The Kvanhovden lighthouse on the exposed west coast of Hovden opened in 1895. Much of the old path there has survived, hugging the rugged shore as it winds around the rocks, with the standard Norwegian lighthouse metal pipe guardrails still in place. Today the lighthouse is automated and the original path now is part of the North Sea Trail, an EU-funded, international collaboration to create a network of hiking trails along the North Sea. The views from the lighthouse are spectacular, and you can even spend the night in the old keeper’s home.

After touring the Floro area, we spent three nights at Hovden, anchored at Indre Hovdevagen on the northeast corner. While there, we made our first official winter hike in Norway on December 1st, making a full loop around the scenic island, including a detour to take in the view from 1,017-ft (310m) Skorekinna. With the shorter winter days, we started the hike just before the 9 a.m. sunrise, and returned to Dirona at dusk at 4 p.m.

Below are highlights from November 30th through December 2nd, 2020. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

11/30/2020

Straumsneset Bridge Position: 61°37.97’N, 5°20.74’E Approaching the Straumsneset Bridge as we depart Norddalsfjorden in the dark at at 7:20am. The central section of the bridge is lit white by our forward spotlight.

Sore Naeroysundet Position: 61°37.25’N, 4°57.63’E Running the narrow channel Sore Naeroysundet between the islands of Tollaksoya (left) and Sore Naeroya. With winds from the south, there was a fair bit of surge as we entered.

Indre Hovdevagen Anchorage Position: 61°42.16’N, 4°52.26’E Our anchorage tucked behind an islet in Indre Hovdevagen along the northeast side of Hovden, in 71 ft (21 m) on 300 ft (91 m) of rode.

Oil Change Position: 61°42.17’N, 4°52.23’E Performing the biennial oil change on the Honda 50HP tender motor.

12/1/2020

Dirona Position: 61°42.16’N, 4°52.15’E Dirona anchored at Indre Hovdevagen along the northeast side of Hovden beneath the 495-ft (151m) hill also called Hovden.

Tender Position: 61°42.15’N, 4°52.03’E Our tender tied ashore for a hike along the North Sea Trail around Hovden.

Trailhead Position: 61°42.13’N, 4°52.04’E At the trailhead on December 1st for our first official winter hike in Norway, along the North Sea Trail on Hovden. The trail is an EU-funded, international collaboration to create a network of hiking trails along the North Sea. Participating countries include Norway, Sweden, Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. We earlier walked on a section at Fedje.

Path to Lighthouse Position: 61°41.87’N, 4°50.34’E Walking along the old path to the Kvanhovden lighthouse, visible in the distance. The lighthouse opened in 1895, and the path likely was built at a similar time.

Stone Slabs Position: 61°41.87’N, 4°50.29’E Large stone slabs were placed to make a road-like route for this section of the path to the Kvanhovden lighthouse visible at upper right. The path was mostly intact, although heavy seas had disturbed some slabs.

Landing Position: 61°41.87’N, 4°50.18’E Enjoying the view to sea from the old Kvanhovden lighthouse landing.

Kvanhovden Lighthouse Position: 61°41.83’N, 4°49.88’E Looking south across the light at the Kvanhovden lighthouse to the distinctive island of Batalden. The days are getting shorter and shorter—the sun has just come up at 10am.

Second Breakfast Position: 61°41.82’N, 4°49.89’E Enjoying a Hobbit’s second breakfast tucked in out of the wind at a picnic table behind the Kvanhovden.

Store Skorekinna Position: 61°41.78’N, 4°50.61’E Great views from the summit of 1017-ft (310m) Store Skorekinna on the northwest end of Hovden. It was a little cold at the top though.

Stream Position: 61°41.23’N, 4°49.96’E Crossing a stream after descending from Store Skorekinna and continuing around the island of Hovden.

Domba Position: 61°40.43’N, 4°50.78’E The old road at Domba on the west side of Hovden.

Steps Position: 61°40.11’N, 4°51.08’E Stone steps along the path as we climb up from sea level over to the southeast side of Hovden.

Sunset Position: 61°40.09’N, 4°51.09’E It’s 2:20pm and the sun is getting low in the sky barely five hours after it rose. We weren’t sure how we’d do with the super-short days of the Norwegian winter, but so far we haven’t minded. We run the boat in the morning during the darkness and then hike or tour in the tender when we have daylight.

Climbing Chains Position: 61°40.08’N, 4°51.10’E Climbing chains on a steeper section of the Hovden North Sea Trail.

Stairs Position: 61°40.08’N, 4°51.14’E We climbed a sturdy wooden staircase for the final portion of the ascent up to the plateau at the south end of Hovden.

Footbridge Position: 61°39.91’N, 4°51.93’E Crossing a stone footbridge over a creek. We were really impressed with how well the Hovden North Sea Trail was built and maintained—it was a wonderful hike.

Sylvarnes Position: 61°39.90’N, 4°52.11’E The ferry Sylvarnes arriving into the south end of Hovden at Barekstad, the main town on the island.

Zach Person Position: 61°42.17’N, 4°52.22’E Zach Person put on a great show ahead of CEO Andy Jassy’s keynote at the AWS re:Invent conference. The annual event normally is held in Las Vegas, but was virtual this year due to the pandemic.

12/2/2020

Litle Skorekinn Position: 61°42.19’N, 4°52.18’E View southwest from our anchorage at Indre Hovdevagen on Hovden to 987-ft (301 m) Litle Skorekinn. The mountain is just in front of Store Skorekinna that we climbed yesterday.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.