A New Crib and More Lofoten August 19, 2006
After breakfast and packing we wandered around Henningsvaer for a few minutes before walking into a small store that served coffee and the best Danish we have ever had. It tasted like pecan pie and Holly immediately started calculating how to reproduce this food of the Norse gods. We are offering sacrifices to these same deities in hopes that they will favor us with success in our quest.
We headed south with the thought of securing lodging for the night at a campground that we had read offered cabins in a small village named Unstad. Unstad is the site of a trailhead that leads to Eggum, 9km away, and is supposed to have some fantastic scenery. We plan to hike the trail.
To get to Unstad we took a side road from E10 that was just two cars wide and took us through two one lane tunnels. When we arrived at Unstad, this seaside village was set back from a beach and the campground did not look very appealing so we backtracked. When we had gone through one tunnel we spied a side road off of the side road we were on that had a sign for Maervoll Sohjous which we have come to learn means a lodging of some type. We took the tiny lane which wound down one side of a small bay with scattered cottages along the edge of the water. Providence then smiled on us for the second time today. We came upon a small sign that stated RORBUS. We turned in and after a minute of looking for the correct place to inquire Holly knocked at a cottage door and was greeted by an elderly woman that spoke no English. Between the cottage and the water there was a man working on a boat. Holly enlisted his aid in translating and found out that one of the small cabins cost half of what we had paid the night before but the location is twice as nice. We immediately decide to stay for two nights. The cabin has a general room with a small kitchenette, a bedroom with two sets of bunk beds and a bathroom with shower. The amazing part is we are now staying in a very small local village with a view that you would pay a million dollars for. Holly went up to pay the lady and found her daughter, who speaks English, had come to visit her mother. With her daughter’s help Holly found out that linens were supplied, they are usually not here unless you stay in a larger hotel. She also learned that the older couple have wireless internet which we can use for free if we can make it work. (I’m still working on that.) Needless to say we are in heaven.
The weather was looking iffy so we postponed the hike and instead decided to go tour the Viking Museum in Borg which is where the road to Unstad and Maervoll intersects with E10. The Viking museum was on the site of an ancient Chieftain’s longhouse that was discovered a few years ago when a farmer plowing his field uncovered some relics. They have recreated the longhouse, a blacksmith’s shop, weaving area and a leather workers area and a boatbuilding house. All the crafts are being done the way they were a thousand years ago. They also have two large longboats that are floating in the fjord down the hill from the longhouse. This is the kind of place that will bring out the kid in you.
After our tour we decided to drive to A (this should have a dot over it and the closest pronunciation we can come up with is Ohw.) which is at the southern end of the Lofoten Islands and the end of the road. I can’t describe the scenery as we drove the 80km or so passing through several fishing villages and as always here stunning scenery to reach A. Again I suggest you take a look at our photo web site. I will warn you the old cliché applies here: Pictures don’t do it justice!
We are now back in our rorbu and settled in for the night. Its 10PM and still light enough to see the most distant mountains at the head of our bay about 5 kilometers away. It just doesn’t get much better than this.
We headed south with the thought of securing lodging for the night at a campground that we had read offered cabins in a small village named Unstad. Unstad is the site of a trailhead that leads to Eggum, 9km away, and is supposed to have some fantastic scenery. We plan to hike the trail.
To get to Unstad we took a side road from E10 that was just two cars wide and took us through two one lane tunnels. When we arrived at Unstad, this seaside village was set back from a beach and the campground did not look very appealing so we backtracked. When we had gone through one tunnel we spied a side road off of the side road we were on that had a sign for Maervoll Sohjous which we have come to learn means a lodging of some type. We took the tiny lane which wound down one side of a small bay with scattered cottages along the edge of the water. Providence then smiled on us for the second time today. We came upon a small sign that stated RORBUS. We turned in and after a minute of looking for the correct place to inquire Holly knocked at a cottage door and was greeted by an elderly woman that spoke no English. Between the cottage and the water there was a man working on a boat. Holly enlisted his aid in translating and found out that one of the small cabins cost half of what we had paid the night before but the location is twice as nice. We immediately decide to stay for two nights. The cabin has a general room with a small kitchenette, a bedroom with two sets of bunk beds and a bathroom with shower. The amazing part is we are now staying in a very small local village with a view that you would pay a million dollars for. Holly went up to pay the lady and found her daughter, who speaks English, had come to visit her mother. With her daughter’s help Holly found out that linens were supplied, they are usually not here unless you stay in a larger hotel. She also learned that the older couple have wireless internet which we can use for free if we can make it work. (I’m still working on that.) Needless to say we are in heaven.
The weather was looking iffy so we postponed the hike and instead decided to go tour the Viking Museum in Borg which is where the road to Unstad and Maervoll intersects with E10. The Viking museum was on the site of an ancient Chieftain’s longhouse that was discovered a few years ago when a farmer plowing his field uncovered some relics. They have recreated the longhouse, a blacksmith’s shop, weaving area and a leather workers area and a boatbuilding house. All the crafts are being done the way they were a thousand years ago. They also have two large longboats that are floating in the fjord down the hill from the longhouse. This is the kind of place that will bring out the kid in you.
After our tour we decided to drive to A (this should have a dot over it and the closest pronunciation we can come up with is Ohw.) which is at the southern end of the Lofoten Islands and the end of the road. I can’t describe the scenery as we drove the 80km or so passing through several fishing villages and as always here stunning scenery to reach A. Again I suggest you take a look at our photo web site. I will warn you the old cliché applies here: Pictures don’t do it justice!
We are now back in our rorbu and settled in for the night. Its 10PM and still light enough to see the most distant mountains at the head of our bay about 5 kilometers away. It just doesn’t get much better than this.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 10:10 AM
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