By chance, we found out that there is an island nearby where puffins come to nest during the summer months. We knew there were puffins in Norway, but we thought they were only found around Lofoten and that they would already have left again by the time we got there. So naturally, we were very excited to get the chance to see them!
We made our way to the island of Lovund, and it definitely did not disappoint. Lovund is home to one of Norway's largest puffin colonies, with around 200,000–300,000 puffins spending the summer there. They usually arrive in April and stay until late August before heading back out to sea.
The island itself is also pretty spectacular, with a huge mountain rising straight from the sea and a beautiful little archipelago surrounding it. Since we arrived quite late, I went for a short walk up the smaller mountain before we headed towards the puffin viewing area. The best time to see them is in the evening, so we arrived at exactly the right time.
And it did not disappoint! There were probably thousands of puffins flying around and sitting on the little rocks above us. It was amazing to watch, although not quite as easy to capture with a phone camera. Luckily, we had remembered to bring our binoculars, so we could really enjoy watching them up close.
The next day, we set off on another long leg. Our goal was to reach the Lofoten Islands today!
After only two hours of sailing north of Lovund, we crossed the Arctic Circle! The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line around the Earth at approximately 66°33′ north latitude. Crossing it means entering the region where, during summer, the sun can stay above the horizon for 24 hours or more - the famous Midnight Sun.
Since the longest day of the year had already passed, we didn't get to experience the Midnight Sun itself, but it was still bright throughout the entire night thanks to the long-lasting twilight.
Crossing the Arctic Circle was something we were incredibly proud of. Not every sailor gets to say that they have sailed this far north with their own boat! There is a tradition of taking an Arctic swim to celebrate, but since we were still under sail, we decided that jumping into the water would simply be too risky. Turning the boat around under sail isn't exactly easy, and it definitely wasn't worth taking unnecessary risks.
The next best thing was to fill a bucket with seawater and pour it over our heads—which is exactly what I chose to do. Reto preferred to celebrate with a beer. Since we couldn't find an Arctic-themed beer, he went for the next most fitting option: a Corona!
We had a fantastic sail and, after just 14 hours, reached the island of Værøy, the second outermost island of the Lofoten archipelago. It is an incredibly spectacular place, with steep mountains, white beaches and a long fishing history.
When we dropped anchor, we decided that it was finally time for our Arctic swim. The water was absolutely freezing, but we couldn't cross the Arctic Circle without getting properly wet, right?
We were anchored in a bay with quite a lot of swell, though, so it wasn't exactly the most relaxing night. The next morning, we took the dinghy ashore and explored the beautiful beach before moving Lív into the harbour, which was only about an hour and a half away from the anchorage.
Because of the upcoming weather, we decided to stay in the harbour for the next two days. This gave us some time to explore the island and work on a few boat projects an our Website.
Reto finally had time to connect our watermaker to the electrical system. Since we had always had fresh water available in the harbours so far, we had never really felt the need to put it into operation. But it feels good to finally have it working and to know that, from now on, we don't have to rely on water from harbours and shops anymore!
With the storm in full swing that evening, we decided to treat ourselves to a sauna. There was one in the harbour that you could simply book with your phone, so that's exactly what we did. And it felt SO good!
We had a great time on Værøy, and for our last evening, we cooked the best fish tacos we have ever had - with our own freshly caught fish, of course!
Come back to explore the Lofoten Islands through our perspective!
Day 97: Hjartøya NO - Lovund NO
Day 98: Lovund NO - Måstadvika NO
Day 99: Måstadvika NO - Vaerøy NO
Day 100: Vaerøy NO
