Tuesday 6 September 2022--It's a little embarrassing to admit that I was moved to visit Ona by a televison commercial for insurance. The Allstate spot shows a man putting a kettle on the stove before going out in his car to run a few errands; he's back just as the kettle is boiling. He gets a steep discount on his auto insurance because he doesn't drive many miles. (No word on what his home insurer thinks of him leaving the burner on while he's out.) An aerial shot at the end shows that he lives on a tiny island. It's Ona, of course, although the adjacent island of Husøya, which is about eight times as large, has been erased, and the numerous nearby islets and skerries as well. In fact, several of the locations in the commercial, including the man's home, are on Husøya. I don't know how many people on Ona actually own a car--you wouldn't need one to get to the grocery or the ferry terminal, and parking space is scarce, anyway. Not to mention that Allstate doesn't do business in Norway.

Of course, I would not be here just because of a commercial. Having found the island on the map, I found further that it was tourist-friendly, with a hotel and restaurant, worth a short stay, at least. I set out this morning to explore Husøya, which, while being much larger than Ona proper, is still just 125 acres or so. There's a cluster of houses above a narrow slit of a harbor, at the northwest corner of the island. One of the houses, Steffågarden, is a museum, having been the home of a fishing family for 200 years. There's no one tending it; I just walk in and have a look. Just south of the hamlet is a hill with a small navigational light atop it. There's a nice view back to the main village on Ona.

Down at the shore, a signboard overlooking a cluster of barren rocks shows a photo of the fishing station that once stood there.

Fog drifts in as I walk toward the southern end of the island. Is this the end of my long run of sunny weather? Maybe, at least, I'll get some moody fog shots of the village when I get back. But the fog rolls off as I inspect the cemetery and the pretty beach of Storsanden. If anything, the air is clearer than before.

Back to Ona...my perambulation has taken all of two hours. I guess a week here would be kind of a lot. Given the weather, a full day was more than enough, really. There is time for quiet contemplation back in my room before dinner.