Days 11-13 - Lauvik to France !


We left the beautiful tranquility of Laukvik behind as we ventured Nth East towards Narvik. While the sun was out the breeze was double icy and our ventures out of the car to have a final look at the stunning fjord vistas of this area were bloody quick ones. Going Nthwards now back on the main road to Tromos, we make it to Olsberg latw afternoon to the challenge of trying to get into our cabin style accommodation. Eventually somone turned up and we put up with our shoebox accommodation parked right next to the shared bathroom including toilet. Glad to be out the next morning we drove into stunning Tromso and boarded our flight to Paris by way of Oslo.

An Uneventful journey we made our hotel by 8 p.m. in time for our hotels signatory microwave meal deal .. we didnt care because we were starving !

The next monring we piled on to our TGV train to Lyon Part Dieu arriving 30 mins late after having struck an animal enroute. At 250 kms an hour it's not too hard to picture what the resulting impact may looked like .

Finally Arriving the lovely Burgundy town of Beaune in the drizzle Kev dragged his rapidly failing suitcase to our Hotel some 15 mins away. This was agony for him as the cobblestones helped to turning the wheeled suitcase into an effective brick !

Staggering into the Hotel Kev seriously asked the receptionistif she has any spare suitcases left behind. She thought he was joking !

Finally it was time to catch up with our Fab OZ friends Viv and Linton (now living in Cairns) who'd invited us over to join them in the 3 day cycling leg of their holiday. Needless to say we were overjoyed to catch up and despite Viv and Li ton being buggered by the flight over from OZ we reminisced of our numerous past adventures while looking forward to what the next t 3 days of cycling will bring !
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Beautifuk Laukvik

En route to Olsberg with historical Narvik posters 

Our shoebox accommodation in Olsberg 

Finally some greenery en route to Paris 

TGV building up speed

Cross words for the missing Crossword!

It might have been spoke as "tounge in cheek" but Kev's actions spoke otherwise as he tore through our apartment yelling something that sounded like .. "Where did you put my crosswords Litchfield"! Now over the years of our travel adventures i have to admit that I have sometimes thought of burning or burying them ! I mean come on .. being nearly asleep, it's about midnight and a voice suddenly says . .."4 down and 3 across .. 10 letters .. starts with an A .." A consequence of old age says Henley ! I'd learnt over the years just to give a stupid reply like "Arseholess" ... Kev would then say ... " You're useless Litchfield" and I could then go back to sleep. But this day I had simply not touched them ! I almost asked him if he'd checked the washing line after he commandeered such to dry his wet crossword papers back in 2014 in China at the expense of my wet cycling gear, but i thought better of it as cushions were still being launched into the air and beds and clothing still being pulled apart ! After surveying the cyclonic mess I said I'd not touched them ! After much searching he finally found them .. in the garbage bin !!! Somehow in putting out his old ones he'd thrown out all of them ! Now I know what the answer to 4 down and 3 across is ….. Alzheimer's !!!!
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Day 10 Kvalnes - A Funeral and a surf !

How wed done it I'm not quite sure but in turning off to take a small local road around the Kvalnes peninsular in Lofoten we'd somehow joined on to the tail end of a very long funeral cortage ! We drove slowly following 30 plus vehicles going past numerous houses with flags at half mast and people with their heads in respect not having any idea of whose funeral we'd just joined on to !
We'd earlier driven Sth to Leknes to fuel up and take in the "Bells Beach" of Lofoten, Unstad ! Despite having little more surf than Melbournes Bay we took in some fabulous scenery nearby with snow capped Mtns blending in with the beautifully coloured water.
Back on the main road we did a "slow lap" of the Kvalnes peninsular before searching out the nearby Lofoten Golf course which was still recovering from the winter snows. Finally it was back through our favourite snow filled valley to Laukvik with chef extraordinaire KJ Henley back for an encore on our last night in Lofoten !
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Our Accom Laukvik (yellow building)

Near Unstad

Days 8-9 - That smell is not coming out !

Our Accommodation

The Harbour at 9.30 pm

Driving around some local fjords 

It was time to move on from our quaint fishing village in Sennisvik heading 1 & 1/2 hours Nth West to the even quieter fishing village of Laukvik while stocking up on supplies in Svolvear on the way ! The Wow moments continued as we turned up a still snow bound valley before finally emerging on the coastline at Laukvik. First impressions were that seagulls significantly outnumbered people, there was no bloody cafe and that the pervading smell of drying cod heads was everywhere !
Our accommodation was another basic but comfortable looking Robur . We made ourselves known to the owner quickly enough by locking ourselves in !
Like a newly washed dog Kev was keen on getting up close and personal with the thousands of drying cod heads impressed that something could possibly give a worse smell than his cycling socks !
Apparently the heads are used for the Nigerian market hopefully not as an aphrodisiac, as it was still far too cold for any bed time action !
After becoming acquainted with the sea gulls and stunning surrounding scenery we used the following day to explore the nearby fjords which would make superb flat cycling routes if it wasnt for the single figure temperatures. All in all a superb relaxing location chilling me out enough to even encourage Kev to do tonight's cooking !
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Day 7 Reine - E10 to the A52 !

It happened a couple of days back when Kev asked where the E10 (the main road in Lofoten) changed to the A52 as signposted ahead. He couldn't understand why I was laughing until I explained that the sign indicated 52 kms to the town of A at the end of the Lofoten Islands, a destination we were heading to today !
It was a beautiful mild and sunny morning (5c) as we made our way back to Reine by way of the tiny fishing village / island of Hamnøy. The colours of the fishing houses provided a beautiful contrast to the towering rocks behind. After Hamnoy it was Reine which is the jewel in Lofotens crown. Reine is a town against an incredible backdrop of fjords, mountains and fishing houses. It was a delight to be experiencing this sight in April without the hordes of tourists who will descend upon here in June !
It was only another 10 kms on to A before we turned around and headed back to Sennisvik after another day of stunning scenery !
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Hamnoy

Reine

Where the hills meet the sea 

Day 6 Reine Lofoten - “Grilled Jocks on the BBQ” !

There was an unusual smell as we opened the door to our appartment after a days exploring on road. It wasnt from our boots or even from the kitchen but from the direction of the heating radiator in the middle of the room. The source found out soon enough !Laying across the radiator were a pair of singed jocks that were left by Kev to dry on a radiator set to high heat when we'd left earlier that morning !
The day did not start well at the Leknes servo when Kev couldnt find his wallet and my one and only credit card would not work ! Leaving my passport as security I returned to the car and thankfully found my secondary card stashed away in my wallet !
En route to beautiful Nusfjord (only 40 kms away) we were strangely (not) soon lost forcing us to backtrack to find out where we'd gone wrong. Back on track the 6km side road to the iconic UNESCO former fishing village of Nusford was stunning ! Surrounded by towering Mtns and built on a scenic fjord the village houses authentic fishing buildings.going back to the 1800's. Our walk here was short partly as the wind was just above freezing and partly because of the $10 tourist entry fee !
Back in the warmth of the car it was on to one of the most beautiful places in Norway stunning Reine ! With the overcast conditions and freezing wind meant she was not up to her best but enough to entice us back tomorrow ! 

En route

Nusfjord

Reine

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Day 5 Sennisvik - It’s a 7c heatwave !

A sleep in , a short outdoor walk and some planning on the run were on this mornings agenda while we waited for the sun to make its predicted way through the low level clouds. Kev took the wheel again (we'd kissed and made up after yesterday's altercation) as we headed for some beach scenery at Haukland and Unstad both Northern Lights favourite locations during the season.
Kev then drive across country back on to the main road while I directed him to the stunning fishing village of Henningsvear with its world famous soccer ground. After some "droning" we walked the quiet streets on a Sunday afternoon looking for that "mythical creature" an open coffee shop !
Disappointed we worked our way home along a winding coastline route just luxuriating in the sunshine and snow capped mtn backdrop. Kev was happy with day out , the 7c headway and the sauna like conditions as we entered our apartment .. as for me …
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Haukland Beach

Henningsvear

Day 4 Sennisvik - It’s heating up !

I knew this opening leg would be a battle of wills ! Kev born in a blast furnace, loves the heat while yiurs truly birthed in not so sunny England has become accustomed to liking the cold so … I'd wind the car window down, Kev would turn the heater up, I'd throw the doona off Kev would throw another one on. I put the butter in the fridge and Kev leaves the bar of chocolate out with the house thermo pumped up to 25c and the outdoor temp at a lovely crisp 3 c ! Somehow though we coexist with just the odd expletive from both us !
After a sleep in and a tidy up it was time to head further south making our way to Leknes Lofoten by way of Narvik. Kev took control of the wheel for most of the way and commented on the improving temperature .. now 5 c ! With cafes few and far between servos have become the centre focus for food and drink. A couple of hotdogs later I took over the reigns and we were soon entering a fairy tale landscape of white fields and precipitous Mtns climbing out of the fjords
Gob smacked we eventually found our well hidden accommodation just outside of quaint Sennesvik. We were tired and it was 7pm so didn't take well to the accommodation units being required to have a key lock code when a) we didn't have wifi b) the owner didn't send us one and c) we were struggling to get our mobile phone roaming working. Eventually we got through and raced back to nearby Leknes to stock up with food. Here Kev no doubt road lagged by the journey, successfully created a log jam of customers trying 5 times to enter his Pin to pay for the goods. Even the customers were trying to help him. Eventually I stepped in and we were able to exit stage left (Kev later found out he was using the wrong card ) . Too late now for dinner it was soup time, some reading and off to bed pretty buggered after midnight 

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Beautiful Lofoten 

Wild and woolly !

Well hidden sign to the Kro !

Beaut view looking down towards Leknes

No getting in Kev’s way when he’s hungry !

Day 3 Senja - Myths and Legends !

It's easy to see why Senja is considered an island of myths and legends as it's precipitous mountains plunge directly into the ocean and its narrow winding roads brings views that look almost out of a fairy tale ! We embarked upon the 102 km National Tourist route after having embraced the sub zero chill of another beautiful morning. While we had some plan in place it was almost better getting lost (we did) meandering around the numerous fjords, plunging through roughly hewn mountain tunnels and coming across Troll like villages with overhanging snow covered Mtns. The narrow tunnels brought back PTSD like memorise of previous nerve wrecking experiences in Norway. There were beaches, concrete picnic benches, idyllic lookout points but sadly for the coffee addicts not a single bloody cafe ! The outside chill had reached the "Henley .. I really don't want to get out of the car level ! To entice him to keep going we headed back to our apartment for lunch before heading out again in the afternoon for more spell binding scenery.


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Stunning Lookout at Bergsbott 

Winding Mtn road

Another one of those tunnels !

Surfs up

A rare “Kev out of the car” pic !