Day 4: Reine and Bunes beach

Location: Reine

Today was a more leisurely day than the previous ones, allowing us time to explore the fishing village of Reine and recover ahead of two summits tomorrow. We visited Reine in the morning, it was voted the most beautiful village in Norway and it did not disappoint. The village is surrounded by the glistening sea, dramatic walls of rock and fjords - a perfect location for a sleepy fishing village. The harbour was scattered with colourful fisherman's huts with grass roofs that were raised above the sea on stilts. I was surprised at how quiet and unspoilt the village was and imagined what it would be like to live here in the depths of winter.

Following some time in the village we took a speedboat service through the fjord. We followed the narrow inlet, below steep sided mountains and passed small hamlets with scattered colourful houses along the coast. I was mesmorised by the U-shaped valley and the sheer height of the peaks in comparison to the water level. The air felt clean, cold and refreshing as we travelled deeper into the fjord before disembarking at Vindstad. From here a trail weaved between a few scattered houses and climbed on a gentle incline. It felt good to be on a more forgiving path and have a brief respite from the rocky, challenging terrain.

The path climbed and then plateaued before descending suddenly to Bunes beach. Steep switch-backs lined with sand and marram grass led to the beach and I enjoyed picking up the pace to reach the base. The beach was almost deserted and the waves calmly lapped onto the sand. I took my boots and socks off and rolled up my trousers so I could feel the Arctic waters on my feet. I'd optimistically packed my bikini but decided against the idea after feeling the temperature on my toes. It was the kind of cold that takes your breath away, I danced and jumped around to stay warm. After gaining the feeling back in my feet I scrambled up the rough path around the headland to gain a different perspective of the view. We had time to spare before the return ferry so relaxed on the beach and the sun made an appearance. I curled up and rested my head on my pack and relaxed in the afternoon sun. On our way back, we spotted a large white structure on the beach, which on closer inspection turned out to be a bone from a whale. After much discussion, we still couldn't decide which body part this bone was from; our collective knowledge of whale anatomy was poor. But whatever it was, the size was impressive.

We returned to Reine to pick up some supplies and have a final exploration before preparing dinner. The weather was beautiful and the evening sun felt warm. I tried the local delicacy from here which is dried fish, known as stockfish (white fish such as cod dried through the winter in the cold air on wooden structures that I'd seen throughout the villages). The texture was pretty tough and I definitely preferred the fresh version we'd been eating, but was happy to try this. Dried fish is a common protein source at northern latitudes and sampling this transported me back to my first ever hiking trip abroad to Iceland, where I ate this while camping on a glacier. After dinner, I sat out by the water with a cup of tea admiring the scenery and making the most of the endless sun. The lack of night allows you to witness many shades of light throughout a typical day; from pastel daytime skies to the evening’s soft, warm rays of the low-lying sun that fall gently onto the land creating dreamlike scenery. I looked out to the sea seeing the water glisten and the mountains were bathed in a surreal palette of pinks, yellows and reds. I felt well rested after an easy day and ready to return to the rocky terrain and reach some more summits.