Di 31.08. Bike tour Vega

Cloudy, with short sunny intervals

For our bike tour on the island of Vega, we get up a little earlier to catch the 9:35 am ferry. We arrive at the ferry at 9:15 am and see it coming in.

The crossing takes 50 minutes, the port is located on a peninsula that is in front of Vega. Our first destination is the World Heritage Centre, the entire archipelago with Vega and another 6,000 islands has been designated as a World Heritage Site because of its importance for bird life - a rare wetland, a successful combination of nature conservation and human care.

On the way there, we pass through Gladstad, where there are shops and a beautiful church.

It is over 17 km to the centre, where we receive a German-speaking guided tour via headphones, which sensitively tells the story of the islands and the hard but free life there. In the 1970s, the islands were almost depopulated, even the eider ducks no longer come to Lånan so often, they no longer find nesting places built by humans that protect them from predators and the harsh climate.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, more women have been taking care of the nesting sites again, and more eider ducks have been returning and leaving behind eiderdown after rearing their young, which is extremely valuable.

In the centre, we are also advised to visit Vega's black grouse, which is another 10 km away.

The path here is wild and beautiful, Gerd stops for photos again and again, and we take a small climb, but we don't want to go all the way to the top.

Later, we learn from our campsite owner that in the summer thousands of tourists climb up here, but we only meet a few others...

The path is fantastic, with new views of the coast and various sculptures adorning the rest areas.

On the way back, we let the tailwind carry us forward and have expensive French fries at the Spar shop (60 NKR!). We return with the late ferry and reach the campsite in the rain and twilight.