We've been to Leknes before- the last time was on the CMV ship Marco Polo, when the ship ran aground. That was a bit of an experience! We eventually got ashore and escorted a tour to a replica Viking Longhouse, which was actually quite interesting.
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| The view from the cabin Balcony - the cruise ship on the left is the Aida Luna - 2100 passengers. Steinberget is the starred hill on the left, and Sundsheia on the right. |
The ship anchored out in the bay and we were tendered to a pier about a mile outside Leknes town.
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| We were the only two passengers in our tender (which is a lifeboat), on the way to the port. |
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| Gridlock at the pier - Aida tenders on the left, Saga on the right. |
Using Maps.me it seemed a long walk to the start of the climb, but we made good time (cos it's flat).
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| Ghostbusters at work in the Lofoten Islands |
Through Gravdal to a point where we climbed over a fence stile behind a garage of parked ambulances, and then we were in the woods. It wasn't long before we the trees opened out.
Before we knew it, we could see the peak of Steinberget. At that point we decided that we wanted to do more and turned our attention to Sundsheia, about a mile away and about 400ft higher.
The Norwegians love being outside, and they make easy for themselves, and us as visitors, to cycle, walk, hike and climb. Today was no different, with wooden planks laid as paths in areas where the ground would be too boggy to walk on. The paths were well used and easy to follow, and of course we used Maps.me on our phones.
We loved it.
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| A couple of locals, although this pair were looking for sweet grass rather than Cloudberries. |
As we'd walked up, I noticed loads of attractive bright orange berries on the ground, and wondered if they were edible, as the leaves reminded me of strawberries? On the way down, we met Norwegians carry small buckets of them, they explained that they were Cloudberries, often called “Mountain Gold” due to their golden skin and expensive price-tag. I should've sampled them.
The height and distance was just right considering our fitness levels and the time we had. We enjoyed a quick lunch of bananas and water, taking in the views and watching the clouds roll over and down the hills in the distance. We could see in all directions, just fantastic!
We could also see low clouds on distant hills getting closer.
We couldn't stay long if we didn't want to be soaked by mist and drizzle, so sadly it was time to go down. We did get rained on on the way back, but Peter was organised enough to have brought our waterproof jackets. We were back at the tender boats with easily an hour to spare. A good 6-7 mile walk all in all.
A seaday tomorrow, which is good cos it'll give our legs a rest. Our next Port is Tromso and another mountain.
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