Stormy Hågåsen.

Big fat raindrops have been shattering across the island today, whipped up by a westerly gale into a crashing summer storm. The sea is churning, sending plumes of spray into the keyhole of rocks that form the main opening to the North Sea from the sheltered water around the island. Even the water close to the island is lumpy and grey and along the lines of the current, streams of foam snake from sea to land. The sky is granite grey and the water a dull greenish mirror; the rocks are slick with wet spattered leaves. Beautiful.

I wouldn't have let M take the boat out this morning if he wasn't so experienced (and sensible). We stayed well within the calmer water, watching the horizon wobble with every wave set, but the pitch of the little fishing boat was still a bit strong for me, so we headed in quickly. We decided to drive back to Hågåsen, our lovely summery viewpoint from the other day. We watched three boats battle out against the swell (and their better judgment), holding our breath as they were picked up by gigantic swells and thrown down into deep troughs (they can be picked out in large). Luckily the boats decided to turn into the next bay, and we saw them later, safe and sound.

A and L headed home after lunch, and for the rest of the afternoon, M and I curled up in the living room with a bottle of red wine and the radio on, falling asleep under the reindeer skin and watching the boats bob in the harbour outside.

In the evening we cooked a cod, a mackerel and a ling - the cod we had for tea with vegetables, the mackerel was made into pate for lunch tomorrow and the ling was made into fish stew for tea tomorrow. Even with all that food, we had a cod spare, so we froze it for the owners of the hytte. The sign of successful fishing is to be able to give away some of your catch!

We'll be really sad to leave the Omlands' hytte tomorrow; we've had the most wonderful week :)