Lofoten, the archipelago at the end of the world

We can guess them nestled in the heart of the steep mountains: myriads of small ports, as numerous as the islands and reefs that make up the Lofoten archipelago (Norway). North of the Arctic Circle, cod has been fished since the Viking era. Marco Beck and Frédéric Jullian have been meeting every summer for 10 years on the Norwegian Sea. One lives in Berlin (Germany), the other is from Béziers (Hérault). “All of a sudden there is no noise, just animals around us”Frédéric rejoices.

In this polar zone, the average temperature over the year is 8°C, thanks to the currents that warm it and attract a lot of fish. Back from fishing, stopover on the westernmost island of the archipelago. During the three summer months, artists and students come to stay in the lighthouse. In exchange for four hours of work per day, Élodie Kleiner is fed and housed. “I don’t know if I feel particularly at the end of the world. Maybe more out of this world?”she comments.

Sibgjørn sorts the cod according to their size, flesh and smell. “No preservatives”, he assures. In Lofoten, the ports are recognizable by the red of the fishermen’s houses. In the past, each house housed about ten seasonal fishermen.