Hills behind Indre Haven
Our delayed arrival in Kongsfjord meant that we had no time to explore the area. The sun was setting behind small, shapely hills as we dropped anchor north of Indre Haven. The brief calm conditions forecast for the following day meant we needed to keep moving which meant leaving the anchorage early. As we left for Vardo we consoled ourselves with the thought of stopping at Indre Haven on our way back.
The calm conditions ended up being more suitable for motoring than sailing. We were able to make good time and arrived in Vardo in the early afternoon. The town turned out to be a delight, the fishermen welcomed us to their dock and Snow Dragon felt at home alongside the local fishing fleet.
Snow Dragon at the dock in Vardo
Snow Dragon’s charm paid off and our freezer was quickly filled with king crab and haddock. With just the two of us on board it took awhile to get through our new stock and a few recipes were created along the way. Our favorite is crab and fennel in cheese sauce but crab cakes are a close second.
King crab is not native to Norway, as it is in Alaska. They were introduced by the Russians from Kamchatka and the crabs have been slowly making their way down the Norwegian coast. This unintentional “gift” from Russia has been viewed as a curse. As with any unnatural introduction, the crabs have been a source of negative impact on the environment, eating everything they can find. The king crab populations has grown rapidly and eradicating them is not an easy or viable solution. So the Norwegians will have to live with their new friends and make what profit they can off of them.
Frances with king crab legs
For more photos of Indre Haven and Vardo please click on
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