Our Travels and Blog beginnings.

We got up this morning after a night of the wind buffeting the van, our spot was perfectly acceptable but a little exposed to the elements, it had rained hard through the night and was also very windy. It was dry at breakfast time and actually looked quite reasonable and Logan was keen to go out for a walk, however soon after the heavens opened and it was definitely foul, even going out to turn off the gas and cover up the water heater flue was rather bracing so any walking idea were shelved. We dropped down to sea level and passed through a very driech Sigerfjord, a very spread out town. One poor man was trying to cut his grass in the terrible weather and one lady was out walking her dog and pushing a pram and not looking filled the joys of life. I am sure the residents are well used to it up here however. This road was also seriously in need of attention, there is a big tunnel that cuts this bit of coastline out and clearly the budget was all spent on that, pot holes, cracks and rutt...

Its hard being on the go every day, not bad hard but just continuous, so it was a lazy start for us today and the backtrack into Svolvaer for gas was a bit of a nuisance as well. We had hoped to be a bit further up the road last night but there was no point as we needed to top up the gas, this is the first time since we left home. The first cylinder was used up and we were well into the second, only trouble is the gauges are totally unreliable and you cannot tell how much you have used. We should have filled up before now but hadn't. So after a 8 o'clock rise, breakfast and a slightly overdue shower we got the van all sorted for the next few days. That means emptying the loo, filling up with fresh and drinking water, emptying our grey water (dishes water etc), doing the hoovering and cleaning the bathroom and it all takes a little while, it was a lovely morning and we were in no great rush. The boys had a play in the swing park and at about 11am when we left the campsite to go ...

                                ............. .......Wednesday 26th................ Our parking spot last night was nice and quiet. It was an 8am breakfast after a couple of snoozes on the alarm. It was dry but the forecast was bad for the day. we took a walk along the road to a beach not far from our parking spot to try and spot our eagle friend and give the boys a stretch of the legs. A wee fishing boat had ploughed its was out and was gently bobbing about, 3 guys happy trying to catch some fish. Half a way along there road a word from Joyce meant the eagle had been spotted and it was heading right over us, quite high and not perfect for getting a picture. Again from below it looked all brown, but apparently young sea eagles are dark underneath, not getting their white tails until more adult. I managed to get a few pictures before it soared away around the ridge. On closer inspection of the pictures we...

It was dry this morning when we woke up, the carpark was pretty full and there had been some comings and goings through the night with new arrivals off the late ferries and others leaving to get on the ferry. I never heard any of it but that was Joyces morning report. After breakfast we put on out waterproof jackets and went out for a wander and to try and get a wee museum visit in. We visited the souvenir shop and sent some postcards. Then the rain came on, and quite heavy too. We went to have a look around the Torskfiske museum but it didn't open til 11 o'clock, so wandered around and went for a coffee at the Brygga restaurant, myself and Logan had looked in yesterday and it looked lovely.  It was a welcome shelter from the rain, but I am always wary in these tourist hotspots as to how good the fare will be. We need not have worried, our coffees and waffles were superb, the waffles were made to order and we were given a huge bowl of superb strawberry jam and another of crea...

Callum had woken us all up at 3:50am this morning telling us it was breakfast time.....he had opened their bedroom curtains and shed all his covers and was quite insistent that it definitely was breakfast time. He was gently encouraged to go back to sleep, he must be having a growth spurt as his appetite is insatiable. Anyway, at 8:30 we all got up and had our ration of porridge. The weather this morning in Bodo was the same as it was last night, rather Scottish!! Bodo was also our launchpad for heading over to the Lofoten Islands, had we more time, or, not spent so much time getting here we would have continued up to Narvik and then down onto Lofoten, therefor seeing it in both directions. But time is in short supply soon new plan had been hatched some time ago. It is also the plan that most people visiting the islands have, that is take the ferry from Bodo to Moskenses at the southern tip of the Lofoten archipelago. Some people had warned us its mega expensive and it would be cheap...

                                                         Saturday 22nd....... We had met Dag and Eirin in a restaurant in Trondheim 1 week ago and had agreed that when we were further north around Bodo we would go and visit them, we kept in contact through the week and arranged to meet them on Saturday. They live and work near Bodo but have a Hytte further south near Inndyr. They would be at their hytte for the weekend and we were invited to meet them and spend the day with them there which was a very kind offer indeed. We were a little lazy in Reipa campsite and didn't leave until around 10:30am so it was 11 before we met Dag, he had driven to the main road to meet us and we followed him the last km or so to their hytte. We were welcomed into their lovely 2nd home and we were soon sitting blethering while enjoying a coffee and some tasty cho...