Day 15
Today was just one of those fab days! We woke up leisurely and had breakfast, before going out for a walk along the coastal path towards Haukland beach. The coastal path had been the original road to Uttakleiv before the tunnel was built, as late as 1990. The scenery was just breathtaking as it hugged the sea the whole way around. We shared the path with some sheep, as they enjoyed some of the picnic areas.
We stopped off at the most idyllic perfect little beach I have ever seen. I couldn’t pass up the chance to have a beach to ourselves, even if we did have to share it with some sheep! The water was just so amazingly clear and blue, we just had to do it! Soon, we were down to our pants and in we went! It was bloody freezing, but our legs soon got used to it. It had to be done, and I stripped off down to my undies. Luckily, I had a more or less matching set on (and by that I mean a big black sports bra and big black granny pants, as opposed to a frilly red lacy thong set!) We might have spoiled a few photos for others who stopped on the path to photograph the beach, but did I care? Not a jot! Sometimes you have to make the most of the opportunities you get; granny pants or not!
I could have stayed there all day, but it was time to go. I felt quite sad walking back to the van, knowing we would have to leave this lovely beach; in fact The Times have declared it the “most romantic beach in Europe” which I can’t disagree with! I took loads of photos as we came back, knowing these would have to keep me going through the long winter months. If ever we come back to the Lofotens we will definitely spend longer here.
We drove on, and managed to spot more lovely beaches. This area of the Lofotens, the Vestvagoy is definitely my favourite; beautiful beaches, rugged mountains and clear turquoise blue water.
We drove on to Leknes, which is quite a big town by Lofoten standards, with a population of around 3500 people. We called in at one of the biggest supermarkets we have been to. I find food shopping in Norway quite difficult. There is a sugar tax in Norway, so it is not easy to pick up a quick fresh cake or donut etc, and their chocolate is mega expensive, and there’s not much of it at all! Pop is also very expensive. The coke is 3 pounds 20 for 1 litre, and a bar of chocolate is 3 pounds 65! We didn’t buy any! We also have failed dismally at this language thing! We bought, what I thought, was a nice bit of expensive Norwegian cod, only to find (after I had taken the first mouthful) that it was slightly salted cod. If that was what they call lightly salted I would hate to taste really salted! It was horrible; I couldn’t eat any of it; what a waste. I was also intrigued by the packets of dried salted cod, hanging everywhere as a tasty snack. Umm, no thanks, not for me! Also I have no idea who the little girl is on the tins, or what is in the tins, but she is everywhere. The supermarkets also only sell beer and cider. For anything stronger you have to go to a government owned store called the Vinmonopolet, which is the only place you can buy alcohol stronger than 4.75%. It is very expensive as it is heavily taxed as part of a strategy to curb alcoholism. I bought an eye wateringly expensive bottle of small batch Norwegian gin, which worked out at 35 pounds for 50cl. I have to drink it slowly!!
We then drove on to where we hoped to stay tonight; the famous fishing village of Reines on the island of Moskenesoya, which has been dubbed one of the world’s most beautiful villages. It has red and white fishermen’s huts dotting the shoreline, and huge granite mountains shooting out of the Reinefjorden. It is beautiful, and peaceful, and we have an idyllic free spot overlooking the water. We sat outside enjoying the sunshine and the view and Lyn cooked some of his beloved sausages (yuck!), before watching the sunset and opening the gin for a VERY small one!
Day 16.
Not a good day for me today; I had a banging headache all day and just couldn’t get warm at all. At one point I was in bed under three quilts! So, it was over to Lyn to have the adventures today. I offered him a one off chance to edit the blog today, but he declined, so you’ll just have to look at his fab photos instead!
He started the day with an 8 mile run; something he had been longing to do as he had earmarked Reine as a great place for some run tourism. He was not wrong!
After he had recovered from that, he went on a little hike up the mountain, to see the famous view from the top. 1700 steps up, and 1700 back down. Really exposed and narrow with loads of tourist pushing past and hitting you in the face with their walking poles. The view from the top was great, but he didn’t stay long as it was so crowded.
We then drove on to the end of the island, and the village of A. yes, A. We then drove on to the village of Moskenes, where we were to get the ferry back to the mainland in the morning. We watched the last ferry leave at midnight, and then got into our spot in the queuing lanes. We were here for the night!
Day 17
So, we managed a couple of hours sleep in the ferry lane. I was up before 6am as the ferry left at 7. Lyn was still in bed at 6.15, as he was convinced we had loads of time to shower etc. Nope, he was soon rushing like hell, as they don’t mess around. Cars come off and cars drive straight on! We were right at the front of the ferry, and went upstairs to the saloon as this was to be a 3 hour journey. I was still feeling awful, and still freezing, so I put Lyn’ big coat on and slept for the 3 hours! Where are my flushes when I need them!
I felt quite sad to be leaving the Lofotens, although we still have a hell of a trip to do, as we are going to drive down Route 17 down the coast of Norway. This is classed as one of the world’s most scenic drives. The Kystriksveien goes from Bodo to Steinkjer in the south, but the only guide we can find for free does it all in reverse, so I am trying to follow the guide backwards! It is about 650km long and should take us about 5 days, but we will need to catch 7 ferries en route.
By chance we were the first vehicle off the ferry, and the next part of our holiday started.
Our first stop was at Saltstraumen. This is a small strait about 10km south of Bodo with the world’s fastest tide. If you time it right and consult the tide time tables you can catch one of the 4 tides a day and see the famous maelstrom. We timed it so we could visit at high tide, when 400 million cubic metres of water rush through the 150m wide and 3km long sound, at speeds of up to 20 knots. This causes whirlpools up to 10m in diameter and 4-5m deep. We walked to the top of the bridge to watch it, and looked down on the swirling waters and the jet skiers and RIB trips that had come out to play on it. It was quite impressive.
We then drove and drove down route 17. So much beautiful scenery; fjords, tunnels, mountains, sea…it was endless, but in a good way. We stopped off at a beautiful rest area, where there was a monument for the Norwegian submarine Uredd (fearless) which sank after hitting a German mine in 1943 during Operation Seagull. The waters were supposed to be safe according to British intelligence, but this was not the case, and for 42 years it lay at the bottom of the fjord with a big hole in the hull at 105m deep. It is now a war grave, and a beautiful monument of a swordfish points out in the direction of it. This rest stop is fabulous, and has, apparently, the most beautiful public toilet in the world!
We were heading towards the Svartisen glacier where we wanted to stay the night. Before we could get there we had to navigate the very scary tunnel. Norway is full of tunnels; why go round a mountain when you can go through them? This tunnel is 7624m long, and was opened in 1986. It was the longest tunnel in Norway when it was opened, but is now the fourth longest. The boring machine was 6.25m wide, so the lanes are too narrow to have a centre line, which makes it difficult to pass oncoming traffic on the 7km straight. Oh and it’s dark, very dark! We were glad to get out of there, especially when we realised we were under a glacier with 200m thick ice above our heads!
We had passed a cyclist cycling furiously up one of the mountain roads, which was no mean feat. He later arrived where we were staying, and set up his little tent. Lyn had a chat with him, and he is cycling from Bodo to Oslo over 5 weeks, and had cycled through that awful tunnel, even though you are not supposed to! Crazy man! We gave him some protein bars to help him on his way.
We got to a fabulous rest stop with a perfect view of the glacier. The Svartisen glacier is the largest low lying glacier in Europe. It’s the second largest glacier in Norway; it is 370 km squared, with 60 glacier tongues. You can travel out to it by boat, and also hike on it on organised trips. We would have loved to do a kayaking trip around the mouth of it, and kayak around the icebergs that have broken away, but time, and Lyn’s bad shoulder were not allowing this time! We just had to take in the view from a distance, and that was impressive enough! What a place to spend the night!
Day 18
We waved goodbye to the glacier and headed towards our first ferry of the day. This was to be a ten minute crossing from Foroy to Agskardet, so we drove on, stayed in the van, and drove off!
We hoped to get a few miles under our belts today, so off we drove, past the usual beautiful scenery. Our next ferry was an hour long one, from Jetvik to Kilboghamn, so we headed up onto the deck. This was going to be the ferry journey where we crossed out of the Arctic Circle. We tracked this on Pocket earth, looking for the 66.33 latitude, but an announcement was made on board, so people could go out and look at the globe on a nearby island that marked it. We both felt a bit sad; would we ever return? We have flown in and out of the Arctic Circle, driven into it and sailed out.
We carried on driving, passing the same cars and vans obviously on the same journey as us. We’ve even made a “van friend” from when we parked up together for the Bodo ferry.
Another ferry, this time from Nesna to Levang, this one only 25 minutes long.
We drove over the Helgeland Bridge, one of the biggest cable suspension bridges in the world, and Norway’s favourite bridge; it was quite a sight.
We stopped off at a rest stop where I got excited by a fabulous little church, and Lyn got excited by the classic red American car in the car park! We also stopped off to get fuel, and Lyn got his customary hot dog and I got some pic n mix! When we looked at the receipt we realised Lyn’s hot dog had cost us seven pounds!
We’ve now stopped for the night; Lyn took us off the road and found us a spot with a fab view and where we were sure to be uninterrupted; that is until a fisherman drives up in his tractor towing his fishing boat, and he wants to launch his boat and we are in the way…. Oops!
Day 19
A very quick blog post today, as in all honesty there’s not a lot to say! We carried on down the coastal route, but the scenery is not as good as it has been, and the roads are definitely poorer. We did another 3 ferries today, so that is all the ferries done on this part of the trip. Lyn managed to enjoy some pork stew on the last but one ferry, till he realised he was eating 8 pounds worth of pork stew in a little plastic cup!
Our big highlight today was stopping at the northernmost coffee roasters! We had a huge welcome there off Hanna the owner, and both enjoyed a cup of coffee, and bought a bag to bring home. A mere 22 pounds! Yikes! It was interesting to hear the story of her background as the café has been in her family for 4 generations, since 1881, it has been part of a trading post there, as in the old days sailboats were the only effective way of transport, and fjords the only highways, so it made sense to put the trading post in a cape in a fjord protected by the mountains, with the possibility of a harbour and pier. The area had played a key role in the resistance work in WW2, and served as a hiding place for secret servicemen smuggling refugees to England, and getting weapons and equipment from England.
We also visited a new supermarket! We normally visit a Reima 1000, but today we visited a Euro Spar! I didn’t spend 4 pounds on a packet of salt & vinegar crisps, or 9 pounds on a tub of Ben & Jerry’s! We also visited a EuroPrix, but found it very much like a Poundstretcher, although we did come away with cheap chocolate; 3 big bars for 5 pounds, when it’s normally 3.50 a bar, oh, and pick n mix. We are getting addicted to pick n mix, especially when we find one that has licorice fudge!
The weather has now turned in Norway, and we have rain and mist. We are so so glad we have had good weather further up north, as that is where the truly spectacular scenery has been. We are now looking at maybe changing our travels plans for the next 2 weeks. That’s the beauty of travels with Harvey, we have complete freedom. At one point I was asking Lyn how far it was to Spain! That didn’t go down too well. We are planning a return trip to Norway and cruising the fjords, to see Bergen etc, so definitely will return.
Watch this space over the next week to see where we end up!
Day 20
Today was all about heading to a place we had both been looking forward to visiting; Atlanterhavsveien, or the Atlantic Ocean Road. This is another National Tourist Route, and is quite often described as one of the best roads in the world to drive.
Before we could get here, we had a long drive ahead of us. We finished the last of the coastal route in Steinjker, then flew past Trondheim. We stopped to service the van (aka known as emptying the toilet!), and Lyn got talking to a Belgian bloke who was waiting to do the same thing. It turned out he was from Ghent, one of our favourite places, and we had a lot of favourite places in common. Small world!
The weather clouds chased us all day, so we decided to bypass Trondheim and head down to the ocean road. Trusting Tom Tom to guide us, we now must be seasoned travellers as the route took us to a ferry, which we now naturally joined and sailed across in style.
We drove around Kristiansund in the rain. Kristiansund is a historic cod fishing and drying town, but also plays a big part in servicing the Norwegian oil fields, as was evident by the huge ships moored on the quayside. We took the tunnel from Kristiansund, only to have a little sting in the tail; it cost us 14 pounds and is not part of the auto pass scheme!
We eventually got to the Atlantic Ocean Road, and drove it for the first time before we camped up for the night in heavy rain, but more about this fantastic road in tomorrow’s blog.
Day 21
So we woke up, on one of the world’s most scenic drives on a tiny islet. Unbelievably the promised rain had not materialised and there was actually some sunshine. It was time to go and explore!
The Atlantic Ocean road is very difficult to describe in just mere words; hence this is my excuse for photos! To give you some idea of what to expect, imagine a road that buckles and twists like a sea serpent, connecting 17 islets between Vevang and the island of Averoya. It is barely 8km long, and has the most amazing twisty curved bridge you will ever see. It is amazing to drive; a real feat of engineering, but to get a good idea of what it looks like I took a photo of an aerial display board.
We drove it when we got here last night, to get a first impression, then found our parking spot for the night, with a view out to the Atlantic and crashing waves. When we woke this morning we were looking out at diving boats, where divers were exploring the undersea kelp forests.
The road can be incredibly busy, and just about everyone has come to see the view. It had long been Lyn’s dream to run the road as a fabulous bit of run tourism, but we just failed to see how to run it safely. It is a very narrow road, with no bike path or pavement, and metal barriers at each side. The nature of the scenery means that drivers often don’t have their eyes on the road when driving! I was really anxious at the thought of him running, and luckily he felt the same so abandoned the idea.
We walked (me nervously!) for a short way down the road, facing the oncoming traffic till we could get on to the metal walkway that runs adjacent for a short while. I felt happier when I was on that, and we had a great view of the scenery and the famous bridge. It was good to just sit on the rocks and take it all in.
I cannot imagine living in one of the houses on the islets. This new road must have transformed their lives in so many ways, and I wonder if all of them are for the best? The amount of traffic and visitors it has brought to an area only previously reachable by boat is phenomenal. The houses look idyllic now in the sunshine; but I wonder how it feels in the winter or an Atlantic storm?
We cruised up and down the road several times, taking time to stop and walk the available walkways.
I had been fascinated at the lack of plastic seen in any of the beaches we had visited, and the water seemed so clear I had assumed there was less of a problem here. The children of a local school had collected plastic and made it into a big crab to highlight the problem, so obviously there is an issue here too. Most of the plastic seemed to be from boats or fishing debris which is understandable around here.
Unfortunately it was soon time to leave and head back on the road, this time to Alesund. Alesund is quite a unique place; it’s home to Norway’s largest cod fishing fleet and sits on a fish hook shaped sea bound peninsula. After a devastating fire in 1904 the city was built in art nouveau style. Lyn navigated the busy roads in, and took us first to a famous viewing point to see Alesund in all its glory. Up, up, up we went, round twisty corners, until we got to the top and parked the van. Wow, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves!
There was a huge P & O cruise liner in port, with over 3,500 passengers on board. As we were unable to find a spot in the main (crowded, dirty) mobile home parking yard, Lyn drove near the port and we parked unofficially in an empty car park there, and found we were right next to the Britannia. A quick check of google showed she was due to leave port in 9 minutes, so we waited to wave her out. She was enormous! She was heading to Bergen next. We watched her disappear over the headland opposite, funnels visible.
We then looked for somewhere nicer to stay for the night, and have ended up in the car park of the aquarium, along with another few motor homes. Much nicer than the “village of the dammed” as I christened it, where we tried to park earlier. I made chicken curry for dinner and caught up on my blogs, whilst Lyn went for a little walk. All in all, a very good day!
Dwti Draig 
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