We arrived this morning at the beautiful archipelago of Vega Island, a fantastic UNESCO World Heritage Site. The archipelago consists of approximately 6500 smaller islands, islets, and skerries where farmers and fishermen have lived for 1500 years. Vega Island is a realm of the eider duck, where the people of the islands keep the eider safe, and in return they come back every year so the islanders can harvest their down. As they say on the island - when you give something, you get something else in return.
Our guests had the possibility to choose from three different hikes through the wetlands of Kjellerhaugvatnet or the nature reserve of Holandsosen. After our hikes, everyone had the opportunity to visit the newly built Visitor’s Center in Nes. A very nice exhibition of their most important income source, the eider down, was shown, along with more information about the island’s history. And of course, we were all able to participate in the “eiderdown test.” We held out our hands, closed our eyes, and someone placed some down in our palms, asking us to guess when it landed. None of us succeeded! And since we are in Norway, of course, waffles were served and enjoyed.
We then continued our cruise through the amazing and wonderful fjords, passing beautiful waterfalls, as we headed to the innermost point of Vistenfjorden. The sheltered location offered us a chance to put out the kayaks for our guests to enjoy, or offer another hike if anyone wished.
The hikers went on a fairly steep climb to a viewpoint overlooking the bay and the ship, including crossing over a beautiful suspension bridge. The hike took them through a pristine landscape with waterfalls and streams, dense forest and open meadows, and as always, the impressively steep mountains of the fjord landscape.
According to the smiles on everyone’s faces when they returned from both activities, it was an enjoyable afternoon!
