Lofoten

The crew woke up to clear skies and stunning surroundings in Reine. Steve knocked up a hearty brunch of scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, bacon, tomatoes and toasted fresh bread to set us all back on the straight and narrow after 60 hours of lumpy sea passage. I found some dodgy sweets...

Everything round here smells of fish. The local fishery technique is to hang up your gutted cod until Winter, by which time it is inedible, or "a local delicacy" as it is called in Norwegian.

The Reine cod stinkery.

Cleaning the gutted fish before drying (Stamsund)

Room with a view. And a peculiar aroma, I would expect.

Fortunately the wind whistles through the harbour and the surroundings are so dramatic that it is possible to ignore the piece of cod that surpasseth all understanding and enjoy the scenery.

A traditional Norwegian fishing boat. This is what the Shetland Bus used. Having now sailed this stretch (in Summer) I am even more in awe of what Norwegian fishermen did during the war.

• Reine was a beautiful first stop in the Lofoten Islands.

Take every opportunity to dry your clothes.

Orla trying on a new seat / hat combo.

Rorbuer - traditional fishermen's huts. The wee red hooses from the postcards.

Pete and Orla searching for answers. Where is the happiness?  Does it smell of rotting cod heads? Do you  think if we all club together we could afford a beer?

Although the sun doesn't set, it does keep trying. Admirable!

Heading out to the fishing.

Skrei (Norwegian Arctic cod) come down to Lofoten to spawn and the catch is dried on outdoor racks to become the "stock fish" eaten throughout Norway. This and being painted / photographed are the two main commercial activities in the Lofoten Islands.

Reine football stadium - the game was quite good but the crowd were a bit of a dead fish. Atmospheric, though.

On Saturday 1st June we headed round the corner to a little anchorage
at Straumøya island in Nappsstraum. Pete and Orla rowed ashore to gather a bucketful of mussels, putting down a lobster pot on the way. Steve and I tried our hand at fishing and caught three cod in five minutes before getting bored and giving up - modern fishermen just don't have the patience of previous generations.

Lovely quiet anchorage

I cleaned up the mussels while Steve and Orla gutted the cod, ready to become the following night's curry. Steve made bread rolls and we had moules mariniēre with warm homemade bread washed down with some 2013 Ataraxia Chardonnay. Hooray for the subsistence existence!

Hunter / gatherers successful.

Orla preparing cod. Gutted!

Locally won seafood - the only way to dine cheaply in Norway?

The pot was lifted the next morning to reveal a handful of small crabs but nothing worth eating so all were returned.

Trying to squeeze in some sailing between bouts of tourism and laundry. Not as warm as we look.

On Sunday we sailed around the next corner to Leknessjøen, passing the Aida Luna passenger liner unloading into Leknes. At least they anchored off, unlike the liner that bumped into Venice on the same day.

A people tanker unloading.

Orla demonstrates what a well balanced individual she is using the "wobbly log next to the sea" technique.

 The Norwegians we've met have been incredibly welcoming but the visitor's pontoon can still seem like a lonely place some days. Is this what Brexit will feel like?

Sunday started with a bus adventure that took us from Leknes to the Lofotr Viking museum - magic!

Chief's longhouse.

Chief's longboat. Pattern emerging?

A veritable fleet.

Who d'you think you're looking at? Double hard Viking pig.

Then back to the yacht and we had a great sail round to Stamsund while the sun shone and the wind blew. Happy ship!

Orla and Susan: Are we nearly there yet?

Steve: where?

Pete: it's behind you!

Steve and Susan: who cares? The sun's out so let's go round again.

And then we were in Stamsund. A cracking little fishing harbour and Hurtigruten port. Unfortunately the only bar/restaurant in town was closed for staff training. Home made pizzas on board more than made up though.

Ataraxia on another visitor's pontoon. She must be on for some kind of frequent visitor award by now?

Our neighbours in Stamsund. The red and green paint salesman's had a busy season here.

Fab wee working harbour.

With artillery. Can't be too careful.
The Krigsmuseum opened specially for me! How cool??

Nope... No idea. Art? Junk? Italian driver abroad?

Misty morning in Stamsund harbour. Atmospheric.

Confusingly ambiguous signage is not a feature of this dude's garage.

1940's German architecture is much in evidence. This was a command post for the Stamsund coastal battery.

Cruising the Lofoten - sailing heaven!

It's suddenly 4th of June and time for me to make a planned trip back to Scotland. Ataraxia will continue on her Lofoten adventure and I'll rejoin in a couple of weeks. The miracle of modern telecommunications means I should be able to follow her progress from afar and hopefully find her again when I return.

Hurtigruten vessel Nordcapp coming to take me away.

The Lofoten Islands sinking into the midnight mist as I head away to Bodø.