Flatøy Lighthouse

the best dinner of my life

One late September evening we were all given the night off and plotted to make the most of it. The busy summer season of the hotel that employed my colleges and I was coming to an end, and of the few guests staying on the island no one had booked dinner. This set all of us who typically spent evenings working in the kitchen, making and serving dinner, baking bread, doing dishes and polishing the wine glasses, free. Best of all, our day off coincided with perfect weather: clear blue skies, sunshine and critical to our day-off-plans, calm seas.

Northwest from our island home, Manshausen, was another island. We were located in the middle of an archipelago so there were islands in every direction, but this one was set apart from the rest, far to the west and home to the only lighthouse in the area. This lighthouse wasn’t visible from our island, but from the boat ride I made countless times a week, to and from the mainland. During these frequent crossing I admired the gleaming white beacon, especially when bathed in evening’s golden light, and sometimes imagined it was beckoning to me, inviting me over for a visit. Perhaps the lighthouse was lonely, I thought, all alone out there in the wild sea.

Then one day Astrid, my friend and boss, overheard Tom and I talking about the lighthouse and mentioned it was possible to visit. She explained the whole island is owned by the state and during the summer they maintain a floating dock for visitors. There were only two complications. First, autumn was fast approaching the floating dock would likely be taken down any day and second, we needed a very calm day to boat out there. The half hour ride was straight forward, but because the island stood alone, outside of the protection of the archipelago, the open seas surrounding it could be tumultuous. We needed idyllic conditions to ensure safe passage to my beloved lighthouse.

On this day the stars had aligned for us, offering the perfect combination of idyllic conditions: we were all off work, the seas were completely flat and clear skies would offer a beautiful sunset, we had to go.

Tom recruited our neighbor Randi Skaug (the first Norwegian woman to summit Mt.Everest) to come with us. She is excellent company, full of stories and laughter, but more critical to our outing, she had a motor boat. With the whole crew off and everyone enthusiastic to visit the illusive lighthouse, we were too many for just one boat. Randy kindly joined and together with Tom, they toted us across the sea.

The half hour crossing was thrilling as the mysterious island and lighthouse grew steadily closer. Uninterrupted by waves or winds, the journey was quick and soon we were working together to tie the boats to the floating dock, and off load our dinner supplies. Most of the crew then headed up to the lighthouse, while Tom and Randi stayed back to fish for our dinner, Randi by pole and Tom by spear.

The Lighthouse

After Tom jumped into the sea to hunt for dinner, I finally headed up the path to the lighthouse. I was glad to be walking alone, for the approach felt monumental. It always feels strange to finally arrive in a place you have longed to be, when the anticipation and excitement subsides and you are left in awe.

I inched up the hill slowly, trying to stretch this moment to its fullest extent, and paid attention to every detail of the landscape surrounding me: the golden grasses on either side of the path, the distant silhouette of the archipelago to the east where we all lived, the crisp air, and the wonderful feeling of being in the middle of no where.

(above) views to the west & (below) friends watching the sun set

views to the east of the lighthouse

in the center of the photograph above there are two very distinct peaks, those peaks belong to the mountains surrounding Nordskot & are local to our island home.

A short aside:

Now I can’t remember who it was that told me this cautionary tale…

A few years ago, a couple came through Nordskot looking for a ride out to this lighthouse. In the summer months it is possible to stay on the island in very basic accommodations in the barn (pictured above). It is also possible to rent the entire island for the staggering price of $80 a day so if I ever have a wedding don’t be surprised if you are invited to a remote island above the Norwegian arctic circle for a party.

A local fisherman, who shall remain nameless, agreed to drive them out and collect them three days later. When he showed up three days later the people were in dire straits having taken little water, even less food and no bedding or sleeping gear to stay warm during their stay. Apparently, they had no idea how remote this place was, poor things, and anticipated some type of hospitality on the island.

Exploring the Island

From the lighthouse a trail stretched across the hill top to another structure, the light tower. This structure is positioned west of the main lighthouse and I assume was established to reiterate the warning to vessels passing along the western side of the island. It was hard to not personify the lighthouse as a parent and the light tower a small child, in a bright red wool hat who had wondered off to explore the hill side.

The short walk to the tower was an autumnal scene. Tall grasses were golden as they began to dry out for the colder months ahead and the collection of species that made up the low brush were transitioning into brilliant shades of red. Even the mosses coating rocks along the trail were representing the new season in shades of oranges and browns. So this is where the ferries live, I thought to myself.

the view from up in the light tower offered a nice overview of the lighthouse & the path I had just walked down.

From my longest toe, the one next to my big toe, to the crown of my head, I was filling with happiness. Never could I have predicted that my 25 year of life would have me living and exploring above the Norwegian Arctic Circle.

I have said many times to friends and family that I never could have planned the experience I had in Norway, and I continue to be in awe of the happenstance and randomness of it all. Sometimes I couldn’t help but think, what have I done to deserve such a gift? Standing on this island, far away from the rest of the world, completely surrounded by mountains and sea, bathed in the most beautiful setting sun, breathing fresh autumn air, I was very full.

the trail lead me to many tidal pools whose waters reflected the beautiful sky

every few feet & every few minutes a new reflection or subtle change in light revealed a new perspective. This place was endlessly beautiful.

Even there, in the middle of nowhere, I found a plastic bottle...

This was the only piece of trash I found on my walk around the island. I was very much inland and am sure walking down along the sea I would have intersected with more. This bottle and the photograph of it is a reminder to us all that humanity impacts every inch of this planet and collectively we can treat our shared mother earth with a little more thought. And while we are at it, we might try to treat each other with a little more tenderness.

back to the lighthouse for dinner

I headed back to the lighthouse to help with dinner, for as per usual I was gladly charged with the bread making. It was Tom’s idea to make grilled flat breads with some of the sourdough I had started that day, and they turned out beautifully.

Since I made bread in tins, my sourdough was a very wet dough. To make the flat breads I placed some of my original dough in a bowl and added another cup or two of rye flour, kneaded the dough into a nice ball, and then placed it into a glass bowl with a tea towel on top to rest and rise until dinner time. When the fire was going I began rolling out small balls of dough with a wine bottle and threw them directly onto the red hot coals of the fire. Most puffed up nicely, all were charred to perfection.

Dinner was ready just as the last orange glow of the sun crept below the horizon. What more can you ask of life than to share a warm meal with good company surrounded by big sky, tall mountains, and vast ocean.

This will go down as one of the most magical evenings of my life. I think we all would have liked to spend a few days out here, but after dinner we loaded back into the boats and huddled together under wool blankets for the ride back, under the stars.

the best dinner of my life

tom doesn’t like cold water

i found this teenie urchin