43. "A" - Lofoten Islands

The Lofoten Islands are an archipelago located off the northwest corner of Norway, and are famed for their natural scenic beauty. I'm attaching pix here, but take a moment and google it. Its stunning.

"A" is pronounced like "out" without the "t" sound, and is the end of the road that weaves amidst the fjords and mountains of the Lofoten Islands. We drove about 2.5 hours from Svolvaer to A, and hiked around the area.

On another note, what a joy to be in a place this extraordinary without the feeling of being a sardine in the tourist sardine can. There were tourists, mostly backpackers and camper van people, but plenty of free space to wander and find solitude. I'm not sure about this, but I attribute it to the remoteness of the location, the cost of getting / being here, as well as the unreliable weather patterns. The people here are largely campers, and who wants to camp in the rain? According to the locals, we lucked out with pretty good weather.Read more