Part 3 Stokmarkenes to Sandfjord

11/08/06 -Stokmarknes to Sortland.
After a reasonably quick pack up we left the campsite and cycled into the centre of Stockmarknes. Due to the wonderful weather and scenery on the tour so far I had already nearly finished the 2Gb memory card in my camera, therefore another one needed to be purchased. There is only one main street in Stokmarknes so we tried every likely shop until we eventually found one at an 'Ectko' which is like a Norwegian 'Currys! Frank was finding the Arctic nights a bit chilly and spotted a thin fleece thermal top in a sport shop, so that was purchased as well. We eventually got underway and decided to go the scenic route via the road around the west coast of Longøya. Going north from Stokmarkness involves negotiating two large bridges, the reason they were so high became obvious when as we crossed the second bridge I spotted the Hurtigruten coastal steamer coming down the fjord and waited on the other side to see it pass under. it's quite an impressive sight.

Sykkelrute nr.3 follows the 885 road which follows the west coast of Langøya. It is a great route with easy cycling along a good surfaced road with good views across the Vesterålsfjorden and Eidsfjorden. The weather was good with bright blue skies with partial cloud cover. There was little traffic on the road, which gave us a quiet and peaceful ride. Near Mossanden we stopped at a picnic bench for some lunch and a brew. While we were there a German couple who were also touring pulled in. They had been up to Stø and had been on a whale-watching trip. The German lass didn't seem all that enamoured with the trip saying that it was cold and wet. May be they had gone on a dirigible. We hoped our whale safari from Andenes would be better. The cloud was beginning to pull in from the north and was rolling over the mountain tops. About 1.5km after Slåttnes the road becomes gravel, which rather slowed things down a bit especially when we encountered a whole flock of sheep grazing their way up the road. The gravel road was fairly pleasant to ride along with summerhouses every so often, the last few kilometres where a bit difficult as it was being widened and re-surfaced. The gravel was quite loose in places and needed a bit of care to negotiate.

At  Oshaugen we got the tarmac back and I decided to try and cut the corner by not going up all the way up to Holmstad. Due to a slight miss interpretation with the map (hmm) we initially took the wrong road and had to retrace our route by a kilometre. When we got on the correct road to Sortland it was one of those horrible long straight climbs with many false summits. By then the cloud had pulled in and it started to get cold. We were both struggling a bit by then and getting tired. By the time that we got to the top we were glad to see Sortland below us and realise that it was downhill all the way!  Sortland names its self the 'The Blue City', each of the buildings in the center is painted in different shades of blue. It is a good thing they have as it would be a very drab town without it! After finding a supermarket it was again as always up hill to the campsite!

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12/08/06 - Sortland to Nordmela.
We were glad to get away early from the campsite, as it wasn't the best we had stayed at! Yet again there was another large bridge to get over to Hinnøya the next island. Unfortunately it's the main E10 and there was a fair amount of traffic. I couldn't believe this lorry driver who decided to overtake me just before the top, not only did he get flashed at by the poor sod who had just come over the top and had to brake hard but he was on the receiving end of some advanced Makaton from me! What an idiot he narrowly missed creating a total pile up on the bridge!

The road north follows close to the shore and just around the next corner there was another bridge a bit further on over the Hognfjorden, but this wasn't as steep as others. The road wasn't too bad with only a bit of traffic it mainly follows the shore of the Sortlandsundet for most of the way turning east to go around the Forfjorden. We stopped for some lunch and a brew at the Langnesøyra picnic spot before pushing on north past Fornes and Buknesfjord. At Risøyhamn there is another Hurtigruta sized bridge to take you over to Andoya Island. As you come around the corner it looks almost vertical! Frank was in front of me and decided for once to make it a race to the top, we must have been mad! After a rest to recover at the top of the bridge we went down the other side and into Risøyhamn to see if there was a shop open, but it was after 5.00pm and we were too late it was closed.

At Åse we just had to have a photo of me in front of the sign. Yes I know the Norwegians would phonetically pronounce it ‘Ose’ but it’s worth a giggle! We had planned to camp at Ånes at a campsite marked on the map. When we got there it was only cabins and caravans, no camping. We ended up going on to find a wild campsite. The road to Nordmela is across a marsh so there was little chance of anywhere until we got to Nordmela. We eventually found a good site just up from the beach behind the Nordmela Samfunnshus. This was our longest day so far at 52 miles! Boy were we glad to get our heads down for the night.

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13/08/06 - Nordmela to Bleik
After a very peaceful night we were up and away fairly early, as having not found a shop the previous night we were on the powdered milk, which doesn't make for good tea or cereals. The road north takes you through the Skogvoll nature reserve but there were precious few birds to been see. It had started drizzling and was a bit cold so may be the birds were hankered down in nests or had flown south! We decided to do the same and stopped for a warm cup of coffee and a cake at the cafe which is part of the campsite at Stave. After riding up Stavedalen there was a steady climb up to the Storvatnet a large lake above Bleik and from there it was a good run down to Bleik. The village is next to the sea and has a lovely backdrop of the rugged rocky sides of Durmals Haugen 430m and Røken 458m.

We pitched tent at about midday at the campsite at Bleik, which is a lovely grassy area above the beach right next to the village football ground. You actually used the clubhouse showers and toilets and a nice chap comes around in the evening to collect the camp fee.  The weather had remarkably improved from the cold grey drizzly morning to an afternoon of warm sunshine. So after a shower and some lunch we went for a leisurely walk along the white sandy beach to the little harbour and then back through the village before settling down for a nice evening meal and a read.

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14/08/06 - Andnes Whale Safari
We were up fairly early to give us plenty of time to get to Andenes for the Whale Safari. It didn't take that long to get to Andenes and we were at the Norwegian Whale centre just before 11.00 am and checked in. As we were waiting we meet the professional Viking and his partner from the Lofotr Viking museum at Borg, they had two days off and decided to go on the whale watch as well. We were soon shepherded in to a basement room for the introduction. It was in English then German then Norwegian and finally in Italian. The Norwegian took the shortest time and the Italian took the longest and she spoke the quickest! We were then issued with seasickness pills, how rough was it out there? this didn't bode well! We were then split into two groups by the languages we spoke and after a DVD on whales set to music we were given a tour of the centre. Our boat the M/S Andfjord left at 1.00pm and we motored out to sea for about an hour until we were about 20km out from Andenes on the edge of the continental shelf 1000m below us. There was a fair swell running which caused the boat to pitch and wallow quite a bit and we were then very grateful for the seasickness tablets. We met up with the Whale center’s sister ship the M/S Reine which had motored out earlier. We stooged around for about 30 mins or so, listening to the clicks from the whales on the hydrophone, which they had patched through to the speakers on the deck. Then suddenly the engines roared back in to life, a whale spout had been seen, a Sperm whale had surfaced. Everyone forgot their seasickness in the excitement and rushed to the starboard side of the boat to see the whale.

Sperm whales come up to the surface to breathe for about ten minutes at a time before diving back down to feed on the giant squid that are plentiful in this area of the continental shelf. Apparently they will then stay down for about 30 –45mins before re-surfacing to breathe again. We were out there about 2 hours and saw 4 sightings of two individual males, apparently they can tell them apart from the tail markings, which are quite distinctive (you can see details here at the center’s whale index here). Our last sighting was the closest being about 50m off the starboard quarter. They are fascinating creatures to watch although you only see a bit of the whale out of the water and the blowing spray. The exciting bit is when they arch their backs and dive, you see their great tails come out of the water and disappear.

As we motored back they served vegetable soup and rolls to warm us up. Frank chattered to one of the guides and learnt some facinating facts. Sperm whales apparently sleep vertically in the water and have two brains, one is inactive while it sleeps and the other keeps it breathing while it sleeps. Unfortunately due to it’s habit of sleeping upright they are vulnerable to being hit by boats while asleep and if the brain that is keeping them breathing is rendered unconscious by the impact they can easily drown. He also mentioned that it was one of the best trips as the weather was good and the sea was fairly calm, usually they are having to deal with most of the public being seasick!

We were given our certificates as we left the boat and chattered to the professional Viking and partner. They had a van and offered us a lift to back to Sortland. We were sorely tempted, as the ride down to Sortland was backtracking our route. Our original plan had been to cross over to the mainland at Andenes, but with our slower progress over Lofote due to the wind and hills we thought that it might back us into a corner and not gives us enough time to get back to Bødo. It was a tempting offer, but all our gear was at the campsite at Bliek and that it would take us time to get there and pack up. So we thanked them kindly for their offer and wished them well for the rest of their stay at Borg.

As we had had such an excellent day we thought it would be great to round it off by splashing out and having a nice meal out. The young lady in the Whale center reception recommended the Lysthuset Sørvesten Restaurant . After a quick pop into the supermarket for some milk for breakfast and noticing that the alternative choice was ‘Bog’ or ‘Sodd’ for dinner (see photo), we opted for the restaurant. It was an excellent recommendation as it was a delicious meal, Frank had Lump-Fish fillet served in a seafood sauce with butter steamed vegetables and I had Bokna Fish, salted fish served with creamed carrots, crispy fried bacon and boiled potatoes. I just had to try the local Torske fish!

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15/08/06 - Bleik to Buknesfjord.
We had thought about just going down to the campsite at Stave and spending the rest of the day doing some clothe washing as we desperately need to do some! However there was a good north easterly wind blowing and we decided that it would be nice to have the wind with us and get some mileage under our tyres.

It was a great route with the road following the coastline for most of the way. It was particularly interesting near the Bøhella light where it was quite rugged with the rugged rocky sides of the Gardsfjellet 413m. There was a picnic spot there and it was about dinner time so we stopped for some lunch and the usual brew. I realised on opening the Billy set, that when the wind had blown the Billy set off the picnic bench at the campsite it had cracked a couple of eggs inside. There was nothing for it but to have scrambled eggs for lunch and I must admit it made a very welcome change from the usual rolls!

As you cycle south down the coast you pass through the villages of Noss and Bø with their traditional wooden Norwegian houses. At Bjørnskinn we stopped to admire the lovely wooden church, although not as interesting or as old as some it looked lovely in the afternoon sun. After Bjørnskinn we were soon back on the 82 and heading over the Risøyhamn bridge and south along familiar roads and with the wind behind us we made good time. At Toftar there was a great swath of Rosebay Willow herb along side the fjord, which made for some very interesting photos. We pressed on and reached our destination the campsite at Buknesfjord. We were a little concerned when we got there, as the sign said ‘Caravans & Motor homes’ and didn’t mention tents. The lady at the campsite explained in good English that they do take tents and don’t advertise the fact as they have only a small area available for tents. I remarked about how good her English was, she then explained that she was married to an Englishman from Nottingham. Being at bit tired I very quickly filled in the registration form with just our surname and postcode. She looked quizzically at the brief address and added “will that get to you if I send you a Christmas card!” I smiled and apologised and added the complete address. (Blow me down but we did receive a Christmas card from her this year!!!)

Well she did say they didn’t have much space for camping and she was right, the only bit of grass was a small piece behind the facilities! Fortunately for us it was just the right size for our tent and we had a great view down the fjord and the evening sunset.

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16/08/06 - Buknesfjord to Sortland.
It was a bit of a dull days cycling due partly to the weather being overcast and the fact that we were retracing our steps back to Sortland. The only notable thing on the way was when we got to the place where we had seen them off loading a house from the back of an articulated lorry, they had managed to complete the first storey, which was very impressive in 2 days. Unfortunately due to the next campsite east being just that bit too far away to comfortably do in a day we had to stop at the same campsite at Sortland  We didn’t really want to, but we needed to do some clothes washing, we wished we hadn't bothered. It cost us 200kr (£18) to wash and dry the clothes and then the dryer was so hot it melted Franks socks and fairly nuked her fleece as well. To cap it all there was no hot water in the gents showers! I complained to the campsite owner the next morning about the lack of hot water and the cost of the washer and dryers. I got my money back on the shower but she just shrugged her shoulders about the cost and damage to our clothes!

17/08/06 - Sortland to Lødigen.
We headed again out of Sortland, glad to be away from the campsite. I suppose you have to have the grotty ones to appreciate the good ones! Again it was back over that bridge, this time there were no stupid lorry drivers. The weather was quite overcast as we cycled down the side of the Sortlandsundet. At Kjerringnes we stopped at a garage to fill up our water carrier and water bottles just in case we had to camp wild. You need to turn off here to take the road that follows alongside the Sigefjorden as it is a quieter road than the E10 and also means you miss the long tunnel under the Gårdsdals tinden. At the end of the fjord there is a steep but short climb back up to meet the main E10. From there it was a good ride down the Langvassdalen along the aptly named Langvatnet before turning south and following the Gullesfjorden south. Due to the cloud cover and cold wind we were grateful of our Callange jackets to keep us warm. We stopped briefly for a warming brew and a bite at another convenient picnic table overlooking the fjord. Unfortunately with the low cloud the views weren’t all that good. The road down the fjord side is a bit of a roller coaster going up and down and you couldn’t quite get enough speed and momentum on the downs to get you up the ups! We passed a campsite at the end of the Gullesfjorden but had planned to go on further even though it had started to drizzle a bit. We carried on up the hill at the end of the fjord to the top where the earthworks for the new road to the Lofoten islands were being built.

It was a fairly easy run down passed the Innerfjorden, however it is the main E10 and on several occasions we cringed at the appalling driving of some motorists who were so impatient to overtake us. We realise that we are slow moving and if it is narrow we usually pull over at a convenient spot to let them get by, but some of them never gave us a chance. Every maniac and his granny seemed to be out that day overtaking us on blind bends, blind summits and at the most inopportune times! Frank was quite shaken up at one point as a local bus driver tried to squeeze his bus between her and an on coming car, the car had to swerve on to the verge to avoid hitting the bus!

As we pressed on to the end of the fjord we could see that we were in for a long hill climb, to make matters worst it started to rain quite heavily. It was a long grind up to the top and at Kåringen we were glad to find the campsite just down from the top. It looked OK from the outside, the reception was quite nice with a posh restaurant. We decided that a warming cup of coffee and a cake might be in order before pitching, so stopped in the restaurant for a bite after booking in. By then the rain had stopped so we cycled down the track behind the reception to where the lady said the camping was. Well the best way to describe it was like camping in the the local tip with the odd dilapidated caravan about. There were old bits of rusty metal every where, piles of rubble and hardly a blade of grass! What bits of grass we did find were marshy if we hadn’t been so tired we would have got our money back and moved on! Fortunately we found a reasonable bit to pitched on and found the showers were gloriously hot and free so we put it down to experience. We should have learnt our lesson from East Germany and check out the pitches before paying.

18/08/06 - Lødigen to Sandfjorden.

We were quite please to pack up and get out of that tip of a campsite. At least it was a good down hill ride to the turn off to Lødigen. We popped in to Lødigen to look for some more detailed maps for our route to Narvik but without success and decided that we would have to manage with our large scale map. As we looked around Lødigen we found that for 50kr we could have camped by the yacht club in the marina and it would have been on grass with a much more pleasant view! Oh well we weren’t to know.  We bought some supplies for lunch and tea and headed back on to the E10 heading east. The road followed the side of the Tjeldsundet and fortunately was wider and less hilly than yesterday.

We stopped for lunch at a picnic spot with a lovely view over the fjord. While we were there several camper vans stopped. We laughed to ourselves at the camper van occupants, it was obviously their daily exercise time, once around the camper van having a fag! Of the half dozen that stopped it was only an Italian couple who both got out and took time to admire the view and take pictures! At kongvika I spotted a point of interest sign “Vikingbauta” obviously something Viking so we turned off the main road to have a look. The road soon turned to a track and came out on a beach by the fjord. There appeared to be nothing there, perhaps it was the site of a Viking ship burial or Viking find it would have nice if they could have put an interpretative sign to show what was found. Anyway it was a nice break from the main road.

We continued on up the E10 and at Raudskjer they were advertising a campsite, but it appeared to be shut. We had no alternative but go on and as we cycled further up the fjord we got our first site of the huge Tjeldsundbrua. Again it was a high span bridge, what we didn’t realise was that ahead of us was an awful climb up a really long hill to then drop down again to go over the bridge. When we got over the bridge we couldn’t find the campsite marked on the map. It wasn’t until we turned off the main road that we found it on the road running alongside the fjord under the bridge. We went to book in, but he reckoned he was full up and he wasn’t exactly helpful. There was no other site for miles so we decided to find a wild camp. As we cycled up the road along the fjord, every suitable spot had a summerhouse on it with a car parked outside or it was boggy and not big enough for our tent. We kept on going for several miles and as it was getting late a spotted a chap working in a field. I asked him if we could camp in it. He said that it wasn't his field but we could camp at his place. He told us to carry on up the road for 2km and wait by the 50km sign at the next village, he would then follow us in a couple of minutes. We found the sign and after a few moments he came by on his quad bike. It's up here follow me. Frank look at me as it was a track up a steep hill, fortunately he turned off the track after only 200m before it got too steep! We turned into the yard in front of his house. He pointed to a touring caravan and said we could use his van for the night for free. I told him we would be happy with a patch of grass but he insisted. What a nice guy!

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To part 4 Sandfjord to Bodø