A weekend to remember.
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 chocolate covered corn cones, I think the corn is almost popped like popcorn and then coated in chocolate, very tasty and Callum and Logan loved them.
Dag had a plan for the day, we would first of all drive 20 minutes along the road and visit a cave, called Lonnegangen . Its not on any of the maps we have and this is where local knowledge is invaluable. The walk and the trip through the cave is in a guidebook that Dag had, I am sure its would also be marked on Norways equivelant of our OS maps, however this was not a tourist cave, no lights, no easy path, proper adventure for us all. We put new batteries in our head torches and Dag kitted the boys out with another 2, we were also warned not to wear our best
clothes....what had we let ourselves in for. A short walk through the woods and after a little false start we found the entrance and turned on our lights. Callum looked like a brain surgeon with his fancy 3 lighted head torch. We entered the cave and worked our way through the passages, there is only one way although at a few points we did wonder if there was a way out or if more than one route option would present itself. A 10meter long passage saw me needing to take off my little rucksack to squeeze through. Its a limestone cave and there are many shelves which are quite sharp where over the millenia the water has worn horizontally into the rock. We had a great laugh and it was actually quite exciting doing it yourself, and at one point we all put our headlights off to see how dark it was, and yes it was very dark. Getting out without a light would have been tough. All too soon were were out the other end and walking back down through the trees and back to the van and car. This area of Norway is again very spectacular huge rocky mountains that look to have been sculpted by the slash of a sword at times, it was a real pity the clouds were down and we couldn't see to their tops. I would live to return here and climb to some of the summits, on a nice day the views must be superb.
Next part of Dags plan was to cook some sausages on their open log fire in the garden for late lunch (this was our fault for being lazy in the morning 😔). He has built in his garden a 2 sided wooden structure, its a work in progress but perfectly useable, incredibly its build mostly to be used in the winter time. The family can light a fire and sit in the shelter while surrounded by snow, cooking and enjoying a drink, sounds fantastic. The birch logs were soon burning away and the sausages were cooking and we all had a fine lunch. These little sausages are very traditional here and apparently nearly all children would be eating them the next day as the 23rd of June is a day of celebration of the summer solstice where many bonfires are lit and food cooked.
After our late lunch Dag, Callum and myself got kitted out in warmer clothes, waterproofs and lifejackets, and Dag took us out fishing in his boat. The weather was far from perfect, it was a bit windy and wet at times also, Callum was a wee bit nervous on the choppy water but soon got used to it, I did a bit fishing while Callum and Dag steered the boat and looked for fish on the finder. Thats another boat Callum has driven-a fine Buster XL, a Finnish built boat that is very capable (and fast). We caught a mackerel and a couple of cod but it really wasn't the best day for it, so we soon called it a day and headed in. Eirin had cooked a delicious meal for us all and we all sat around the table chatting and enjoying some well earned beer and wine and then Dags local speciality spirit called Aquavit. It is distilled from grain and potatoes and mostly flavoured with herbs and in most occasions Carraway seeds, its very nice and definitely potent stuff. After a couple more beers it was time to sample something more Scottish and Dag reckoned our Ardbeg 10 year old was possibly the finest whisky he had ever tried. Aquavit derives from the Latin Aqua vitae (water of life), exactly the same meaning as the Gaelic uisge beatha-again, water of life. Great minds think alike!!
The boys amused themselves with some toys and DVD, but eventually Logan had enough, he wandered through and found a bed for an hour or so and then we took them down to the van, it was well past their bedtime so we got them changed and bedded, and Joyce stayed in the van with them whilst I went back up and blethered well into the small hours over some more beers. This has definitely been a day to remember, a chance meeting in Trondheim and we meet some lovely people who made us feel very welcome and invited us to their home. Making new friends, learning a bit more about different cultures and enjoying new experiences, that's what life is all about. A HUGE thank you to Dag and Eirin for a great day.
Sunday 23rd...................
We had an enforced long lie, my late night meant later start again, but we were eating our breakfast at the back of 9. My head was only slightly wooly and soon I was feeling better. We got the van organised and went up to say our goodbyes, I'm not good at this and could easily have spent longer in this company and this area, but we had to move on and Dag and Eirin could relax for the last day of their weekend. At 10:30 we left Inndyr and headed north for the last part of the 17 road, the scenery is superb and given more time some brilliant walks could be done here, we hope to return.
The next point of interest was the Saltstraumen, this is a famous stretch of water where the water entering and leaving the Skjerstad fjord is forced through a narrow channel some 25 meter deep by 150 meters wide, it produces a maelstrom and amazing whirlpools and strange uprisings from deep underwater. The strongest current today would be at 4:10pm so we had a lunch, watched the very 1980's video about it in the visitor centre and went for a walk. We moved back to the south side as I wanted to fish there. Callum and myself went to find a spot and left Logan and Mum to relax in the van, they later came to look for us but didn't find us. Callum caught a few fish with a little assistance and I also caught a good few. This is not fishing here, it is definitely catching......almost every cast into the 'boiling' water hooked a saithe, they were not huge at around 40cm long but put up a good fight in the strong currents. We kept a couple and they will do us for tea another night. I didn't really get any good pictures of the maelstrom as we were engrossed in fishing but it is a spectacular sight, 400,000,000 cubic metres of water are forced through the channel every 6 hours and it can race through at up to 37kmh. There are ribs taking people for a ride and they passed a few times. There were huge shoals of fish jumping and being swept along in the current, we suspect saithe that were being forced up in the rapidly rising waters, and also loads of Eider ducks and gulls filling their bellies. I have a new trainee photographer taking my picture now, he's learning quite fast but sometimes no all of the desired subject is in the frame, however Callum did manage a pretty good picture of me and our fish-he won't hold them so it has to be me.
We wandered back to the van and headed towards Bodo and have found ourselves in the campsite there, its handy and near the ferry terminal. Lots of people were heading to the shore area, possibly to light their bonfire and have a celebration. Or its may have been due to the fact that a new museum is opened, we will check that out in the morning. The boys had a good play in the wee park and after tea they were shattered, off to bed they went and not a peep. The weather is mixed this evening, some meaty showers are coming in off the sea. Hopefully it will improve soon as we head to Lofoten for the next stage of our trip. We are also at the half way point time wise now so some progress northwards is required, our homeward journey will be quicker either through Sweden or down the main roads in Norway, but for the next week or two we will still be going further north and further away from home.
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 chocolate covered corn cones, I think the corn is almost popped like popcorn and then coated in chocolate, very tasty and Callum and Logan loved them.
Dag had a plan for the day, we would first of all drive 20 minutes along the road and visit a cave, called Lonnegangen . Its not on any of the maps we have and this is where local knowledge is invaluable. The walk and the trip through the cave is in a guidebook that Dag had, I am sure its would also be marked on Norways equivelant of our OS maps, however this was not a tourist cave, no lights, no easy path, proper adventure for us all. We put new batteries in our head torches and Dag kitted the boys out with another 2, we were also warned not to wear our best
clothes....what had we let ourselves in for. A short walk through the woods and after a little false start we found the entrance and turned on our lights. Callum looked like a brain surgeon with his fancy 3 lighted head torch. We entered the cave and worked our way through the passages, there is only one way although at a few points we did wonder if there was a way out or if more than one route option would present itself. A 10meter long passage saw me needing to take off my little rucksack to squeeze through. Its a limestone cave and there are many shelves which are quite sharp where over the millenia the water has worn horizontally into the rock. We had a great laugh and it was actually quite exciting doing it yourself, and at one point we all put our headlights off to see how dark it was, and yes it was very dark. Getting out without a light would have been tough. All too soon were were out the other end and walking back down through the trees and back to the van and car. This area of Norway is again very spectacular huge rocky mountains that look to have been sculpted by the slash of a sword at times, it was a real pity the clouds were down and we couldn't see to their tops. I would live to return here and climb to some of the summits, on a nice day the views must be superb.
Next part of Dags plan was to cook some sausages on their open log fire in the garden for late lunch (this was our fault for being lazy in the morning 😔). He has built in his garden a 2 sided wooden structure, its a work in progress but perfectly useable, incredibly its build mostly to be used in the winter time. The family can light a fire and sit in the shelter while surrounded by snow, cooking and enjoying a drink, sounds fantastic. The birch logs were soon burning away and the sausages were cooking and we all had a fine lunch. These little sausages are very traditional here and apparently nearly all children would be eating them the next day as the 23rd of June is a day of celebration of the summer solstice where many bonfires are lit and food cooked.
After our late lunch Dag, Callum and myself got kitted out in warmer clothes, waterproofs and lifejackets, and Dag took us out fishing in his boat. The weather was far from perfect, it was a bit windy and wet at times also, Callum was a wee bit nervous on the choppy water but soon got used to it, I did a bit fishing while Callum and Dag steered the boat and looked for fish on the finder. Thats another boat Callum has driven-a fine Buster XL, a Finnish built boat that is very capable (and fast). We caught a mackerel and a couple of cod but it really wasn't the best day for it, so we soon called it a day and headed in. Eirin had cooked a delicious meal for us all and we all sat around the table chatting and enjoying some well earned beer and wine and then Dags local speciality spirit called Aquavit. It is distilled from grain and potatoes and mostly flavoured with herbs and in most occasions Carraway seeds, its very nice and definitely potent stuff. After a couple more beers it was time to sample something more Scottish and Dag reckoned our Ardbeg 10 year old was possibly the finest whisky he had ever tried. Aquavit derives from the Latin Aqua vitae (water of life), exactly the same meaning as the Gaelic uisge beatha-again, water of life. Great minds think alike!!
The boys amused themselves with some toys and DVD, but eventually Logan had enough, he wandered through and found a bed for an hour or so and then we took them down to the van, it was well past their bedtime so we got them changed and bedded, and Joyce stayed in the van with them whilst I went back up and blethered well into the small hours over some more beers. This has definitely been a day to remember, a chance meeting in Trondheim and we meet some lovely people who made us feel very welcome and invited us to their home. Making new friends, learning a bit more about different cultures and enjoying new experiences, that's what life is all about. A HUGE thank you to Dag and Eirin for a great day.Sunday 23rd...................
We had an enforced long lie, my late night meant later start again, but we were eating our breakfast at the back of 9. My head was only slightly wooly and soon I was feeling better. We got the van organised and went up to say our goodbyes, I'm not good at this and could easily have spent longer in this company and this area, but we had to move on and Dag and Eirin could relax for the last day of their weekend. At 10:30 we left Inndyr and headed north for the last part of the 17 road, the scenery is superb and given more time some brilliant walks could be done here, we hope to return.
The next point of interest was the Saltstraumen, this is a famous stretch of water where the water entering and leaving the Skjerstad fjord is forced through a narrow channel some 25 meter deep by 150 meters wide, it produces a maelstrom and amazing whirlpools and strange uprisings from deep underwater. The strongest current today would be at 4:10pm so we had a lunch, watched the very 1980's video about it in the visitor centre and went for a walk. We moved back to the south side as I wanted to fish there. Callum and myself went to find a spot and left Logan and Mum to relax in the van, they later came to look for us but didn't find us. Callum caught a few fish with a little assistance and I also caught a good few. This is not fishing here, it is definitely catching......almost every cast into the 'boiling' water hooked a saithe, they were not huge at around 40cm long but put up a good fight in the strong currents. We kept a couple and they will do us for tea another night. I didn't really get any good pictures of the maelstrom as we were engrossed in fishing but it is a spectacular sight, 400,000,000 cubic metres of water are forced through the channel every 6 hours and it can race through at up to 37kmh. There are ribs taking people for a ride and they passed a few times. There were huge shoals of fish jumping and being swept along in the current, we suspect saithe that were being forced up in the rapidly rising waters, and also loads of Eider ducks and gulls filling their bellies. I have a new trainee photographer taking my picture now, he's learning quite fast but sometimes no all of the desired subject is in the frame, however Callum did manage a pretty good picture of me and our fish-he won't hold them so it has to be me.
Fantastic read buddy that is perhaps the best blog page so far I thoroughly enjoyed the read, it's giving me a real thirst for a new adventure of my own and I haven't been fishing for too long a time! I should perhaps organise a fishing trip with my wee boy who is also reading and loving the blog 👍
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