Man-Hike and Midnight Kayak Tour

As we crawl out of our minicamper on 16.7.22, it's no longer raining. Ready to go full steam ahead! Today we plan to climb to the summit of "Mannen," from where we can look down on the popular and well-known Haukland Beach. As soon as we start from the parking lot, the first raindrops hit our hoods again... But somehow we're getting used to it. We make our way through sheep and mud, and it's foggy again, so we can't see more than 50 meters ahead. Is this ascent worth it? Yes! When we reach the top, the sky clears up and we have fantastic views in all directions once again. Below us, the sea sparkles, and around us are green, rugged mountains. But the next big fog cloud is already forming over the sea, so we quickly start the slippery descent. The advantage of hiking on the Lofoten Islands: The duration is always quite short, between 2-3 hours. The downside: They are all very steep and almost always involve sections where you have to climb over rocks. On the way down, a beautiful rainbow accompanies us.

When we arrive at the starting point, we look on the map for areas that have beautiful water and small islands for kayaking. We decide to go to Eggum because it is also a meeting point for the tours offered by "The Northern Explorer." As we found out, it is not allowed to simply rent a kayak and paddle off on your own here. You need an Open Water License, which we don't have. Even previous experience is not enough. So we book a guided Midnight Sun Kayak Tour at 10 pm. We pass the time by walking around Eggum a bit and looking at the artwork "Head," which changes when viewed from different directions.

It's a shame that the eternal midnight sun couldn't be automatically included in the kayak tour, as it is no longer visible today. Nevertheless, we happily paddle in pairs in small groups through the sea and around the small islands. Since the Supermoon was visible in Germany 2 days ago, the water level here is extremely low at low tide. This reveals some sea urchins and starfish, which we can observe well from the boat. We also encounter a sea eagle perched on a rock not far away from us. On one of the islands, we take a short break with coffee, tea, and cookies and exchange ideas with the guide and the other paddlers. Two of them are from northern Sweden and can tell us a little about it and even invite us to visit them at home (unfortunately, their hometown is not quite on our route). Somewhat soaked and frozen from the wind, we return to the car at 1 am.

We drive a bit further to the island of Gimsøya and suddenly two young foxes play directly on the road in front of us, and we can watch them for a few minutes. Finally, we find a parking space somewhere on the side of the road that is not occupied by a camper yet (which is not so easy in the peak season on the Lofoten Islands) and fall tired into bed.