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Arctic Surfing

© Tim Franco

It is 3.30 pm on the Lofoten islands. The sun has set almost an hour ago and the moon rising between two snow mountains reflects its bright light onto the icy beach of Flakstad. Even though we are hundreds of kilometers North of the Arctic Circle , the most popular activity here is surfing . The Lofoten islands are famous worldwide for their scenic fishing villages surrounded by snow mountains, icy bays and northern lights. Although it is cod fishing that has traditionally played the dominant role in the islands’ history a local surfing scene has emerged in the little bay of Unstad, cut off from the rest of the island by mountains. Nowadays, what used to be the village school has become a surf camp welcoming adventurers and professional surfers from all around the world coming to defy the best waves of the Arctic.

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