A couple of weeks have passed since I left Norway. I’m now in hot Morocco.

But what sticks most in my mind are the Lofoten Islands. I’d highly recommend you add this unique destination to your travel bucket list.

Here were my first impressions.

Finally made it to this unique, fascinating destination.

Å (the town) is located towards the southern end of the Lofoten archipelago.

I arrived there first, starting at the beginning. Later I learned Å is actually the LAST letter of the Norwegian alphabet.

Raining and late, I decided to get a hostel room (in the museum) rather than tent.

Needing to eat, I ended up with a gourmet salmon dinner at the only restaurant open late Sunday night.

Next morning I wandered about enjoying the quirky, end of the road fishing village.

Why do people live on the Lofoten Islands?

Stockfish (mostly cod) and now tourism. Massive annual harvests here were historically dried on racks for export to nations including Portugal and Italy.

Stockfish is a staple of Nigerian cuisine too. And they like the fish heads in Nigerian cooking.

Like many other places in traditional Norway, sod roofs are popular here.

Until the late 19th century, it was the most common roof on rural log houses in Norway and large parts of the rest of Scandinavia. …

… it helps to compress the logs and make the walls more draught-proof.

In winter the total load may well increase to 400 or 500 kg per m² because of snow.

Sod is also a reasonably efficient insulator in a cold climate. The birch bark underneath ensures that the roof will be waterproof.

When one torrential Norwegian rain storm arrived, I ducked into the nearest interesting restaurant to take shelter.

It was called San Francisco Bread Bowl and served me the best I’d ever had. I ordered some kind of seafood. Delicious.

The little one is called a Baby on Board. They gave me a Chili baby for free.

You can order an assortment of babies, if you like.

Glasgow is more expensive than Canada. Tourists have to watch their pence.

Like the last time I visited, I ate one big meal a day at a lunch buffet.

This time Cook & Indi’s was my favourite. All you can eat for US$11.50.

Most of the best food is Indian. But they do have sushi, pizza, pasta, burgers. This keeps kids happy.

Though most is imported, food is very good in Bermuda.

A local favourite is fish on raisin bread with cole slaw on the side.

The Wharf is one of the three major restaurants in St. George’s town. Here’s the vista from my table.

Tourists in Chile historically did not want to visit the island of Chiloé (place of seagulls). It rains there 10 months of the year.

Darwin was here for 6 months in 1834. Hated the rain. But did name the Darwin’s fox.

But when the sun shines, it’s beautiful. A bit like Vancouver Island. Both are temperate rain forests.

In many bleak climates people use bright colours. After a few winters they fade and chip. Everything is made of wood.

I’d been interested in Chiloe only because it’s so weird. I hopped on a bus (south) on a whim, actually. And was really happy I did. It’s a very cool and unusual place. And I got good weather.

Castro is the largest city. Fishing — especially salmon farming — is an important industry.

Palafito hostel in Castro opened 2008 putting this city on the backpacker radar for the first time. Comparatively expensive at CAD $34 for a dorm bed, it’s well worth it.

An excellent breakfast, for example.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

A proposed multi-million dollar bridge which would increase tourism is still opposed by many on the island. They value their unique heritage and culture.

The Chacao Channel bridge, also known as Chiloé Bicentennial Bridge, is a planned bridge that is to link the island of Chiloé with mainland Chile crossing the Chacao Channel. …

A new airport was inaugurated in November 2012, 15 km north of provincial capital Castro …

Let’s say you wanted to get closer to the land.

Learn best practice farming.

I’d recommend you check out WWOOF Argentina. Anywhere near El Bolsón would be great.

A farmer from Port Alberni valley  who spent a week here  tells me the culture is similar to Vancouver Island. A hippie, happy place.