Kaldvåg
Kaldvåg is a small village in Hamarøy, the perfect base from which to visit some of the most stunning scenery in northern Norway. I slept so well here. Maybe it's because of the temperature. Maybe it's because there were no fireworks or roadworks at 02:00. It is so peaceful and remote. Even the nearby "city" has only 800 residents.
The farm
The road to Kaldvåg is little more than a dirt track, with just enough permanent inhabitants for the council to keep it clear in winter.
The quaint little farm cottage, where we received free rooms, beds, food, and service. What more can you ask for? The top stair creaked, and the water pump wasn't working, but that can be forgiven.
Inside, it felt old, but in a good way. Food was prepared on a wood burning stove.
This is the guest room - traditionally used only when important guests were visiting.
Oh yes, it is old.
The Cottage
You will have to excuse the darkness of these pictures, but they were taken at midnight. Without a flashgun. In a forest. With a cloudy sky.
The cottage, few kilometres outside the main village. A Hytta here will set you back as little as 50'000 NOK (£4000, E6000, $6000). This cabin is only a little more expensive, as it has prize position close to the lake.
Unconventional sheep protection.
An insane tree.
The cottage is so small and neat, and to save space, it has no banastair, even though the stairs are beside where a bed would be.
The main living quarters. The kitchen does not have a fridge (since the house has neither water nor electricity), so instead, there is a trapdoor in the floor to a hole in the earth, which keeps things cold.
The lake beside the cottage, with a beautifully eerie glow.
The other end of the lake.
Death.
The nearby countryside
The local fjord, where you can pick fresh muscles.
Hoptjørn, the local swimming pool, and the local mountain; Kaldvågtuva (530 metres).
The water is a lovely rich red. Well, I like it, even if it does bear the label "brackish".
The small island in the fjord.
A reindeer. They roam wild here, thought of as sheep with antlers - little more than farmed food, but I feel privileged to have seen one in the wild.
The area around the fjord is perfect moose country, where the trees, moss and lichens scratch a living from the bare rock.
A nearby town used to be supplied with a normal telephone service, but after a Polish-Australian group stole the cables so they could sell the copper, the private phone company were not interested in replacing them, so the villagers were given mobile phones instead.
At the other end of Kaldvåg is the Kaldvågfjord, with a view of Vest-Hamarøy.
Beautiful skies over Kaldvågtuva.
The road to Kaldvåg is little more than a dirt track, with just enough permanent inhabitants for the council to keep it clear in winter.
The quaint little farm cottage, where we received free rooms, beds, food, and service. What more can you ask for? The top stair creaked, and the water pump wasn't working, but that can be forgiven.
Inside, it felt old, but in a good way. Food was prepared on a wood burning stove.
This is the guest room - traditionally used only when important guests were visiting.
Oh yes, it is old.
The cottage, few kilometres outside the main village. A Hytta here will set you back as little as 50'000 NOK (£4000, E6000, $6000). This cabin is only a little more expensive, as it has prize position close to the lake.
Unconventional sheep protection.
An insane tree.
The cottage is so small and neat, and to save space, it has no banastair, even though the stairs are beside where a bed would be.
The main living quarters. The kitchen does not have a fridge (since the house has neither water nor electricity), so instead, there is a trapdoor in the floor to a hole in the earth, which keeps things cold.
The lake beside the cottage, with a beautifully eerie glow.
The other end of the lake.
Death.
The local fjord, where you can pick fresh muscles.
Hoptjørn, the local swimming pool, and the local mountain; Kaldvågtuva (530 metres).
The water is a lovely rich red. Well, I like it, even if it does bear the label "brackish".
The small island in the fjord.
A reindeer. They roam wild here, thought of as sheep with antlers - little more than farmed food, but I feel privileged to have seen one in the wild.
The area around the fjord is perfect moose country, where the trees, moss and lichens scratch a living from the bare rock.
A nearby town used to be supplied with a normal telephone service, but after a Polish-Australian group stole the cables so they could sell the copper, the private phone company were not interested in replacing them, so the villagers were given mobile phones instead.
At the other end of Kaldvåg is the Kaldvågfjord, with a view of Vest-Hamarøy.
Beautiful skies over Kaldvågtuva.