Lofoten Islands, Norway
We woke up with rain and a fresh breeze at Reine, which is one of the important fishing villages in Lofoten. Our initial plan included kayaking, but the swell was not very inviting, so a Zodiac cruise and a walk around the village was offered instead. The village of Reine is framed by spectacular scenery and has a combination of old and new buildings. Up until the end of the 19th century many cabins were constructed, offering shelter for fishermen coming with their rowboats. These were called “rorbu” – rower’s cabins. During the Lofoten winter cod fishing season Reine was visited by several hundred fisherman and land-based workers. The village was a self-contained community where the squire was responsible for everything, from the cabins, the shop, the steamship office and the bank, to the buying and export of cod. The many fishing vessels that we saw along the docks in Reine today prove that this village is still an important fishing community in Lofoten.
At lunchtime we headed south towards Værøy, one of the large islands of outer Lofoten. We anchored just off Måstad, a small, abandoned fishing village close to rich fishing grounds. The wind had slowed down, and finally many guests got their first kayak experience in mainland Norway. Some preferred a Zodiac cruise, whereas many went hiking along a picturesque wagon road leading to the opposite side of the island. Although late in the summer, we found a few flowers still in bloom. Some guests spotted a soaring white-tailed eagle and a peregrine falcon high above the cliffs. Værøy was one of the few islands with puffins, an important supplement to the locals’ food supply. A special breed of dog, the ‘lundehund’ (puffin dog) was used to find the birds under the rocks in the many screes behind the village. This unusual dog is known to have its origin in this part of Lofoten.
Outside one of the houses we met a man on vacation, the grandson of the last man to live in the village. He told us that a growing number of people moved away after World War II. The closing of the local school in 1953 was a major blow to the community, with a final exodus in 1959, when most of the remaining families left this little village. The last inhabitant of Måstad died in 1982. Today the few remaining houses are a precious link to their descendants and are now being carefully restored and maintained as summer homes. We, who visited this remote outpost of Værøy on this beautiful afternoon, have our own precious memories to take home.
