Back on the Norwegian mainland

Despite a good forecast, on Tuesday we woke to low cloud, wind and rain… gutted. There was no point doing the hike up Reinebringen because we wouldn’t be able to see anything. Very despondent, we lay in bed reading with a cup of tea, wondering what to do all day.

After a while, I suggested seeing if we could move our ferry booking ferry from first thing Wednesday (today). John tried calling the Torghatten ferry company, but the answerphone said they were on a break. On the webcam, I could see that the 11.00 ferry had left and there wasn’t a queue for the next one at 14.30. I did some research and found it was at the discretion of the port staff whether we could transfer ferry and we decided to join the queue and give it a go.

We drove round to Moskenes and joined the unreserved queue. Only 50% of places can be reserved on each ferry in advance and because we were in lane 1 of the queue, we had a good chance of getting on. However, we weren’t sure if we’d have to pay again or not. And, if we had to pay again, we weren’t sure whether it was worthwhile, or if we should wait until the next morning.

While we waited for the staff and ferry to arrive, we made coffee and had breakfast, and I wandered up to the church to take a photo. Finally, a man started scanning number plates to check people onto the boat. We asked if we could transfer our booking to the 14.30 ferry and he said ‘yes’, scanning our tickets. Great news!

It was a busy ferry, with several coach loads of people, and lots of cars, campervans and motorhomes. The vehicles were carefully packed onto the deck like sardines and by the time we made our way up to the passenger lounge, it was very busy. We found seats and settled down for the 4-hour crossing. The sea was quite rough and John felt a bit queasy as the ship rolled, but eventually we arrived in Bodø at about 18.30.

From there, we drove for about an hour to an aire in Fauske. We popped to the supermarket for pizza, then settled down to watch the football. We didn’t save a lot of time by getting an earlier ferry but saved ourselves a very early start today, because our original ferry would have meant a 4.00 start (at the latest).

Today, we’ve driven about 4 hours to Mosjøen where I’d booked a campsite. The scenery has been beautiful, through pine forest, along cascading turquoise rivers, over a pass between snow capped mountains, then along fjords, through tunnels and rocky cuttings, past rolling green hills.

En route, we crossed the artic circle again and stopped at the Arctic Circle Centre for a break to stretch our legs. Tonight will be the first time in several weeks we haven’t had midnight sun, even if it will only be dark for 3 hours.

At the campsite, we did a couple of loads of washing before walking into the town. The sunshine promised in the forecast hasn’t materialised, but at least it’s not raining or windy.

On a fjord, surrounded by mountains, the Sjøgata area of Mosjøen is picturesque. We enjoyed meandering through the historic timber buildings, painted in a variety of colours.

In 1866 a large sawmill was built and the town became an important trading place for coastal merchants, farmers and Sami lumberjacks. They are long gone, but the pretty wooden buildings from that era remain, with many used as cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries.

Back at the campsite, we’re debating whether to hike tomorrow or move on. We’re both craving some sunshine, so we’ll probably head south and cross into Sweden. In the meantime, can England beat Argentina?