Stokmarknes to Svolvær
That evening's sunset.
We left Stokmarknes, crossed the fjord and went around the island of Brottøya into the Tengelfjord and under the Tengelfjord Bridge that carries the E10.
After we passed Ulvøya and Brakøya islands, we made a U-turn around them and sailed up another arm of the fjord. We were going to have a look at Trollfjord, created when a troll was jumping from mountain to mountain and slipped and his axe carved this deep but narrow gash in the landscape.
It was dark when I left the ship as we had headed west a long way since experiencing dawn and dusk an hour earlier just a few days before. My guide was waiting for me on the dock and a driver took us for a tour through the town centre, over a bridge and we were in the old fishing centre. It was dark and many of the photos were so poor that only a few survived the cull of out of focus shots.
The first stop was a drying rack. I had seen them before and there will be other opportunities but it is a large open wooden structure, A frame in cross section with widely spaced thin poles along the sides. A pair of fish, typically cod, have they tails tied together and are hung on the poles to dry.
The temperature must be just right, not too cold or they will freeze, not too warm or they will rot so typically February to April are the months that are best months suited to drying fish. The fish can lose up to 80% o their weight but in this dried state they can last for years, the top I have heard quoted is 30 years, but it makes them tradeable across a large area. It was such an industry that 80% of the governments income came from trading cod from the Lofoten islands. It made merchants rich, it boosted the influence of the Hanseatic League and made them rich. But it did little for the poor peasant who did ll the work.
As the cod season approached a captain would choose his crew, often family members and neighbours. They had to rent a fishing hut (rorbu in Norwegian) from the merchant who alleged that he owns the fishing rights (not true but the peasants couldn't challenge him) and buy all their supplies from him (at inflated prices). They had to sell their produce to the merchant and he paid per long hundred, so he paid for 100 but expected to receive 120 dried fish. The fishermen used small boats and often had to row if conditions were not right for sailing and face rough seas and storms whilst out at sea so it was dangerous as well as hard work. There nets were made from cotton which if left in the water for too long would lose their strength, snap and sink to the bottom and nets are expensive to replace. And there were disputes such as the Battle of Trollfjord.
No money changed hands during the season, it was all done on tick and tally. At the end of the season, the catch was priced and the costs deducted. You had succeeded if you were still alive. Often the payback was modest considering all the hard work that the fishermen had put in. Often, they still owed money to the merchant and would have to return the next season hoping to catch a few more fish, pay off the debt and return home with at least some money in their pockets.
The cod live in the cold Barents Sea to the north but must have water temperatures of 5 - 7 degrees centigrade to breed. The Gulf Stream from the Gulf of Mexico makes its way across the Atlantic and warms the cold seas off Norway and the conditions are just right at Lofoten and hence its importance in the fish trade.
We entered one of the rob and inside was how it might have looked more than a century before with a lot o fishing gear hanging up and a cramped living area where the crew would eat, sleep and mend nets. There was no toilet or running water for washing so conditions were primitive.
A photo of the cafe and reception area but no photos were allowed in the gallery itself which holds more than 70 of his paintings, which is just 10% of his output. He died aged 30 in Berlin but had he lived just a little longer, his name may have become as famous as other painters of hs era.
The main counter.
And another item, a card of buttons and for more details ask your great grandmother or grandma because if she used a needle, she can tell you about a card of buttons.
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