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luzulaSo, let's do this day by day.
Sunday:
The conference ends in the morning (not much to say about the conference itself). I'm in Svolvær, which is the biggest town in Lofoten, the big chain of islands sticking out southwestward in northern Norway. This is the town:
Pretty, yes? In the afternoon, I hike up a steep mountainside to get the view in the photo. Then I take the ferry to Bodø. My goal is to get to Værøy, one of the islands farthest out. There are puffin birds there! The ferry from Bodø to Værøy leaves at seemingly random times--the one I need to catch leaves at 4.45 am. The hostel is full, so I walk to the outskirts of town and find a little hill tucked away between houses and put up my tent. Then I cover my eyes to keep out the midnight sun and sleep.
Monday:
I get up at 3.30 am, take down the tent, and walk to the ferry. But it's in a big industrial wharf area and I wander around increasingly stressed out, trying to find it. I finally do, having to run flat-out in hiking boots and a backpack and getting to the entrance where the cars drive in, five minutes before the ferry leaves. Ow, my feet. /o\ Apparently you were supposed to go to a special waiting area for passengers? Oh yeah, where? The ferry ride is uneventful; I stock up on water and electrical charge for my cellphone and laptop and stuff. I get to Værøy and find a good spot for my tent on a small peninsula near the village (watch for the well-camouflaged tent):
Sweden and Norway both have this awesome thing called the right of public access (allemansrätt) which means that you can walk (and put up your tent, and pick berries and mushrooms, though not hunt) on anyone's land, as long as you're not in someone's back yard or disturbing their crops or livestock or something.
Anyway, I call a guy who organizes boat tours to the bird cliffs where there are nesting puffin birds and various other auks (it's not accessible by walking), but he says you should be four people at least to split the cost, or it's going to be really expensive. I hold off and hope other tourists come along. But unfortunately, it's not really the tourist season yet. I climb up a small mountain in the evening. This is the view of the Værøy village from there:
And here's another view from there:
Stunning, isn't it? See, in Sweden you never get landscape like this. We have a steady rise from the east coast to the mountains in the west, but you never really get sea + mountains in this way. This also means that the vegetation is an interesting mix of lowland species and alpine species like this one (Alchemilla alpina):
Back at my tent, I realize that I left my binoculars at the top, and I'm too footsore to go get them tonight. Fuck.
Tuesday:
I get up at 6 am to go and get my binoculars, this time listening to some music to get energy for the climb. Music is kind of like a performance-enhancing drug, only without side-effects? Very nifty. The binoculars are still there, whew. I knew it wouldn't rain, and the midnight sun means there's not really any dew, either, so they're not harmed.
I call the tour guy; still no other people on the tour. I walk in to the village grocery store to get more food, then I mostly laze around and read, watch birds, and write on my dS/Temeraire AU. Am up to 8,500 words! \o/
In the evening I agonize over whether to cough up the ridiculous amount of money to go on the tour by myself, and finally decide not to. *sigh* I don't know why I'm so obsessed with puffin birds, but I am? I really want to see them--they're like the penguins of the north. Instead I go on a walk to an old pasture by the shore:
You know what this reminds me of, though it doesn't really get through in the photo? Mima Mounds in Washington state, thatjulia_here showed me. It has these same little hilly mounds left behind by glaciation, though of course the vegetation is different. And here are more leavings of the Ice Age:
I really wonder though how this landscape was formed geologically: the really steep mountains and the flat plains at the foot. The flat plain even extends far out into the sea; you can see on the photos from the high viewpoint how shallow the water is. And here's a photo of the mountain with the talus scraped away for whatever reason--see how the mountain meets the flat plain almost at a right angle:
Any ideas, geologically minded people on my flist/circle? Aaaand let me just post a few more plant photos, there have been too few of those:
This is Scandinavia's only wild Cornus species, Cornus suecica. Bit smaller than a dogwood tree, yes?
This is a seashore plant, Cochlearia officinalis, which is called scurvy-plant in Swedish. It's rich in vitamin C, and apparently sailors ate it so they wouldn't get scurvy.
Wednesday: I take the ferry back toward Bodø. To my great joy and surprise, I see puffin birds out fishing in the waters between Værøy and Røst (one of the other outer islands). I'd given up hope of seeing them, but here they are, floating like little corks on the water! ♥ They're not that close, but in the binoculars I can make out their short, stubby bodies and gaudy beaks, and the bright orange legs as they half-fly, half-paddle out of the way of the ferry. OMG, I love them. And closer to Røst I also see black-legged kittiwakes and common murres, which also nest in the steep cliffs.
I still want to see the bird cliffs themselves, but I guess that's for another time. Ah well.
Sunday:
The conference ends in the morning (not much to say about the conference itself). I'm in Svolvær, which is the biggest town in Lofoten, the big chain of islands sticking out southwestward in northern Norway. This is the town:
Pretty, yes? In the afternoon, I hike up a steep mountainside to get the view in the photo. Then I take the ferry to Bodø. My goal is to get to Værøy, one of the islands farthest out. There are puffin birds there! The ferry from Bodø to Værøy leaves at seemingly random times--the one I need to catch leaves at 4.45 am. The hostel is full, so I walk to the outskirts of town and find a little hill tucked away between houses and put up my tent. Then I cover my eyes to keep out the midnight sun and sleep.
Monday:
I get up at 3.30 am, take down the tent, and walk to the ferry. But it's in a big industrial wharf area and I wander around increasingly stressed out, trying to find it. I finally do, having to run flat-out in hiking boots and a backpack and getting to the entrance where the cars drive in, five minutes before the ferry leaves. Ow, my feet. /o\ Apparently you were supposed to go to a special waiting area for passengers? Oh yeah, where? The ferry ride is uneventful; I stock up on water and electrical charge for my cellphone and laptop and stuff. I get to Værøy and find a good spot for my tent on a small peninsula near the village (watch for the well-camouflaged tent):
Sweden and Norway both have this awesome thing called the right of public access (allemansrätt) which means that you can walk (and put up your tent, and pick berries and mushrooms, though not hunt) on anyone's land, as long as you're not in someone's back yard or disturbing their crops or livestock or something.
Anyway, I call a guy who organizes boat tours to the bird cliffs where there are nesting puffin birds and various other auks (it's not accessible by walking), but he says you should be four people at least to split the cost, or it's going to be really expensive. I hold off and hope other tourists come along. But unfortunately, it's not really the tourist season yet. I climb up a small mountain in the evening. This is the view of the Værøy village from there:
And here's another view from there:
Stunning, isn't it? See, in Sweden you never get landscape like this. We have a steady rise from the east coast to the mountains in the west, but you never really get sea + mountains in this way. This also means that the vegetation is an interesting mix of lowland species and alpine species like this one (Alchemilla alpina):
Back at my tent, I realize that I left my binoculars at the top, and I'm too footsore to go get them tonight. Fuck.
Tuesday:
I get up at 6 am to go and get my binoculars, this time listening to some music to get energy for the climb. Music is kind of like a performance-enhancing drug, only without side-effects? Very nifty. The binoculars are still there, whew. I knew it wouldn't rain, and the midnight sun means there's not really any dew, either, so they're not harmed.
I call the tour guy; still no other people on the tour. I walk in to the village grocery store to get more food, then I mostly laze around and read, watch birds, and write on my dS/Temeraire AU. Am up to 8,500 words! \o/
In the evening I agonize over whether to cough up the ridiculous amount of money to go on the tour by myself, and finally decide not to. *sigh* I don't know why I'm so obsessed with puffin birds, but I am? I really want to see them--they're like the penguins of the north. Instead I go on a walk to an old pasture by the shore:
You know what this reminds me of, though it doesn't really get through in the photo? Mima Mounds in Washington state, that
julia_here showed me. It has these same little hilly mounds left behind by glaciation, though of course the vegetation is different. And here are more leavings of the Ice Age: 
I really wonder though how this landscape was formed geologically: the really steep mountains and the flat plains at the foot. The flat plain even extends far out into the sea; you can see on the photos from the high viewpoint how shallow the water is. And here's a photo of the mountain with the talus scraped away for whatever reason--see how the mountain meets the flat plain almost at a right angle:
Any ideas, geologically minded people on my flist/circle? Aaaand let me just post a few more plant photos, there have been too few of those:
This is Scandinavia's only wild Cornus species, Cornus suecica. Bit smaller than a dogwood tree, yes?
This is a seashore plant, Cochlearia officinalis, which is called scurvy-plant in Swedish. It's rich in vitamin C, and apparently sailors ate it so they wouldn't get scurvy.
Wednesday: I take the ferry back toward Bodø. To my great joy and surprise, I see puffin birds out fishing in the waters between Værøy and Røst (one of the other outer islands). I'd given up hope of seeing them, but here they are, floating like little corks on the water! ♥ They're not that close, but in the binoculars I can make out their short, stubby bodies and gaudy beaks, and the bright orange legs as they half-fly, half-paddle out of the way of the ferry. OMG, I love them. And closer to Røst I also see black-legged kittiwakes and common murres, which also nest in the steep cliffs.
I still want to see the bird cliffs themselves, but I guess that's for another time. Ah well.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-30 10:58 pm (UTC)Such pretty wildflowers! So dainty. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-31 10:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-30 11:51 pm (UTC)All of your pictures are awesome--this trip sounds like such fun! I'm so impressed and jealous of your hiking around and pitching your tent and doing your botany. It's all lovely.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-31 10:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2013-05-31 10:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-31 06:32 am (UTC)Too bad you didn't make it onto the tour, but at least you DID get to see puffins! :D
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-31 10:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-06-01 02:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2013-06-01 10:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-06-02 01:58 am (UTC)It reminds me of Føroyar (aka Faroe Islands), which I visited almost 45 years ago. Plenty of birds but no sunshine; I think I'd go with the former rather than the latter.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-06-02 08:44 am (UTC)And yes, I'd think it would be similar to the Faroe Islands!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-06-04 02:42 am (UTC)The right of public access thing is such a cool concept. Very un-American, and very cool. =)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-06-04 08:42 am (UTC)And yeah, being able to walk/camp anywhere is so great. There are responsibilities as well as rights, though: you can't disturb the wildlife, chop down trees or otherwise destroy vegetation, and you have to ask the land-owner if you camp more than a few days.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-30 10:36 pm (UTC)And isn't the weather fantastic? Kid & I spent the whole evening at the beach, sunbathing and swimming, and plan to do the same tomorrow. Someone said that North-Norway is like a pretty, pretty, but extremely grumpy woman. She's usually not very nice to be around, but when she smiles; all is forgotten. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-31 09:16 am (UTC)And yeah, the weather is great. Now that I'm back in Umeå, though, it's kind of too hot for me. /o\
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-31 07:50 pm (UTC)And too hot? I wish. Weather like what you experienced here does not come along every year. It's three years since last. I'm not even kidding. :P