June 9 - Svolvaer to Tranoy

We took the 0900 ferry from Svolvaer to Skutvik, a 2 h journey on flat seas past the islands of Skrova and Litlmolla. The morning dawned bright and sunny, but clouded over a little as we crossed on the ferry. The Lofoten ‘wall’ (750 - 1161 m) stretched behind us from southwest to northeast, and the coastal ranges (1100 - 1300 m) spanned the horizon in front of us.

Once we landed at Skudvik on the peninsula of Hamaroya (Ofoten), we headed north to Hamsund and out to Buvag and Kjakkelmarka. From the latter, we could we the Tranoy Lighthouse to the north where we would be spending the night. The shoreline here was very rocky with little vegetation. We could have been somewhere in Newfoundland.

Back out to the highway, we drove north through richly vegetated and rounded hillsides (250 - 500 m) around the shores of several fjords (e.g., Kaldvagfhorden, Presteidfjorden) as far as the ferries at Bognes (one to Skardberget; the other to Lodingen Ladik to the north across the Vestfjorden. The road was excellent as it twisted up, down and around the shoreline … fun to drive. Sherrill drove going north; John had his turn on the return trip south.

There was a cool breeze from the west, particularly near the shoreline, but temperatures felt comfortably warm in the bright sun. Once we reached Skutvik, the skies were mostly clear.

We headed to Tranoy, and drove past Edvardushus where we had originally planned to stay tomorrow night. It was a very pleasant looking older house situated in a quiet area with lots of trees, not too far from the sea. Temperatures felt quite warm (t-shirts) in this sheltered area. We back-tracked to the side road that led to the Tranoy Lighthouse, and arrived there mid-afternoon. What a sight as we headed down the road to see the lighthouse perched on a rounded rocky island with the Lofoten Mountains stretching across the horizon behind it.

To get to the lighthouse, you can either phone across and someone will come and pick you up by boat (30 m distance), or you can walk along the ~100 m concrete ‘bridge’. The bridge currently has a couple of sections missing &/or under serious repair, i.e., not as straight-forward a way to get there as you might think. Many people opt for the short boat ride, rather than climbing up and down ladders, and darting across concrete slabs and around repair equipment with the water visible between their legs about 2-3 m below. Once at the lighthouse, we met Stig-Andre, his wife, Marina, and Stig-Andre’s son, Marcus. The building in which we are staying was built in 1864. The accommodation is simple, and a little rough, but this suits us just fine. It feels comfortable, the view is great in all directions, and the hospitality was great.

There is a tall metal tower painted predominantly red with one broad white stripe mid-way up the tower, and five out buildings. The tower was relocated here from the Lofoten Islands in 1936. In the past, 4 families looked after the lighthouse from late August to early April (i.e., the dark months). Each family would work in eight hour shifts for 3 weeks, then get a week off. During the summer months, only 3 families were needed, given the extended daylight hours.

After a visit with our hosts, we headed back across the challenges of the bridge access, and hiked around one of the adjacent headlands with cameras in hand. We were not able to hike around the lighthouse because there are many nesting birds that shouldn’t be disturbed.

The lighthouse has served food for many years, but has only provided overnight accommodation within the last 4 years. The building closest to the land is used as a restaurant/meeting area. The excellence of the cuisine prepared by Stefan is apparently well known. People, locals and others from away, apparently come just for the sea food cuisine. We had a wonderful dinner sitting by a large window … Sherrill says that it was a ‘great’ dinner. During dinner, 3 kayakers passed by. We sure wished that we had our kayaks with us at this point. Between cups of coffee after dinner, Marina called out that there were some pilot whales passing nearby. There were 30-40 of them. After our 2nd cup of coffee, we headed to our room to just relax ,and to enjoy the peace and quiet of this special place.

Sherrill wants to stay up tonight to see the ‘midnight’ sun. We’ll have to see whether we do this or not because the horizon over the Lofotens has clouded in. At this latitude and time of year, the sun apparently is only out of sight behind the mountains for 10-15 minutes.