would be closed upon us as we entered down below. Shelley got a photo of this.
We found some seating at the front of the boat facing the right way for Shelley. We settled into our seats and I remember being tired enough to have a little snooze. The scenery on the way over was nice leaving Bodø, unremarkable as we headed towards Lofoten Islands, but stellar once we got closer!
Loading ferry
The ferry has a lower deck that we drove down into. Shelley captured the car in front of us going down below. Landing finally after four hours of ferry travel, we set our car to head a short ways down the road from Moskenes to Reine where we were going to be staying. We parked across the street at the Lofoten Visitor Centre (
https://www.lofotoddennp.com/en/visitor-center/). The B&B provided us with a little pass for free parking which we stuck in our window.
The B&B was very spacious. Almost 1/4 of the whole top floor. Two separate bedrooms with a common seating area, dining room, kitchen, shower and laundry. It was very nice.
Kristine, Shelley, and I then headed out to go for a little stroll around the village. We wanted to look around but also get our supper reservations looked after. We settled on eating at a place called the Gammelbua, a restaurant that served traditional Scandinavian cooking and had something ‘non-meat or fish’ on the menu for Shelley.
Snapped some great photos, then came back to the room to rest before heading down for supper. We enjoyed our meal very much. Something really fun happened in the restaurant. While sitting at our table in this tiny restaurant located in a very remote Norwegian fishing village, located far above
Loading onto the ferry
The car drove down below and when full, the trap door was shut and other vehicles are loaded on top! the polar circle, in the middle of the Norwegian Sea, we overheard a young couple at the next table mention they were from Canada! Not only that, they were from the Glebe! Shelley just had to engage them to remark how small this world truly is. Then, the couple that was sitting with this couple from the Glebe at their table, who were from England, pointed to the table opposite THEM and said that THEY were from the same village in England!! They had met them randomly that very day, and here we all were at the same restaurant in Norway. We all raised a toast to one another and then got back to our meals.
After supper, Shelley and I headed down to the restaurant as the little shack next to it was where we were to meet for our Midnight Sun Kayak Tour. We met up with Patricia and Veronique, a mother and daughter from France, along with our guide, Kim. Kim got the four of us all kitted up with dry suits and then we walked down to the harbour behind the Circle K to obtain our kayaks and receive our briefing.
We got the
Ferry to Lofoten
Snap taken onboard the ferry to Moskenes. kayaks down into the water and we set off on our adventure. It was magical. The water was calm and the sunshine cooperated greatly. Kim took some photos of us that really captured the 'sunset' as it was.....almost non-existent. The sky was beautiful and the water was amazingly clear and calm for us.
We completed our water adventure by bringing the kayaks up and out of the water. They were pretty heavy by then after all our paddling. Before bringing them back up to the storage area, we needed to hose them down with freshwater to get the salt water off the ropes and other bits. We even needed to get hosed down ourselves since we were going to be hanging all these dry suits up overnight for the next group in the morning the next day.
When we got back to the shack to undress, our clothing underneath was completely bone dry! Those suits were a bitch to get into but peeled off and easily and did a great job at keeping us all dry. We said our thanks and goodbyes to Kim and the other two ladies and made our way back to see Kristine back
at the B&B.
I stayed up a bit after Shelley went to bed to capture the midnight sun. It seemed to me that it was simply daytime out at one in the morning. Very weird. I then got dressed for bed, after tossing down a last little bit of scotch, and slipped my black eye mask over my eyes, nestled into the comforter and fell asleep.
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