Lovund 66:22.192N 012:22.024E
Pelagia
Frans & Sarah Toonen
Thu 23 Jul 2015 20:13
| Thursday 23rd July 2015. 10.8nm close hauled in S3-4. Lovely sail with only 0.6 engine hours for harbour manoeuvres. There are several places to moor in the (only) port on Lovund. The island is a big salmon fishing centre so there is industry and it’s associated sheds and machinery. We were lucky to find one side of the tiny Kongebrygga pontoon free outside the coastal museum housed in an old ice house and boat sheds so were in the scenic part of the main village. The island is only 5 square kilometres and is dominated by the 625m high mountain where the west face is sheer cliffs and home to Norway’s largest puffin colony. We took the path up to rock strewn slope below the cliffs, Lundura, to see the puffins. Having been to the Treshnish Islands in Scotland 2 years ago we are totally spoilt as puffin watchers. Here at Lundura the puffins are in the distance nesting amongst the rocks. They fly overhead but move so quickly they are hard to follow with binoculars. Nevertheless the spot was very scenic and the air filled with puffins and 6 eagles out looking for supper. We saw one eagle grab a puffin in flight and fly off holding it in it's claws. Until the 1950’s the locals used to eat the puffins as well - 20,000 a year - fresh or salted. The feathers were used as well for pillows or quilts. The bit of white is the aforementioned Puffin… poor soul.  Just another 14 days to wait for a sunset.  Fly by  How many eagles can you see? We counted 6.  Dramatic  |