Tuesday 23rd June
We are now into the fifth week of our tour and enjoying a five day break on the Lofoten Islands. Today we took the motorhome out for a drive around. Norway is a land of massive distances and Lofoten is no exception. We headed south along the E10 King Olav’s Way and then took one of the unmarked roads. This took us to the far western coast of the island; an area that has agriculture thanks to it’s relatively mature climate. A village here consists of two or three houses and a town, more than ten. The land is very barren and rocky, just like the rest of Scandinavia. The scenery is remarkable and unlike anywhere else. We stopped at a church high up on top of a hill, but were unable to look inside as there was a funeral. We eventually arrived at Leknes in time for lunch. By accident although no-one will believe me; Leknes has the biggest indoor shopping mall on the islands and we spent a couple of hours just looking at the goods available in the shops. Often the choice was more comprehensive than ours, but much more expensive.
On the way back we were able to gain entry to the church that we saw before and also spotted this tiny church by the roadside. It was no bigger than a garden shed.
Wednesday 24th June
We have a full day coach trip today. Unfortunately, the weather is not as good as yesterday; the day started with rain and very low cloud. Whilst the rain eased during the afternoon, it was never far away and the cloud never lifted.
Our first stop on the coach was the Viking Museum. This is a representation of a Viking Longhouse from around the 8th Century AD. It is a living museum in that it is portrayed as actual life in the Viking Era. The crafts being carried out were very authentic. There is also a museum of Viking artefacts found at the site of the Museum. One can’t help thinking that history is based on a very small find. There are audio guides to assist when viewing the artefacts, but to listen to them took a long time when there was sufficient description on the display cards.
Lunch was provided; a very full lamb soup, which was very good and seconds were available. It was cooked traditionally over an open fire in the centre of the floor of the Longhouse.
Our next stop was Nusfjord, a small traditional fishing village which has been designated as a Heritage Site and will be preserved in it’s current state. Many of us felt that it was a little disappointing as whilst there were historical buildings such as the Cod Liver Oil factory, their use and the processes were not explained. As pretty as it was, it was not as good as we had expected.
Our final stop of the day was at Henningsvaer. Now this was a truly picturesque village with a beautiful harbour and plenty of places to discover. We had our dinner at the local restaurant. The meal was superb; fresh locally caught Cod with local vegetables followed by Apple Pie. This really was the highlight of our day.
Finally, back to the site after a long day.
Thursday 25th June
Another rest day, and after yesterday we needed it. We caught up with some chores in the morning and in the afternoon took our usual walk. In the evening we had our usual briefing for the following day’s journey, which was followed by a communal eating of the fish that our intrepid fishermen had caught that afternoon. There was fresh Coley and Cod straight from the fjord beside the campsite; you couldn’t get fresher.
Friday 26th June and Saturday 27th June
Back on the road again. Today we cross back to the Norwegian Mainland and head for Fauske. To do this we have to catch a ferry from Lodingen to Bognes, the crossing takes about an hour and as we are so far up the fjord, there is no chance of rough water. Once off the ferry it was a direct road to Fauske, our final desttination. The ferry charge is for vehicle including the driver, but plus any passengers. The passenger fare is halved if the passenger is a pensioner. For this to happen, Val had to take the driver’s seat and I would take the passenger’s. The plan was to change back after we had paid; unfortunately, or fortunately, the queue moved so fast that Val was still in the driver’s seat when we boarded the ferry. Another new experience for her, I can tick that one.
Our journey down was through many tunnels, which is very tiring and at times quite disorientating. The lights and lack of road markings do not allow the driver to gauge the width correctly to the point where one of our group lost a door mirror in a mid tunnel collision.
Fauske is a town that is most renowned for it’s Rose Marble which, although no longer mined commercially, is still in demand for architectural purposes. There is no museum, but the Fauske Hotel is lined with the beautiful marble.
On Saturday, we walked into town ( 2 miles each way) for some shopping and lunch. On the way back we could see some quite recent houses that had a grass covered roof. This helps to provide good insulation.
Sunday 28th June
Today is another milestone in the tour; today we cross back over the Arctic Circle.
Our journey began shortly after 09:00, still following the E6 national road southwards. The scenery was stunning from the start and just got better and better as we travelled. Mick and Mavis were travelling in convoy with us today and it made a welcome change to have some company to share the breaks with. Our first break was for coffee, about 50 miles into the journey; we had spotted a fantastic waterfall to the side of the road and managed to find a convenient lay-by. Mick and I took the path down to the waterfall and it was truly magnificent, two rivers were joining at the head of the rapids and creating a massive foaming turbulence as they tumbled over the rocks.
After coffee we continued our journey to the Arctic Circle Centre. As we came over the mountains towards the centre, we all noticed an aura about the place. There really was a felling of being on top of the World. The Centre is a purpose designed building with plenty of parking for everyone. Outside there are obelisks with globes mounted atop to mark the line of the circle, whilst inside the line is marked by a marble pathway. All around there is still deep snow, even on the car park, and hundreds of Cairns or peace monuments. Inside the centre is a souvenir shop, with reasonable prices and a restaurant, where we had a hearty lunch.
After a couple of hours it was time to leave as we still had about 100 miles to travel. The journey from the Arctic Centre to Mosjoen was just as spectacular as before. This really is a beautiful part of the World. One thing we did notice was that as we left the Arctic Circle so the Garmin Sat Nav showed exactly the same issue as before; switching to night mode and not returning to day mode for about 10 miles.
Monday 29th June
Today we continue our journey southwards by travelling from Mosjoen to Namsos, a reasonable journey of 145 miles.
Shortly after leaving the campsite we were at Laksfors for the Laksforsfossen falls, a spectacular sight with sufficient room for all of our units at once.
Following this we headed for our site for the day. Namsos is a small town with industry based around the steelworks.