Tern's Travels

26-27th June, Vagan, Austvagoy, Lofoten
The Vagan area of Lofoten is a true honey-pot for tourists: centre of the Vikings, then centre of Norwegian politics in the 13th century, then after a decline in importance after the Black Death in 1350, an eventual resurgence in importance throughout the 19th century due to the cod fish trade. Drawn to this very gorgeous honeypot of Storvagan, we have visited the Lofoten museum, walked the heritage walk to neighbouring Kabelvag and used the robust internet at the small marina to download some excellent Norwegian folk music, by a band called Frigg.
There are three attractions here, the museum, the aquarium and the Galleri Espolin, as well as a lovely hotel and restaurant, so why wouldn't the tourists come? We have been aware that, despite the days now growing shorter, we are only just at the start of the holiday season here, though it's far from reliably summery. Although it was quite warm and sunny on Sunday, when we did our tourist thing, today has been cold with a gusty NW wind and sculptural clouds. Most days we wear four layers of woollens and waterproofs, so if it ever gets sunny and warm we bare the flesh as long as we can stand it. Not that we've been swimming yet, but swimming inside the Arctic Circle is on my bucket list, it will happen!
The Museum greatly exceeded our expectations; it was beautifully set out in the restored buildings of the settlement at Storvagan with a tremendous collection of artefacts, boats, furnishings, paintings and craft materials, so you got a great feeling for how the people lived in a 19th century fishing community. Probably the highlight for me was the discovery of the artist Kirstine(Steine) Colban Aas, whose watercolours from around 1800 illustrate the landscape so beautifully. The other highlight was a film/slide show of views from lighthouses of Norway which illustrated the fascinating history of lighhouse keepers and their families. Most lighthouses had several families living around them with their own governess or small school and unbelievable tales of resourcefulness and resilliance. Some would haul soil out to isolated lighthouses on wind and wave-swept rocks and grow vegetables in the summer, then store the soil over the winter in the light house and replant in the spring. Many had goats or a cow or two and if there was no grass, they would have grass cut from the mainland sent out on supply boats. There were several testimonies as to what a perfect life it was to be a lighthouse keeper, especially if you enjoyed reading.