A shopping centre with fresh groceries next door, and an experienced sailor at the pier, together already make a good basis for a successful stay (especially in this weather). When we are told where the puffins nest, Lois’ heart leaps – she has hardly expressed her wish to see puffins when the sailor points out that thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of them nest on a rock not far from here, on an island called Lovund.
No problem for us. – Cast off and in just over two hours we are there, in the home of the puffins!
Lovund is actually just a towering mountain out in the sea. A rugged flank serves as a protective retreat for many birds. Only a few ornithologists make it this far. The village on this rocky island is supposed to be booming: the municipality is trying to win back families with clever ideas. Families who want to do their thing in peace and earn good money from various resident businesses/fish farms. There don’t seem to be any building regulations, as the interesting variety of new detached houses in particular suggests. There are also two shops, a trendy coffee roastery (!) and a new museum. The salmon farm shipping harbour is being greatly expanded, but the marina, which is also new, seems to be empty. Today, at any rate, we are the only ones moored here. We don’t find a harbour master (he doesn’t find us either).
Anyway, off we go. With good shoes, rain jacket and binoculars, we march to the countless birds that come and go or fly in and out, making you dizzy. It’s a hustle and bustle – how do they find their nest with such precision? How do they avoid collisions? How do they communicate?
Display boards on site help to learn more about the life of the funny puffins out here. But we are also gently advised not to enter certain areas and not to climb around in the slope. No problem for us; while Lois follows the activity in detail with binoculars, I just lie down against a stone and let the hustle and bustle take its effect on me.
Above us, the dark grey cloud cover looms. Below, far in the distance, the mainland is visible. Wind comes up. We are in another world here.