From Ballstad to Hauckland Beach to Leknes

On Thursday morning, we got to breakfast early so we could fuel up and be on time for a fishing trip that left from the dock just outside our fisherman’s cabin (hotel room).

We walked to the dock at the appointed time and met Frank, the first mate. When Frank introduced himself to us, he said his name like “Franck” and all I could think of was Martin Short’s character from ‘Father of the Bride.’ I took utter delight in saying Franck throughout our fishing trip.

Turns out Frank’s son, Christopher, was captain of our fishing boat. Christopher runs a fishing business out of Ballstad and spoke perfect English. Given that the two biggest industries on the Lofoten Islands are fishing and tourism, I think most people we’re coming into contact with speak perfect English. But I digress.

Also joining us on this fishing expedition was a father and son from Maryland and a couple from Italy. Captain Christopher got his boat started and off we went into Vestfjorden to look for fish. About 25 minutes into the trip, Christopher stopped the boat, dropped anchor, and he and Frank (Franck!) set us all up to fish. Tim, Taylor, Wyatt, and I all used the fishing wheels. I’m not gonna lie; I really liked the wheel set-up. Made it much easier to fish. All of us on board caught fish fairly quickly, and the fish buckets started to fill up. Wyatt caught a whopper of a fish – a huge pollock. Christopher cut out the pollock’s heart and showed it to us; it was still beating. I’m never going to unsee that sight.

The guy behind Wyatt is Franck!

Fishergirl.

Fisherboy caught a BIG pollack.

I give fishing with wheels a thumbs up.

Christopher and Frank had us reel in and then we motored over to another fishing spot. It was at this spot, while the boat was doing some serious rocking, that I started to feel seasick. I reeled in my wheel, put the brake on it, and sat down. I pretty much stayed down until we got back to the dock, which thankfully didn’t take all that long.

I had had enough and was ready for land.

Once back at the dock, Christopher had us get off the boat and gather round a table where he showed us how to fillet fish. This is not a skill I will ever pick up, but I did watch (gingerly) and the man told amazing stories while he wielded his knife. He shared that the big fishing season on Lofoten is from January through April. That the most coveted jobs are those on a fishing boat, as those folks can make a cool $1M during that time. And that fishermen and women wake up at 3am, head out to sea, fish all day, come back in around 10pm, unload their catch, go home, and then rinse and repeat. It sounds crazy hard, although the pay-off is big time.

Christopher doing his thing with a sharp knife.

Christopher told us another story about cod, which is what everyone fishes in Lofoten. If you’re not careful when you’re filleting the cod, you can rupture the gallbladder, which can then squirt crystals that could get lodged in your eye. If you get crystals in your eye, it’s extraordinarily painful and you must head to the hospital where medical staff will flush your eye with water for 12-24 hours. Um, bananas.

We left our fishing extravaganza with a few fish fillets and a newfound appreciation for the fishing industry on the Lofoten Islands. We said goodbye to Ballstad and drove a little bit down the road to Leknes, stopping at the Leknes Bakeri for some Norwegian pastries since we skipped lunch.

While sitting at the Bakeri, Tim did a little googling and realized that we were about 15 minutes away from what was billed as the most beautiful beach in all of Norway. We finished up our snacks, bought two towels at a nearby store, and hopped back in the car, following directions to Hauckland Beach. And dang, we crested a hill and were treated with the most magnificent view. It’s so hard to describe this beach, so maybe the photos below will help. It’s beach surrounded by majestic mountains and sheep and soft sand and a one-lane road and trails for hiking and it felt like heaven.

Just beach. Where's Ken?

I mean...it's BEAUTIFUL.

We parked in a grassy lot and the kids changed into their swimsuits. We walked across the one-lane road and onto the sand, all the way down to the water. Everyone except me took turns running into the frigid water. Hey, I was wearing pants and I don’t like being cold. We learned that Taylor really loves Arctic water. That girl was happy as a clam hanging out in the sea.

The sheep just roam near Hauckland Beach.

We kind of wanted to take one home -- it'd be a great friend for Roger.

Flexing after a dip in the frigid sea.

More flexing.

THEY WENT BACK IN.

We loved this beach SO MUCH!

We resolved to return to the beach the following day, and the kids made me promise I would get in the water.

We left Hauckland Beach and headed to our next overnight stay, this time at the Lofoten Base Camp. Yet again, we had a little fishing cabin. This place was great; Tim cooked Wyatt’s fish in the fully equipped kitchen, I did laundry (these cabins have washing machines!), the kids swam (again) and wrestled – you know, the usual. It was a pretty awesome Thursday night.

Heading into the water just down from our fishing cabin.

She loves this cold water; she was so happy to be swimming.

Enjoying his catch of the day.

Tim and Wyatt went on a 9:30pm hike because you can do that here. And Taylor and I stayed in the cabin and watched ‘Nailed It’ on Netflix. It’s all about #downtime.