Only after we had booked our nonrefundable flights and camper van rental did it dawn on me that my vision of the Lofton Islands in April was horribly flawed. I had been picturing spring blossoms, green hillsides, and trees budding out, just like it was in Bergen. In an abrupt jolt back to reality, I remembered that I had traveled to Lofton the previous May. Then it was brown, spring was far from springing. 

Of course, it should have dawned on me even earlier when the camper van company recommended that we spend the extra money to add winter tires. In an impressive bought of naivety, I rolled my eyes, thinking, Lofton is like Bergen, the ocean moderates the temperature and it does not snow that much! This is a proclamation that we would laugh about many times in the coming days as winter overtook us in every way. 

The full reality hit as the clouds broke on our descent into snow covered Bodø. The freezing winds battered the side of our airplane, making for a rough landing on the partially snow-packed runway. It was then that we realized what type of adventure we were actually embarking on: arctic winter camping. It became crystal clear that the snow tires were going to be a necessity. 

At first, I felt a bit disappointed, eager to share my previous experience of northern Norway with Serhii. I had been daydreaming about the many hikes we could do together and all the sites there were to share. Fortunately, that feeling did not linger as the incredible beauty of white northern Norway fully captured all our attention. That and the many troubles that were in store for us in the coming days.  

We woke up on our first morning, perched high overlooking the ocean near Reine, to a blizzard and a vehicle covered in eight inches of snow. We used every minute until check-out trying to gather our bearings. When it was time to go, our trusty studded winter tires let us know quickly that even they couldn’t manage in the deep snow.

Fortunately, the camp host rescued us with his plow, and we were on our way. 

We took our time navigating the roads while the weather threw out a mix of sun and snow, stopping to take pictures, drink tea, and relax whenever the mood struck. Opting to save the money and camp for free, I remembered Haukland Beach, a beautiful out-of-the-way spot with a few overnight parking options. We settled in as the freezing wind battered our camper and made staying inside for the evening our best option. 

The next morning, we woke to an ice-cold camper without a functioning heater and no water. Our van possessed a nifty feature to protect the pipes in cold weather. When the temperature gets too low, the water automatically dumps to prevent the pipes from freezing. In the night, the heater had stopped working, then the temperature in the van plunged, and all our water was released. At first, we were confused as to why the fault code on the heater read that we had a fuel supply issue. We thought they had sent us off with two full propane tanks. Knowing that regardless of our assumption, that was the most obvious issue, we switched tanks, and sure enough, our original tank was empty. It took some further troubleshooting to figure out how to reset the water tank, but soon enough, we had two full propane tanks, a functioning heater, and a full tank of water. With many problems solved, we felt quite competent, and off we went. 

Still in good spirits after three days in Lofton and feeling like all our winter camping bugs were out of our systems, Serhii announced that he wanted to go to Nordkapp, the northernmost point of the European continent and 1,000 kilometers to the north. Unsure if the road was open the entire way, we set out, fully embracing our winter trip and eager to see reindeer and maybe even the northern lights! 

Twenty-four hours later with the snow on the ground growing from inches to feet while it continued restlessly coming down as the kilometers ticked by, it became clear that there was far too much snow for reindeer and too many clouds forecasted to see the northern lights. 

Yet, we continue on just to see how far we can make it and what surprises might be in store for us!