After
another short night and a concentrated coffee infusion, we leave Bogen at 7
a.m. to head back north to Andenes where the whale safari will start. The roads
are empty and we are fighting against tiredness. We stop after 30km to have a
quick picnic and even quicker nap. That was perfect! Now we are fresh and ready to
attack the resting 202km.
We originally planned to join the 12:00 safari, but we arrive
on time to just jump on to the next safari starting in 10 minutes. We couldn’t
have planned it better! Isa is so excited to see the spermwhales!
Miji, plays the captain, checks the boat, but is then happy to sit quietly in a corner and nap a bit more: let's not forget: this is a 1 hour trip to the place where the whales can be seen. And Miji doesn't like boats.
The sea is agitated. Not long after the take-off, people around are getting very sea-sick and start vomiting all over - chasing Miji to the upper deck to join Isa.
All of a sudden the captain calls out to everybody to be quiet, a whale is near us… he makes us listen the echo-clicking sound of it – toc-toc-toc-toc… this is the echolocation the whale uses to find its food: the giant-squids living in 500m to 3000m deep-sea. It uses one nostril for its echolocation-function and the other one to breath. When the whale has finished chasing the squid, it comes back up and stops the echolocation-sound. So right now it is chasing, toc-toc-toc… and then... quiet, no sound anymore… there! There it is, at the surface getting some air! Amazing! The spermwhale is huge!!
Monique Takeapic is going crazy with the continuous high-speed mode of the camera.
Miji, plays the captain, checks the boat, but is then happy to sit quietly in a corner and nap a bit more: let's not forget: this is a 1 hour trip to the place where the whales can be seen. And Miji doesn't like boats.
The sea is agitated. Not long after the take-off, people around are getting very sea-sick and start vomiting all over - chasing Miji to the upper deck to join Isa.
All of a sudden the captain calls out to everybody to be quiet, a whale is near us… he makes us listen the echo-clicking sound of it – toc-toc-toc-toc… this is the echolocation the whale uses to find its food: the giant-squids living in 500m to 3000m deep-sea. It uses one nostril for its echolocation-function and the other one to breath. When the whale has finished chasing the squid, it comes back up and stops the echolocation-sound. So right now it is chasing, toc-toc-toc… and then... quiet, no sound anymore… there! There it is, at the surface getting some air! Amazing! The spermwhale is huge!!
Monique Takeapic is going crazy with the continuous high-speed mode of the camera.
Right
before dipping back into the deep-sea to chase the next giant squid, it lifts
up its tail straight to dip vertically down… then it’s gone for about 30
minutes.
We follow this spectacular scene 3 times, and then the captain turns back to the shore. Isa is very happy; Miji a bit disappointed that he couldn't touch the whales.
We follow this spectacular scene 3 times, and then the captain turns back to the shore. Isa is very happy; Miji a bit disappointed that he couldn't touch the whales.
We get back
on the bike to drive towards our first planned destination: the Lofoten
islands, 286km… The scenery is filled with pointed peaked mountains along the
sea separated by deep green fields and sandy white beaches. Very beautiful.
To keep entertained, Miji practices the newly learned echolocation method, but besides caravans in front, he cannot find anything else.
After a short ferry trip we reach our first island on the Lofoten: Austvagoy.
We have to reach the second last island Flakstadoy to find today’s destination.
Unbelievable, but the landscape has become even more spectacular. After every curve things change and it’s just getting more and more amazing.
The sun is sometimes with us and then again hidden behind the mountains. We are overwhelmed and feel unable to take everything in…
Almost as a salvation we reach the very picturesque small fisher village at the Nusfjord, where we have planned to spend the next two nights. We arrive at almost midnight, happy to find our place to rest. Today’s achievement: 1600 pictures taken!
Notes from Miji:
While Isa is getting the whale safari tickets, an old man approaches Miji and says "Nice BMW, I had one myself when I was younger". Both pilots discuss motorcycling intensively until Isa comes back. At that moment he recommends to absolutely ride a pass near Bergen, but he warns to be careful: "There is a man who lost his wife there last week" he says. "That's unfortunate... especially if you have only one of them...", "but then if you want to get more of them, it might become expensive..." "so better to have one, but leave her at home" :-D. It turned out that that old man was the captain of the second boat, a catamaran, also doing whale safaris. We would have joined him in the catamaran, but he was leaving only at 12:00.
To keep entertained, Miji practices the newly learned echolocation method, but besides caravans in front, he cannot find anything else.
After a short ferry trip we reach our first island on the Lofoten: Austvagoy.
We have to reach the second last island Flakstadoy to find today’s destination.
Unbelievable, but the landscape has become even more spectacular. After every curve things change and it’s just getting more and more amazing.
The sun is sometimes with us and then again hidden behind the mountains. We are overwhelmed and feel unable to take everything in…
Almost as a salvation we reach the very picturesque small fisher village at the Nusfjord, where we have planned to spend the next two nights. We arrive at almost midnight, happy to find our place to rest. Today’s achievement: 1600 pictures taken!
Notes from Miji:
While Isa is getting the whale safari tickets, an old man approaches Miji and says "Nice BMW, I had one myself when I was younger". Both pilots discuss motorcycling intensively until Isa comes back. At that moment he recommends to absolutely ride a pass near Bergen, but he warns to be careful: "There is a man who lost his wife there last week" he says. "That's unfortunate... especially if you have only one of them...", "but then if you want to get more of them, it might become expensive..." "so better to have one, but leave her at home" :-D. It turned out that that old man was the captain of the second boat, a catamaran, also doing whale safaris. We would have joined him in the catamaran, but he was leaving only at 12:00.
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