*5 September 2025* This last night was one of the most dramatic nights of our lives! Without any experience of how our little caravan would behave in high winds, we were not prepared for what happened - even though we knew the forecast was for gusts up to 19 metres/second. We had positioned our caravan so that the southerly wind would hit the front, not the side, but by about 11pm the gusts were shaking our little home, with load noise - quite frightening, even though we knew rationally we would be safe. Poor Ester was terrified and kept climbing on top of me for solace. Clearly, sleep was impossible so about 12:30 we moved all three of us to the car, which was most stable and with less noise. I snatched a little sleep, but Elisabeth none. About 4:30am, Elisabeth and I moved back to the caravan, leaving Ester happily in the car, and managed to catch a bit more sleep, despite the shaking and continuous noise only partly reduced by earplugs. We had foolishly not lifted into the caravan the little plastic step the previous night, and it had disappeared. After extensive searching we found it in a hollow up a little hill! Checking the news we found out that last night the important ferry from Bodø to Moskenes (which connects the mainland with the west end of Lofoten) had run into the quay at Moskenes in heavy wind. Fortunately there were no injuries, but no vehicles or people had managed to get ashore, and work was underway to retrieve the situation. We had been planning to take this ferry to Bodø on Sunday, but the service has been cancelled until further notice. So we have had to change our plan again, and drive back up Lofoten on Sunday to the Lodingen ferry... After all this excitement, we made a lovely walk in brilliant sunshine around the peninsula towards the nearby, and more famous, Haukland Beach. ![[24-GNT - 1.jpeg]]![[24-GNT - 2.jpeg]]![[24-GNT - 3.jpeg]]![[24-GNT - 4.jpeg]] We decamped and drove on to the next island, Flakstadøya. ![[24-GNT - Map.jpeg]] ![[24-GNT - 5.jpeg]] And visited the fascinating village of Nusfjord. It is no longer a living community but has been kept as a living museum of how life was in the late 19th and early 20th century. ![[24-GNT - 7.jpeg]] In its heyday, more than 1,500 fishermen crowded into the tiny Nusfjord harbour each winter. Historic buildings tell their story: the northern boat shed (1877–88) stored traditional rowing boats and sometimes doubled as winter lodgings; the stone-oven bakery supplied sweet, syrup-rich bread that kept crews sustained at sea; and the general store (1907) stocked everything from tar and grain to porcelain, while also functioning as a bank. ![[24-GNT - 6.jpeg]]![[24-GNT - 8.jpeg]]![[24-GNT - 9.jpeg]] We drove the few kms to the top of the island and found our camping spot in the surprisingly attractive Lofoten Beach Camp. It was warm and sunny, such a contrast to last night, and we enjoyed sitting outside for our evening barbecue and walking on the beach watching the surfers making the best of smallish waves. ![[24-GNT - 10.jpeg]] << [[The GNT, Day 23 - Austvågøya to Uttakleiv]] | [[The GNT, Day 25 - Moskenesøya]] >>