Mosjøen - 30 June 2018

Geoff

Although I've been sleeping well every night, last night I seem to have slept particularly well for some reason. 

We had a strange happening after breakfast. Amanda was on the phone arranging her flight back to the UK, and I was doing something or other, when there was a knock at the camper door and there were three young soldiers, armed. I was asked to produce ID. Our layby was close to a military place so it was just a routine check so no problem. The other vans with us were also checked. 

The next town on our route, Fauske, didn't detain us, apart from a loo stop. We then rejoined the E6 and actually stayed on it for the rest of the day as today was very much a driving day. The weather was good as well, warmer than we've been used to and, in fact, we crossed south of the Arctic Circle but didn't stop at the busy visitor centre and rest area. 

For the first part of the day, the road wound along the edge of fjords with steep forested mountainsides to our immediate left. Later on, we climbed to wide open spaces which really dwarfed us and the road. Traffic was very sparse. 

We had heard of the extensive road works on the E6 and came across lots. The entire road seems to be in the process of being upgraded and widened. It is quite windy in places. Progress was slow at times but could have been much worse. The World Cup football perhaps kept a lot of drivers at home and, being a Saturday, there weren't many lorries. 

We stopped to make tea in a parking area overlooking the harbour at Mo i Rana where we saw the Havmannen (Man of the Sea), a sculpture by Antony Gormley. 

We then continued through Mosjøen and then arrived at our stop for the night. It's a small parking area at N65.74319 E013.27779, not intended for overnighting but perfect for it. It has a loo and a few bays but we are parked on the tarmac in a corner. There are a few other vans here. It's very peaceful. 

Amanda

When I went out on deck at 11.45 last night there was hardly anyone out there and the sun was just beginning to force its way through the clouds. It was a lovely sight shimmering on the water. By just before midnight it was shining through brightly, and the deck was full. A moment to be remembered.

We left the ferry at 12.30 and after 30 minutes driving pulled into a lay-by just off the road where three other campers had already settled, and were in bed by ten past 1.

This morning we decided that a concerted effort needed to be made to resolve the travel question, and so, following as much research as I could reasonably do, I booked return flights to Birmingham from Bergen, via Amsterdam, for the week after next, giving us 10 days to get there. There was a slightly surreal moment while I was on the phone in the middle of booking, when an army truck pulled up and three armed army personnel walked over and looked straight in at us. Geoff had his back to them and I had to get his attention to deal with the situation. An inspection of passports, and all was well.

So, in beautiful weather, the day has been spent on the road to get some miles behind us. Fortunately the roads were relatively quiet, the many roadworkings were mostly having a weekend rest, and maybe everyone was watching football. We are heading down the E6, the main toll road, and so missing the slower and more dramatic coastal route, which involves a number of ferries, but the scenery is still very attractive. No dual carriageway this, not even any road markings. We had a few short stops, at the Nordland National Park Turistcentre , which was very touristy, where the lunch buffet looked rather splendid, but we had our lunch in the car park; and at Mo I Rana, to view the Antony Gormley sculpture of a man, standing up to his knees in the water with his back to the town.The harbour with its small marina  looked lovely with the sun shimmering on the water, cloudless blue skies and a good breeze. The combination is guaranteed to lift my spirits.

Geoff has done wonderfully with the driving today, and says his ribs have  been less troublesome. Probably because he has finally consented to take painkillers. A good 4 1/2 - 5  hours of actual driving, combined with the 4 hours on the ferry, means that we have knocked 8 1/2 hours off the travelling time to Bergen in just the last 24 hours. The AA and Satnav both said 25 hours from where we were on Lofoten, which means an average of miles covered in an hour of not more than 36. Our experience suggests that is pretty much spot on.

We have found a very pleasant peaceful lay-by for the night, a lot more attractive, secluded and select than the campsites we have passed. No facilities though. Maybe tomorrow night we will treat ourselves to a proper site, though, after three nights of lay-bys.