North Sea Lighthouse.

Up early to go with A to Sola to pick up our hire car; a Nissan Juke. Funny-looking wee thing, but big enough for two (plus a LOT of stuff) and comfortable. We packed up and headed down the road to Flekkefjord; a lovely trip with stunning views along the way. When we arrived in the town we were met by Bente, the owner of the cabin we would be staying in. She explained how to find the hytte, where to find the keys and how to work the boat.

We had time to shop for food on the mainland before catching our ferry to Hidra: a beautiful island almost halved by a deep fjord, with a main fishing village on each side. We drove out to Rasvåg, the village on the far side of Hidra. The island is surrounded by rocky outcrops separated by swathes of water, deep blue in the sun. The steep cliffs of the later islands boast every shade of green you can imagine, and small white- and red-painted wooden houses cluster around the bottom of each cliff. Every single house has a boathouse either incorporated underneath it or alongside, and boats are easily ten times more abundant than cars. The shallower harbour shines turquoise with thick kelp beds rising from the sandy bottom like ribbons. Small fish dart between rocks and bleached wooden jetties. The North Sea stretches to the horizon; no large waves today but white horses glisten at the base of the cliffs all the same.

When we let ourselves into the cabin (hytte), two sets of French doors faced out to the harbour. When we unbolted the wooden shutters and opened the glass doors, there was only an inch of wooden cladding between our toes and a metre's drop into the water. The cabin was typically Norwegian; wooden and minimalist, with a woven rug and smooth wooden floorboards. The hytte had no terrace, but the Omlands had invited us to visit their empty larger summerhouse on a neighbouring island, which had plenty of space for a BBQ and a couple of deckchairs, and a jetty for the boat.

As soon as we had unpacked, M and I took Irene the boat out for a trip, exploring the islands for any signs of mackerel. Unfortunately nothing was forthcoming so we took a quick trip over to admire the Omland's beautiful summer house and then home for burgers and salad, while admiring the view from our living room.

I took this photo of the little lighthouse in the opening to the North Sea later at night, as we headed out for one more trip in the evening sun. Perfect holiday so far :)