A small group of surf enthusiasts have been able to take advantage of Norway's flexible lockdown rules to plunge into the arctic waters off the spectacular Lofoten archipelago.
VIDEO SHOWS: PEOPLE SURFING, LOFOTEN BEAUTY SCENES, NORWAY'S NATIONAL SURF TEAM COACH AND LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER TALKING ABOUT EFFECTS OF CORONAVIRUS AND TOURISM RESENDING WITH SHOTLIST AND FULL STORY SHOWS: UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (FILE - 2020) (SHANNON AINSLIE - MUST ON-SCREEN CREDIT SHANNON AINSLIE) 1.
VARIOUS GO-PRO FOOTAGE TAKEN BY NORWAY'S NATIONAL SURF TEAM COACH, SHANNON AINSLIE, WHILE SURFING UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (APRIL 20, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 2.
VARIOUS OF MOUNTAINS AND SEA 3.
VARIOUS OF ROAD LEADING TO VILLAGE 4.
AINSLIE, LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER KRISTIAN BREIVIK AND HIS SON RUNNING INTO THE WATER 5.
AINSLIE AND THE BREIVIKS IN THE WATER 6.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NORWAY'S NATIONAL SURF TEAM COACH, SHANNON AINSLIE, SAYING: "Right now it's like the only place where there's no lockdown and you can still surf so I can be out here hiking, snowboarding and surfing and enjoying friends and company with them but also there's no sharks - you know I'm from South Africa- there is plenty of sharks there, there's no sharks here and yeah, I've got good a work opportunity so I work and live here with Lofoten Surfsenter and go surf and life's good." UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (FILE - 2020) (SHANNON AINSLIE - MUST ON-SCREEN CREDIT SHANNON AINSLIE) 7.
VARIOUS GO-PRO FOOTAGE OF AINSLIE, SURFING UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (APRIL 20, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 8.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NORWAY'S NATIONAL SURF TEAM COACH, SHANNON AINSLIE, SAYING: "My plan next is to, I don't know.
I've got to wait until we can work again.
I want to work, I want to teach people how to surf, I want to train the national team, I want to have more people around but for now I just have to be patient and endure this difficult time with the ocean and my friends." 9.
AINSLIE SEATED OUTSIDE SURF CENTRE 10.
VARIOUS OF AINSLIE APPLYING WAX TO SURFBOARD 11.
SURFBOARD FINS 12.
BREIVIKS COMING OUT OF BUILDING 13.
KRISTIAN BREIVIK APPLYING WAX TO HIS BOARD UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (APRIL 21, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 14.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CO-OWNER OF LOFOTEN SURF CENTRE, KRISTIAN BREIVIK, SAYING: "We can rent out boards and it feels very, very good.
So people can come out and enjoy the magic waves in Lofoten and have some fun and not be locked in and isolated and depressed." UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (APRIL 20, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 15.
VARIOUS OF AINSLIE AND THE BREIVIKS WALKING TOWARDS OCEAN WITH MOUNTAINS IN BACKGROUND 16.
VARIOUS OF AINSLIE AND THE BREIVIKS WALKING ON THE BEECH UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (APRIL 21, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 17.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CO-OWNER OF LOFOTEN SURF CENTRE, KRISTIAN BREIVIK, SAYING: "It's been a rollercoaster, we had bookings for the best season ever - tons of bookings - everything's been cancelled and things are slowly starting to move and the have lifted some of the sanctions so it's looking positive but it's going to be a totally different summer than what we expected." UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (APRIL 20, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 18.
VARIOUS OF AINSLIE AND THE BREIVIKS WARMING UP 19.
BREIVIK LOOKING OUT OVER THE WATER 20.
KRISTIAN BREIVIK AND AINSLIE LOOKING OVER WATER UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (APRIL 21, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 21.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CO-OWNER OF LOFOTEN SURF CENTRE, KRISTIAN BREIVIK, SAYING: "As soon as you enter the water you kind of move into a different reality.
You forget about goddamn coronavirus, you forget about your bills, you forget about problems, you focus only on the waves." UNSTAD, LOFOTEN, NORWAY (APRIL 20, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 22.
VARIOUS OF AINSLIE SURFING 23.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NORWAY'S NATIONAL SURF TEAM COACH, SHANNON AINSLIE, SAYING: (Reporter asking: You can surf all over the world, why do you choose the most cold water?" "That's super exotic, you have 24 hours of sunlight in the summer, you have the northern lights in the winter.
The cold might scare some people away so you get more waves but you know it's also a big draw card, people want to experience the Arctic and surf these amazing waves and (see) this beautiful nature so it's kind of irresistible you know." 24.
AINSLIE SURFING STORY: A small group of surf enthusiasts have been able to take advantage of Norway's flexible lockdown rules to plunge into the arctic waters off the spectacular Lofoten archipelago.
As well as the stunning snow-capped mountains that plunge into the sea, the chain of islands above the Arctic Circle is home to unique cold-water reefs, a millennium-old fishing culture and a thriving population of whales.
In recent years, growing numbers of surfers have moved there, in search of the perfect wave in a setting that enjoys the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter.
Norway's lockdown, imposed in mid-March, is less strict than most others in Europe.
People have been allowed to leave their home, as long as they are symptom-free and stand apart, so the Lofoten surfers are still able to hit the waves.
The country is also gradually reopening as the severity of its outbreak eases.
Kindergartens started again on Monday (April 20) and elementary schools will resume next week.
(Production: Elin Lindkvist, Ilze Filks)
While several countries are still on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, these surfers in Norway are riding the waves because..