We quickly grew to love our winter home.  We walked every day, following the winding sidewalks that coursed through the island.  Since we were an anomaly, people knew who we were by listening to the local grapevine.  People waved and said hello like they knew us.  It was a wonderful experience.  Three or four couples became good friends during that time. They made sure we knew how the ferries worked and how to get supplies in Haugesund, our nearest market town.  The whole winter was filled with experiences we would never forget.   

October 1997.  We finally got settled into our winter digs on the island of Espevær.  At the time, we had no idea just how wonderful this experience was going to be.  We ended up staying there from October 1997 to May 1998.  The above picture shows our little neighborhood.  The all-white house with the grey roof right on the water was our house.  Bijou was tucked in the corner tied at the dock behind the white power boat.  She was very safe and protected, even when the winter storms raged.  The first floor of the house was a small café, closed for the winter, but opened for special community events.  The second floor was our apartment.  It was wonderful.  We had two bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and laundry facilities inside the apartment.  We could watch Bijou right outside our window.  The red building with gray roof on the far right, was a boat house owned by our landlords.  We were able to completely unload Bijou and store everything in that boat house.  We washed Bijou inside and out in the Spring of '98 before we carried on with our journey.