Gimsoy, Lofoten Norway

Travelled:154km via Grunnfor, Austnesfjorden, Svolvaer, Kabelvag, Henningsvaer

Stay: Hov, free parking area near small fishing village. No services but camping area close by. 68.3418 14.0829

 

We drove back to the E10 for a little bit, over a couple of bridges and through a few tunnels (the longest today 3.4km under the water).

We then took a smaller road via Fiskebol and Grunnfor. 

 

It was very pretty and we were very lucky to see our second Moose on our travels. We were able to get a good look at him as he decided to walk across the road in front of us. Unfortunately he had no antlers as they fall off during winter and they need to regrow them in Spring because they use up too much energy to maintain them. 

We then finished our loop and rejoined the E10. We stopped just near Sildpollnes at a National Tourist Route stop Austnesfjorden (more info on website nasjonaleturistveger.no). A wooden walkway was built on the promontory offering pretty views of the fjord and surrounding mountains.

Our next stop was Svolvaer, a busy town, where we did some shopping, went to the tourist office and filled up on LPG.

 

Once these were accomplished we continued on the E10 and stopped in Kabelvag to have a closer look at the big wooden church built in 1898.

We then made our way to Henningsvaer, a fishing village that has been set up as a tourist destination offering cafes, museums and craft shops.

 

The village has played a significant role in Lofoten's fishing history and as we looked around it was evident that fishing was still important for the town by the amount of drying racks for the stockfish. Between February and April, huge quantities of cod migrate to Lofoten to spawn. They are caught and dried on the racks until June.

We found a spot on park4night in Hov on Gimsoy Is. We decided to drive up there and have a look. Along the way we passed a golf course and a small camp ground. The spot in Hov was a grassy parking area next to the very small fishing port but it also had lots of dry racks. Once settled we strolled out along the breakwater to the lighthouse and found a huge whale bone.