Today was another travel day, we spent the whole day on the bus passing through the spectacular scenery of the Lofoten Islands in the Northwest Coast of Norway.
We learned about the concern of locals about over -tourism, and witnessed the downside of large buses trying to pass other traffic on the narrow roads. They are working on widening the road - but still these small rural towns can’t handle all the people who want to escape the throngs and heat in the more traditional travel destinations in Southern Europe.
We stopped for lunch at the Livland Gard, the farm of a couple who have been serving lunch to tourists in a converted school house since 2018. We ate an amazing charcuterie board with whale, moose, three kinds of fish and shrimp and other local delicacies.
After lunch our host, Roy, gave a presentation about the rise and fall of the whaling industry in Norway, from its peak in the 1960s to its gradual and slow decline. There was no problem when whales were hunted sustainably for food. The problems with began when people began to slaughter by the thousands for their oil. He eloquently described how horrible the slaughter had been, but but noted that the demand for whale oil abated, while the social pressures against hunting them increased. He also noted that one whale provided the same meat as 37 moose. So there are valid reasons for continuing to harvest whale under controlled circumstances. Currently, only about half of the yearly quota of 15 Minke whales are killed by hunting each year. However about 25,000 whales are killed each year from environmental damage, especially the amount of plastics in the water. He commented that whales are now hunted by Canon, as whale watching has become very popular and profitable for tourists.
We arrived in Svolvaer around 5 and checked in to our lovely hotel. We took a quick walk around the local area, enjoying the gorgeous light on the mountains and water all around the city.
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