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| 113 miles |
Been having internet problems but have discovered that Three have cut me off with their "fair use" roaming policy so I can no longer use the datasim I bought specially for this trip! I can of course still tether my mobile phone and on checking it out it looks like it'll be no more expensive so 3 is going to get blown away.
But back to business. Another lovely morning but a bit of a slow start and it was after 11.00 before we headed back to Narvik to top up the gas bottles. We need to keep a fairly close eye on the gas situation as refilling places are few and far between and not necessarily at petrol stations, today was a general fuel distributor. But we had no problems and not the most expensive gas we've bought. We are carrying a backup (empty) Camping Gaz bottle but have yet to spot somewhere to exchange it for a full one.
We noticed last night that the catering staff had made a miscalculation as regards our supplies of certain things so a supermarket visit was next - I'm sure it's just a love of shopping! Plenty of choice though so again sorted easily enough and we headed out back across the toll bridge and westward towards our target, Lofoten Island. Lunch was at a picnic spot then after consulting the maps and our Rough Guide we deviated off our planned route to head north to the other large population centre of Harstad. Which turned out to be quite a bit bigger than Narvik and much more interesting although the Norwegian penchant for digging up roads was just as bad; we resorted to following a local bus until he turned into the bus station, but we wanted to see how the locals lived as well as the scenery so it was worth avoiding the (toll) ring road. Although we didn't get completely away with it!
Carrying on around the coast we began seeing the sights Norway is famed for, mountains, fjords and forests on well-maintained and relatively quiet roads. No motorways here and it was easy to keep to the generally conservative speed limits and just enjoy the scenery. Over 60 photos were taken during the day although as most were "on the run" they're not all really good enough to post here but we'll include some of the best.
The road came to an end at a small ferry terminal, which we were fully aware of, and as luck would have it the next sailing was only a few minutes away so we joined the queue. Before leaving home we were told about an Autoferry card which, after paying a refundable deposit, gave substantial discounts which was important to us as being over 6m long the fares were disproportionately higher than cars. It also features number plate recognition which, to the amazement of the ferryman, worked as advertised so no messing about with payment. (This is also linked in to the toll system as well although we understand we'll eventually get a discounted invoice for toll dues.)
A nice smooth 20 minute crossing and we were decanted back onto more quiet roads, although this time with a ferryload of traffic. As it was approaching our normal stopoff time we checked out our apps for something suitable and discovered quite a few places we could try. The first, although initially looking very attractive, turned out to be a tiny beach at the end of a rough track which we had some trouble getting back out of. Another was on a boatyard/marina type place with dedicated parking for motorhomes and although it was a pay site we thought it attractive enough so "dropped anchor". It did offer electricity in with the price but half a dozen Dutch vans had got in first and claimed the few points there were, not that we needed it but then it made the cost just for parking and a water tap a little steep. At least one of the Dutch couples did change a large note for us (stupid ATMs again) so we could put the right money in the honesty box. I don't suppose anyone will check if we did or not but again we try to do the right thing.
So a lovely day, marred only by a message that Mum had fallen again although there were no injuries, but you do worry about elderly relatives - she's 95 now.
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