The Vågsøy Island Tour

How does one begin to describe their feelings of finally seeing for the first time where their anscestors lived? And as I look out over the beautiful hills and glass-like water in the fjord in Vågsvåg this quiet, sunny morning, you cannot help but wonder if this was the same scene that they looked at each morning so many years ago. I had to ponder, how was it that they came to leave this place? It must have been a difficult decision and how they must have mourned it after they left knowing that they would, most likely, never see it again. It must have been very hard. We may never know exactly why  Jorgen and Christine left but we are so thankful that we have been able to come here to see it for ourselves. I know that I am going to miss this amazing view and the people we have met after being here for only a few days.

Today we took a guided tour around the Vågsøy island with Lisbeth and her father, Asbjørn as our guides and driver. To accommodate our large family their were able to secure a small bus for us to all be together as we circled the island. We started our tour at Oppedal where we to see and climb the famous Kannesteinen Rock. Shaped over thousands of years by the crashing waves, it is a magnificent mushroom-shaped rock formation.

As we continued to wind around the island we visited the original farms of Bob's great-grandfather, Jorgen, in Vågsvåg and his grandmother, Christine, in Kvalheim. Based on some old photographs we re-traced where the original house and other buildings were located on the Våge farm. None of which are still standing today. Just some trees and old foundation rocks remain. But in Kvalheim we had the opportunity to go inside the original home of Christine and to visit a little bit with the current owners. The current owner, who is in his early 80's, showed us some old photographs which included a picture of Christine's sister. He informed us that Christine's father, Erik, was also born in Kvalheim but down a bit further. How exciting and quite an emotional experience for Bob!!

Our tour continued this time stopping at the lighthouse and we hiked up the trail to peer over the thick walls built to withstand the crashing waves. At times the waves are large enough that they go over the lighthouse itself! Luckily for us, it was a calm day and the North Sea was rather subdued. From this vantage point we could see in the distance an island that is claimed to be the most western part of Norway!

Our last stop of the day was at the beach which according to our hosts, was rated the most beautiful beach in Norway. It certainly was very beautiful with a fine, white sandy beach that stretched out in an arc between two mountains to form a bay. Impressively, our younger cousins had set up a small camp for us including a hot meal. For some reason we felt famished and so we heartily ate the tasty hotdishes until we were completely satisfied. Yum! Yum!

Now it was time to jump into the crystal clear, cool blue waters! Several of us had a great time wading out into the shallow bay and diving into the oncoming waves. It felt great, like we were swimming in a bowl. 

We returned to our rental house for the week which is located conveniently next door to Lisbeth's home with our hearts full! While I was making dinner, Bob went exploring in the local cemetery and was overwhelmed that about one third of the gravestones were of Våge or Vaage's. I think he took a picture of all of them!  What a most amazing day!!