Lofoten and Nordland

The next morning we crossed the bridge to Hinnoya and were finally in the Lofoten islands

 We headed up towards Harstad then took a small road up the peninsular towards Trondenes. We visited the museum there covering the history of Paganism and Christianity through the ages in Norway. The big W.W 11 Adolf gun was not open for a visit as it is in a Military area and only open in high season for guided tours

The early Gothic church was open and a Christening was taking place with the families dressed in traditional costumes. 

We next took the small coastal road visiting the fishing communities along the way and carried on down the scenic RV 83 to Revsnes. We boarded the ferry which took us across to Flesnes and stopped at a picnic spot just outside of Sortland for the night. 

Next day we were fortunate to fill our van with extremely cheap diesel at a Shell site that had inadvertently priced its fuel incorrectly.  Now on the island of Langoya we headed north on the       RV 821 towards Myre and then towards the tiny fishing village of Sto. 

Overlooking the harbour to our delight ,we spotted our second White tailed Eagle.   We spent half an hour watching the birds from here but eventually the smell of the fish drying on their racks  drove us back to the van. 

Backtracking we took a dirt track towards a deserted fishing hamlet of Nyksund. The road as usual with Sarahs planning deteriorated drastically and we decided it was prudent not to continue at this point. Having come within sight of the village and taken our pictures we turned back.

We turned back down to the island of Hinnoya and picked up the E10 crossing over to Austvagoy with a short stop over at Kabelvag to visit the large 19^th c , timber framed church.

We carried on to Vestvagoy and up to Eggum on the north coast and to the council run camp spot for the night. This site was very busy with vans but in a beautiful location by the water with steep cliffs behind us. There was some argument with the warden as to the cost of the night, being different from our book. 

Early next morning to avoid the warden we backtracked to the E10 and spotted a Red throated diver on the way just where an English couple had told us to look.   The scenery continued to awe us and we diverted again to see another fishing village,  Balstad  

and then the fishing museum at Nusfjord. 

Continuing south we came across major road works, explaining  the signs we had ignored earlier, but it was worth the very rough ride and Rob swearing each time we disappeared down a pot hole, just to visit the beautiful harbour at Reine and Moskenes.  

Unfortunately we then had to backtrack through the same road works or pay an extortionate ferry fare back to the mainland.  

We returned on the E10 to Lodingen and took the ferry across to Bognes on the mainland and found a picnic spot to overnight in. 

Another early start and back on the E06, travelling south this time back to Fauske and onto the fv80 to pick up the fv17, Kystrikdsveien (The coastal route).  First stop along the way was the tidal whirlpools at Saltstraumen.  The tide was not at its peak at it was still worth a visit.  On the way down to the viewpoint we saw a pied flycatcher, a new bird for us.

The scenery along this route is tremendous and we finished our day near Mevik, next to a white sand beach surrounded by high cliffs.  

The final excitement for the day was the sudden thunder-like crash, a quick look up to the heavens showed a perfect blue sky but our travelling eyes spotted a large boulder bouncing down the mountain followed by a massive dust cloud and debris.  These landslides are not uncommon, (last year the main road was blocked by massive boulders) so we parked as close to the beach as possible!