Flakstad

Reached Lofoten islands earlier today; the sheer number of people visiting here took a toll on me. It’s clear the infrastructure and roads here aren’t really built to handle crowds of this size. Way too many cars, camper vans, tents and vans in campsites. I almost broke camping rules today; in Lofoten islands, in most if not all of the coastal area wild camping is prohibited. I thought of camping in the wild anyway, I saw a few bike packers on the way camping in the wild. But eventually settled for a campsite, a rather expensive one. The problems of being in a touristic hotspot on a weekend. I usually try to align weekends with a big town or a city, so that I can avoid loud camper van crowd, and get myself a nice coffee or go to a museum, but this time I didn’t. Primarily because the population & towns have been thinning out in the north here, so I incorrectly assumed it won’t be very crowded in Lofoten. I was wrong. The last time I was in such a crowded campsite was in Hirtshals.

Interestingly touristy crowds makes me very aware of the fact that I am travelling alone, in contrast to being by myself in the middle of nowhere. Also crowded areas somehow doesn’t encourage natural conversations that I have been having very frequently in comparatively emptier areas.

As for Lofoten as a place, it’s quite grand. Huge grassy valleys, and sparse population makes this area quite exciting to ride a bike through. But what’s not clear to me is how Lofoten got it’s popularity, but not islands like Herøy or Dønna, or other parts of Northern Norway where I imagine the landscape is quite similar; reminded me of the what the man told me in Sandsessjøen.

Good Night!

Flakstad, Norway