No Fish Soup, But Beautiful Norwegian Scenery

 Today we were in Leknes, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  We opted for a ship's excursion, Hiking Tour on Vesyvag.  We were thrilled to see mostly sunny skies as we sailed in. 

The tour was initially described as a moderate 3 mile hike through a mountain-bordered valley.  Well, let's just say that the description was wrong.  It turned out to be a 6 mile hike with a climb up to a mountain pass followed by a somewhat treacherous hike down a muddy path on the other side.  But it was worth it!

The excursion started with a bus ride across the island to the starting point of the hike.

The hike started with our guide basically just taking off and letting everyone walk at their own pace.  The group quickly spread out.  Linda and I decided that the folks up front were walking too fast to enjoy the scenery so we slowed down and smelled the roses.  There were times when the sun warmed us and other times when the clouds and breeze made it cold.  I will now bombard you with photos of the climb up to the pass.

Upon reaching the pass, we stopped by a communication tower for a rest and a snack.  The elevation there was about 1100 feet - a good climb!

Then it became time to walk down.  We followed the same path we had taken up until we turned off on the trail that would take us to the other side of the  mountain.  That's when things got wet and treacherous.  At some point we decided that we might as well make the walk easier by slopping through the bog and mud rather than rock hopping and risking a fall.  Wet and muddy sneakers - that's why we have a butler to take care of it!

Finally we got back to sea level and the welcome warmth of the bus.

It was a beautiful, challenging hike that was so very rewarding.  It was a great way to spend our last day in Norway.  The only downside was that I did not get an opportunity to have that one last Norwegian Fish Soup.  I guess we'll just have to return some time.

Tomorrow will be a welcome day at sea.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry