Stories - Episode 2 - Turning Point

The picture in this story comes from what, in my opinion, is the most beautiful beach on the Lofoten islands, Skagsanden Beach. In order to explain what significance this beach has, I have to go a little further back. 

In 2018 and 2020 my wife and I traveled to Lofoten in winter. Skagsanden Beach has become one of our favorite beaches and for me it is clearly the most beautiful beach on Lofoten islands. In early summer 2022 we set off on an incredibly eventful trip to the north of Norway. Our geographical destination for the trip was the North Cape. On the direct route, almost exactly 3137 km (1650 miles) driving distance. Due to the enormous distance, we decided to skip the entire south of Norway. We had already traveled there in the summer of 2016. We took a relatively direct route to the town of Mo i Rana in Norway. We had the best summer camping weather almost along the entire route. However, when we crossed the mountains from Sweden towards Norway, a phase of bad weather began. We were prepared for “bad weather”. It would be naive to go on a camping holiday to Norway and only expect sunshine. But there was a small setback when we crawled out of the tent in temperatures below freezing after the first night in Norway. 

It shouldn't be the final setback. The following days were wet and cold. We were unable to do some of the hiking tours we had planned, due to the heavy snowmelt and persistent rainfall. In addition to that, we found ourselves on some really poor campsites in the following days. Finally, we were in Bodo a few days earlier than planned. From here we wanted to take the ferry to Moskenes. The crossing was quite violent. It was stormy and the sea was super harsh. When we finally arrived on the Lofoten, all we wanted to do was go to the campsite in Moskenes and sleep. This is where we got the next setback. There was a large sign “Campground full” in the entrance to the site. So, we had to move on. After a short period of reflection, we headed to the “Lofoten Beach Camp” campsite on Skagsanden Beach. A place that we had only planned for the next few days. The storm had gotten worse in the meantime and the car was rocking in the wind. Opening the roof tent was not an option. It certainly wouldn't have survived the night. So, the only option was to sleep in the car with sleeping bags on the front seats. It was the absolute lowest point of the trip. A few days before, we had already considered canceling the trip and returning to summery Central Europe. The Alps had the best camping weather. We survived the night without any real sleep and the storm subsided. The weather was supposed to get better overall and so we motivated ourselves with hope for the next few days and weeks. 

Our perseverance over the previous days was finally rewarded. The weather got better. At first the rain stopped and it even cleared up at times. For the first time in days we could see the sky.

This recording was taken exactly on this day.