Bømlo

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Blog 7 - Wednesday July 3
BØMLO

It seems I had forgotten to finish my blog for July 3...oops! It was our day of departure from Bergen and our landing on Bømlo and the grand adventure we were to have there! Not a day to be forgotten!

The day had come - time to visit Lois’s family, the land of the Nesses, Bømlo! We arose ready for our next adventure. Lofoten had been amazing and the scenery spectacular beyond words. Our short layover in Bergen had also been a treat, but we were eager for the next chapter.

Our Nescafé spokesperson, Isabelle, was up and chipper and preparing water for her Nescafé! We have teased throughout the trip for her traveling jar of Nescafé that she acquired early on. I turned down her offer of a cup as I had spied a bakery around the corner and planned to stop there before we went to board the fast boat (we were to learn in Bømlo that the ferry carried cars and the passenger only ferries were called the fast boats). The others opted to join me so off we went for coffee and a pastry before we headed to the pier to get our tickets and head to a new island.

Coffee and packing ack at the apartment done we hopped on our bikes to head to the pier to get tickets and wait for our boat. Once there we learned we were to buy our tickets on the boat so we got to our launch a bit early eager to go. Our boat showed up on time and we loaded and were off before we even reached our seats. We found out they weren’t called fast boats for nothing. If you are late, you most definitely miss the boat (?). Our bikes were secured in a rack at the front and we headed to the back, where we found a table.

The trip across was delightful, though a little rough at times and sadly with no whales ? sited ?. I got to experience the Norwegian bacon wrapped hot dog on the boat - yum. As we approached our landing, having witnessed how quickly the boats are unloaded and depart again at a previous stop, we made our way to the front not wanting to get left on the boat. Our bikes were indeed soaked from the waves that had crashed over them as we crossed the sea. I had already discovered that my panniers were indeed waterproof as promised. Yeah for that! It had been decided that Lois’s cousin Reidar would pick us and the bikes up rather than us trying to find our way to our next home on bike. We were very glad of this being a bit travel weary and, of course, being greeted by wind and rain.

I disembarked first pushing my bike of the boat. I glanced up to see this gentleman taking my picture - Reidar of course! I had already nicknamed him Reidar O’Riley after the MASH character as he seemed to have a handle on everything! I have no doubt he clicked off pictures of the others, but I was too excited to notice.

We gathered together and loaded our 4 bikes in the trailer he pulled behind his very nice energy efficient Ford and headed of to our tour of Bømlo and a visit to his home. Our first stop was the beautiful old church and the cemetery where Lois’s grandfather was buried. It was a stirring moment and I know it touched Lois deeply. This was the land of her ancestors and her family roots. I have heard many tales of her grandparents and I know this was an emotional moment. I was greatly blessed to have been with her years before when we found the moon gate to the burial ground of her grandmother. There aren’t adequate words to describe these moments so I won’t try.

While at the cemetery we were allowed to go in the church. It was a beautiful old church nicely renovated and modernized. Finished there we continued our tour through the island. Reidar was indeed a marvelous tour guide full of knowledge of the area and the history of this land and his family’s part in it. Next stop was his home set on a beautiful hilltop not far from the sea and also the area called Nesse. There we met his lovely wife Torill. Though she spoke little English she was a gracious hostess. We learned that stopping for coffee or a little bite during our visit to Bōmolo meant an amazing spread of wonderful treats most always including pancakes or waffles and a wonderful jam and of course coffee or tea. This stop was no exception! Torill had made what I would call a coffee cake much like my German grandmother’s that I especially loved. We had a lovely visit before departing to get groceries and then head to our new home. Ah but before we left Reidar remembered we must have potable water. He had a LARGE container ready to be filled for us. Our place was built on a rock in the middle of the fjords and didn’t have a well. The owner had warned Lois that we should not drink the water that was hauled into the house because it included rainwater off the roof which may be contaminated by bird feces. We actually got to observe a water delivery while there.

The adventure in the grocery store was great fun. Reidar was a great help - deciphering words we couldn’t read, telling us what some items were and making recommendations. Finally we had all the essentials beer, butter and coffee...oh and food! I believe Lois paid for the groceries.... I was too busy doing the potty dance to be sure. Isabelle had become our trustee bookkeeper and was keeping receipts for items that 1 person purchased for the whole group so we could divide it up later. I figured we would all owe Lois a bunch of money in the end anyway. She paid for most of lodgings as she had booked them with her card! Groceries purchased we all ran upstairs to take our turn in the WC. Then off once again.

Our home! Even the pictures do not describe the beauty of this place. We were truly living some kind of fairytale! The cottage on the rock was an island itself - truly both geographically and metaphorically. It was a place I never wanted to leave but a place I could never exist in. My windows in my room faced the sea water of the fjords on both sides and, when I took off to the end of our island on my bike, after we had settled in, I found the North Sea at the far end. The area was hauntingly beautiful in a raw stark old world way. There were the blue herons as well. They nested in trees on the point a stone’s throw from the house. Beautiful creatures making their trips back and forth from the water to the trees no doubt feeding their young nested there. Their screeches at night eerily interrupting the silence of the night; not the darkness though as it was never really dark. Harkening to days of old. Days when a bulldozer and a box of dynamite didn’t sit at their doorstep. ?

We made our home there for 4 days and enjoyed the house on its peak at the one end of the island. Embracing our days on Bømlo; loving the people, the culture and the land we were blessed to live on those few days. Lofoten was amazing and very similar in it’s stark beauty. It had also stolen my heart, but here we had connections to people...a family, friends. I acknowledge openly the envy I felt of knowing one’s roots and having the connections Lois had to those roots here in Norway. I loved being a part of that if only for those 4 days!

Our first night came, as I said, never really dark, and we settled in enjoying our rest and each other’s company. We reveled in washing and drying clothes and lovely hot showers and heated floors and the peace and the fresh air....as we drifted off to sleep, excited both for the sleep and what the new day would bring.
Good night. ?

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