Day 167. Bergsfjord weather and rest day
Posted by: James on June 17, 2009Distance 0km | Time 0hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m
I slept well and when I woke at 0630 was pleased to see that the forecast wind was indeed blowing. It was a good force four and it was a westerly which would have been against me all day. I had already decided to have the day off and this justified it. I went back to bed for an hour.
After breakfast I set about yesterday’s blog. It took a few hours. I then had a sheaf of emails to attend to and that took me up to lunch. I went for a small walk in the village before I had lunch. There were a few things that struck me about the village immediately.
It was extremely friendly and everybody was chatty. The gardens here were tended with real pride and many were already blossoming. A lot of old containers were used as flower pots around the old wharf area. The road here was just a lane between the houses extending some 3 km in between its ends. The only way to get here was by boat.
I went back to the shop for lunch and the supplies I needed to get to Tromso. Again the shop was very sociable and chatty. Bergsfjord had a very nice relaxed vibe to it. After lunch I read some outdoor magazines the shop owner brought me and then went out for another walk.
In the bay in front of Bergsfjord were a number of small islands, it looked like there were a lot of either mackerel or red-billed terns breeding on the lush grass on one of them. There were a few sandy beaches in the inlets and on the islands in the main bay. This all made a very idyllic scene compared to the drama of the surrounding landscape. Spectacular ridges and jagged mountains still covered in large snowfields surrounded the village in every direction apart from the fjord and island of Silda in front.
The village seemed to be quite self sufficient. There was a hydroelectric plant. There was a very tidy boat yard to repair and maintain the 10-12 odd fishing boats based here. The old wharf area was well preserved and part of it was now a quaint restaurant.
What Bergsfjord lacked in asphalt it certainly made up for in charm. It was right up there beside Bugoynes and Maasoy as a contender for the best place I had visited on the paddle trip so far.
It had been quite a dull day but getting all the paperwork out of the way was a relief. The dullness was tempered by the wonderful village of Bergsfjord and the very comfortable and low priced room.