SLEEPY DAY ON LOFOTEN

 Today has been a very strange day & the only word that adequately describes it is sleepy!
We weren't sleepy when we got up to a grey still sky this morning, but the world around us seemed to be & it has since seeped into our bones.  As I type this at 4pm, I can honestly say that the light has not changed since 7.30 this morning.  It feels like we are in this weird limbo in time, waiting for something to happen. Spooky.

Nevertheless... sleepiness or not, this was our last day on Lofoten & we had places to see!

The first was the small fishing village of Hamnoy, where the water was so still, we had fun with our cameras capturing reflections.

Further along we stopped at Akkarvikodden where there was another sculpture to find & some architecturally designed toilets.  The toilets weren't as exciting as we'd seen elsewhere & the walk to the sculpture was quite long & over swampy ground.  Annoyingly, I got a bit stuck & didn't make it to the sculpture, but Jeff did (longer strides!), but wasn't as impressed with it as we were with the head at Eggum a few days ago.

 What we were impressed with though, was this stunning little flower, which took several attempts with a stroppy camera to get! The spongey ground was full of them.

 We didn't have far to go today, which meant that we could afford a few deviations. 
That was my excuse anyway, when I accidently sent Jeff in the wrong direction!!
The serendipitous result was that we were able to go over these two bridges for the most amazing views on either side.

 Still not realising that we were on the wrong road, we ventured further into the sleepy little village of Fredvang & were amazed to see the houses surrounded by billions of wild flowers.  Bees would love it here.... if there were any.
We became quite enamoured with this extraordinary house that has clearly been repaired time & again.  It strangely echoed the weathered & wild mountains behind it.

 We found a BEACH!
When we drove past this stop a few days ago, the parking spot was absolutely crammed with vehicles, especially big camper vans, so there was no way we could get in. Today there was a space! But only just! We had a very pleasant walk along the white sands of Rambergstranda, with it's mountainous backdrop, before driving on.

 We had deviated off course once... we could do it again.  This time the word 'café' led us astray to the tiny village of Vikten.  We were so glad it did!
We had made the decision not to go to the village of Nusfjord, which is supposedly a living museum & really pretty.  It was also bound to be packed with camper vans, buses & tour parties just off the boat.  Here in the south of Lofoten, we have found the campervan traffic in particular to be intense & not very inclined to politely share the road.  This has rubbed the shine off our travelling here, & led us to decide to stay away from Nusfjord.
Instead... we discovered Vikten, where they had this wonderful quirkily creative café, and also a glass blowing studio to ogle over. After some seriously good cake and moans that we couldn't possibly fit glass balls into our luggage, it was time to try & find the airport in preparation for tomorrow morning's early flight.

 Drop off points noted, car fuel tank filled, it was time to find tonight's accommodation.... which proved to be an adventure in itself.  GPS's really don't like it when you don't give them a street name & number... whether you have one or not!!

Throughout our road trip, we have been so impressed with the way small communities make so much effort to 'pretty themselves up'. Lots of flowers in pots brighten the more unsightly spots & skill turns boring walls into something to enjoy looking at.  This is the wall of the dry dock in Ballstad. Wonderful.

So we end this day trying to repack our bags, and checking the weather forecast for our next destination.  Outside our window a Viking boat gently rocks on the waves that will lull us to sleep tonight.  It may have been a sleepy day, but it has still been a good day!