Seaweed journey to Lofoten (in English)

Price: Total SEK 16,000.

Last day to book: April 1st 2023

(please book by emailing info@catxalot.se)

May 16-21

Join us on a seaweed journey to Lofoten, where the sea is colder, cleaner and saltier and the seaweed is bigger. Here there is more seaweed and more species than in Sweden.

We will snorkel in kelp forest, hike up mountains and make a fire on the beach. We cook magical food, get full of hands-on knowledge and live comfortably with a view of both sea and mountains. 

You will learn different techniques and how algae can be used in food. We try smoking, fermentation, infusions, oils, spices, pickles, marmalade, etc. We will make oils, seasoning salt mixes and use seaweed in all the food we prepare. There will be algae for breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with fish and lamb from Lofoten.

We snorkel for dulse, atlantic wakame, sea spaghetti and kombu. On the beach we make a fire and cook our lunch when the weather permits. You will learn all about seaweed on this course, plus you get to experience an underwater world that is truly magical! 

There will be some free time as well, and we will, among other things, visit the restaurant Tangeriet, which is run by Lofoten Seaweed company. We make an excursion to the adventure village Henningsvaer where we go to the restaurant Fiskekrogen and visit the art gallery Kaviarfabrikken. We will be guided around the Sculpture Landscape Nordland by Aaslaug Vaa who is one of the founders of the sculpture landscape.

 

We will do this

We reserve the right to make changes due to weather and opening hours.  

·     seaweed foraging

·     half day at the local seaweed company Naturhjerte, Peggy Ellingsen. Foraging & workshop.

·     cooking with seaweed. We divide ourselves into cooking teams so that one cooking team cooks dinner for everyone on their day.

·     workshops with different themes, e.g. spices

·     taking care of the seaweed we foraged (drying, etc.)

·     Excursion to the adventure village Henningsver. Lunch at Fiskekrogen and visit to the art gallery Kaviarfabrikken (lunch and entrance to the Kaviarfabrikken are not included in the price) Free alternative: mountain tour at Henningsver and packed lunch.

·     snorkeling for those who want and have their own equipment. Otherwise: waders to lend from Villa Lofoten.

·     hopefully a visit to Lofoten Seaweed, a seaweed company in Ballstad.

·     excursion to the sculpture landscape Nordland (the one that is easily accessible to us)

·     mountain tour

·     excursion to Hauklandsstranden

·     dinner on seaweed restaurant Tangeriet (if they are open). Not included in the price. Free option: cook at home.

·     evening snuggles with movies and seaweed popcorn by the fireplace 

ACCOMMODATION
We will stay at Villa Lofoten, a beautiful accommodation located between the sea and the mountains in Kvalnes. Villa Lofoten offers accommodation in three newly renovated, historic buildings that functioned as a saltery, a distillery and a fisherman's residence during the 19th and early 20th centuries. You get your own bedroom in a house that you share with other course participants. There are three houses. See how it looks on Instagram: @villa_lofoten Villa Lofoten is on Airbnb with many pictures.

Cost

Price: Total SEK 16,000.

Registration fee is SEK 4000 (non-refundable). 

If you want to share a room with a friend, the accommodation price will be SEK 500 cheaper per night. 

Deadline for registration: 1 April 2023. 

In case of cancellation 60-30 days before, 50% is refunded (but we keep the registration fee).

In case of cancellation 30 days before, no refund will be made. This also applies in the event of illness and possible death in the family. You can leave the place to someone else if you want. 

We reserve the right to cancel the journey if the minimum number of participants (6) is not reached. If the activity is canceled by us, the entire fee will be refunded, including the registration fee. 

This is included in the price

·     workshops, course

·     accommodation in a double room (each person has a double room alone but can share a room with a friend to reduce the price by SEK 500/night)

·     food

·     ingredients for products that you can then take home if you wish (bring bottles/jars for this)

·     transfer to and from the airport in Leknes alt. transfer to and from the nearest ferry. 

This is not included in the price

·     The travel by plane, train etc. is not included in the price. You plan and pay the travel to Lofoten on your own. We pick you up at your connection in Lofoten.

·     Excursions: We share the cost of petrol. You pay the entrance fees and restaurant visits. There will be options that cost nothing or are cheap. Or you get "free time" instead. 

We need to receive the following information from you when you book

·     Enter which of the two courses you want to register for. Also state if you can go on both dates.

·     Enter any allergies, vegetarian etc.

·     If you want to snorkel. If you don't have equipment, we can give tips on what you might need to buy. There will be waders on site to borrow.  

Payment terms and insurances 

·     Last day to register: February 1, 2023.

·     The entire fee must be paid by February 15 at the latest.

·     Villa Lofoten AS will invoice for the accommodation.

·     Catxalot AB or Algblomman AB will invoice you for the workshop and food. You will therefore receive two different invoices.

·     Insurance: You need to have your own accident insurance valid in Norway. 

The registration fee (SEK 4,000) is not refunded in case of your cancellation (also applies in case of illness or death in the family).

In case of cancellation 60-30 days before, 50% is refunded (we keep the registration fee)

In case of cancellation later than 30 days before the first date of the event, no refund will be made. Also applies in case of illness and possible death in the family. 

We reserve the right to cancel the activity if the minimum number of participants is not reached. If the activity is canceled by us, the entire fee will be refunded, including the registration fee. 

Force majeure

In extremes, like war, natural disasters and other unforeseen events beyond our control, we reserve the right to cancel the trip.

 

Organizers 

CATXALOT Linnéa Sjögren started Catxalot AB in 2014. For several years, she has supplied most of Sweden's top restaurants and cooking competitions with seaweed. Her goal is to spread knowledge about seaweed and create interests that lead to the establishment of seaweed farms, new products and new businesses in Sweden. Today she holds courses and events about seaweed and beach plants. 

ALGBLOMMAN Karolina Martinson works with seaweed and environmental thinking and lives on Styrsö in Gothenburg's archipelago. There she forage seaweed, coastal herbs and berries which she processes or sells to restaurants. For many years, Karolina has worked to create a Swedish food culture where seaweed has an obvious place on our plates.

VILLA LOFOTEN In Kvalnes, Aaslaug Vaa has created a unique accommodation consisting of renovated old houses that were previously used for fishing and agriculture. Aaslaug is a trained art historian, agronomist and teacher and runs Villa Lofoten as a hybrid between travel, art and cultural production. Villa Lofoten is also a company that works with film production.

Travel information

Ways to get to Lofoten. Tip: book flights early to get it cheaper. Buy a refundable ticket. 

·     Flight to Narvik/Evenes and then bus to Lofoten. Or you can rent a car at the airport. We pick you up at a stop near Kvalnes. This travel option is usually the cheapest option.

·     Flight Oslo-Bodö-Leknes. You can rent a car at Leknes airport or be picked up by us.

·     Drive your own car to Bodö, then ferry (car ferry) Bodö-Moskenes. We pick you up at the ferry in Moskenes. Let us know if you want to find someone to drive with! It is quite reasonable to spend the night in Trondheim if you drive from Gothenburg. There is a hostel there.

·     Flight to Kiruna and rent a car from there. Or train Kiruna-Narvik and bus from there to Lofoten. (For those who live in Stockholm, this is the fastest way)

·     Train Oslo-Bodö, then ferry Bodö-Moskenes or flight Bodö-Leknes. We pick you up in Moskenes or Leknes. If you want, you can rent a car at Leknes Airport.

·     There is a cheap bus to Oslo, Bus4you.

·     You can rent a car at, for example, the airports in Narvik and Leknes. If you do not have your own car, we will pick you up at your connection point in Lofoten. 

Travel sites

Ferry: www.torghatten-nord.no

Ferry Hurtigruten: https://www.hurtigruten.no/

Buses: www.177nordland.no

Electric car charging stations: https://info.nobil.no/

Airlines: Widerøe | SAS | Norwegian

Airports: Leknes airport, Svolvær airport, Bodø airport, Harstad/Narvik airport. 

Things to bring

·     neoprene gloves - 3 mm is adequate as it will be difficult to cut with scissors if you have thicker gloves. Tip: pour warm water into the glove during a break on the beach and re-enter the water. You need gloves even if you "only" use waders. Buying tips.

·     wetsuit, hood, socks, gloves, fins, possibly a weight belt if you want to free dive. There will otherwise be 8 waders to borrow in varying foot sizes. 5 mm wetsuit works well for Linnéa when it is about 4 degrees in the water. If you know you are extremely frozen, maybe 7 mm might be better. We won't be in the water for very long at a time, maybe 1 hour max. You can use a 5 mm suit even during summer in Sweden. With or without integrated hood. An integrated hood prevents cold water from getting into the gap at the neck. However, you will be more mobile with a loose hood. Maybe you can borrow a wetsuite from a friend? If you do not want to snorkel with fins, it is better to have a neoprene shoe instead of neoprene socks and fins. About. fins: if you are going to buy, buy the ones that you stick the whole foot in with a neoprene sock, not the ones for a shoe where there is a strap around the heel. About weight belt: we have not found any store in Lofoten that can rent it out, so you need to bring it on your own (for those who drive their own car).

·     there will be scissors to borrow. If you want a special knife, you can bring it yourself (in checked luggage).

·     rag socks and woolen undergarments. It will be cold. Rag socks are needed for the waders.

·     hat

·     gloves

·     hiking boots

·     rain clothes

·     swimwear (if nothing else, to wear under the wetsuit. Or you're naked underneath.)

·     pen and paper for notes

·     bags and space in a bag to ship home dried seaweed. Dried seaweed can be put I plastic bags.

·     possibly small cooler bag with cooling clamp to ship home fresh truffle seaweed in (if we find it). I think there are cooling clamps that you fill with water yourself.

·     indoor slippers/slippers to walk between the houses in

·     own thermos and mug for the excursions

·     possibly a water bottle to have hot water at the beach, when you go snorkeling. Great to pour into your suit or gloves when you're cold.

·     maybe a small lunchbox for sandwiches/packed lunches on excursions

·     packaging to take things home in (for things you will make on the course, e.g. spices, salt, oil)

·     a smaller backpack for hikes in the mountains and other excursions

 

Water temperature in May, Lofoten:

Minimum: 4.3°C

Average: 6.8°C

Maximum: 9.3°C 

Book by emailing info@catxalot.se


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