Let the boat take the strain.
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 cheaper going further towards Narvik and taking a different ferry but for us Bodo was the best option. We didn't have a ferry booked and this is a very popular crossing, I wasn't too concerned as long as we got over today. The 11am ferry deadline came and went and we dawdled and sorted supplies and then drove to the ferry terminal to see if we had a chance of the later ferry. The first 3 lanes at the terminals were almost empty, but these are for people who have pre booked, so we were channeled into lane 4 which only had a lorry, a couple of campers and a few cars already in it. The sign at the end said the next ferry was at 4pm as we thought. So, that was it sealed, we were in the first standby queue and we weren't moving, we were getting over today-hopefully. Theres no indication as to how big a ferry it is and how many vehicles or lanes worth it can carry. We chilled in the van, had lunch and then I took the boys for a wander around the terminal and into Bodo, which I am sure is a lovely city. The Hurtigrutten ferry boat was in the harbour and also another little cruise ship called Lofoten, so there was plenty to look at. However, all the roads we had driven on getting here were full of roadworks and the bit of the town we walked through was also like a major construction site with new sea front apartments and buildings going up. We headed back to van and Joyce had made up some pasta with the delicious smoked salmon that Rune had gifted us a while back so we had some food for the crossing. Soon after the young ticket man came round and we bought our ticket. This meant we were getting on, it cost us 2171NOK all in which is probably about £200, but if you have a look at the map and see the mileage, diesel and time it has saved us then you'll probably understand the choice.
About 5 minutes later I looked out the window and the ferry was there, I couldn't fathom how we didn't see it earlier when we were out for our walk. The 3 reserved lanes which were now almost full got on first and then our lane started to move but it was stop start, a couple of lorries from land 5 got on but that was it and then our lane filed onto the boat, it was well filled by the time we got on, and we were shoe horned in between all the big lorries. I think if we had been an hour later we may not have gotten on this crossing. The weather was clearing and soon were were casting off, Logan the Brave and myself sat up on deck while Mum and old square eyes Callum found an inside seat and got comfy. The boat eased out the harbour and soon we realised why we hadn't seen it coming in, as soon as it exited the harbour entrance it made a sudden turn to starboard and sped up a channel that was hidden from view. It passed a couple of very small vessels in this channel at a fair rate of knots, they had a bouncy ride. Drivers in Norway do not mess about on the roads, and it would seem that their counterparts at the helm of a big ship are no different, lol.
Soon we were steaming out across the Vestfjorden passing spectacular islands who's tops were still under a cloud cap sadly. we settled down two enjoy the crossing which was far from smooth. This was not a bad day, quite calm in fact but a heavy swell had the boat pitching from side to side, no where near as bad as our original crossing to Norway but there were some who were struggling to keep their lunch down, that's for sure. Team Easson had no such issues and were soon chomping their way through our fine Smoked salmon pasta, an expensive sausage and chips out the cafe and and ice cream to wash it down, our boys have strong stomachs!!
There was a few squally showers as we made the 3 1/2 hour crossing and we were well across before the Lofoten Wall started to make itself visible, it a long line of mountains that rise straight from the sea to over a thousand meters, its an impressive sight, and on a blue sky day would be outstanding. Its a bit like approaching the Cuillin from Elgol, except that these mountains continue far to the left and as far as the eye can see to the right, the direction we will be heading tomorrow.
Soon we were off the ferry and drove the few miles south to the fishing village of A (with a small "o" above the A). Its a spectacular village, hemmed in by 900 meter peaks to the right and the seas to the left, there is a campsite at A but also a free parking are at the end of the road, which we though we would have a look at first to see if it was ok to park there, and its half filled with motorhomes, camper vans, small vans and people sleeping in their mondeo estates....so we figured its ok. Lofoten has the very same problem that the north of Scotland has with tourists, so many people want to visit. There isn't the infrastructure to make it pleasant for the locals who need to live and work here. Also, and the same could be said for the rest of Norway and Scotland too, the campsites a simply too expensive for what they offer. Often rundown, not particularly attractive, an extra payment if you happen to want a shower😳....... So, we are parked in a free spot, offering nothing to the local campsite incase its not too good. Many would say that motorhomes bring nothing to local economies, well, we have spent a lot of cash so far on this trip. It's gone somewhere-not stayed in my bank account. Its unfair to say all are the same but if some of the site owners were a bit more realistic in their pricing, and offered more information about their facilities and the surrounding area we would use more campsites, anyway, rant over.............At the back of the car park are massive racks of drying cods heads, stockfish is what Lofoten was built upon, massive cod shoals swim here from the Barents sea to spawn and for hundreds if not thousands of years have fed whoever lived here and also been traded for other essential supplies. the fish are caught in march and April and hung on huge racks to dry natural-no salt is used, they are then shipped all over the world. It's a strange sight for us to see this, but part of the local culture and heritage. I didn't know about it before we planned this trip, but its something we will learn about over the coming few days. And I guess at some point we should try a local dish made with the dried cod,
apparently it delicious. I think most of it is exported, particularly to Italy and maybe Portugal and I think the cods heads are often bound for African country's where it us made into soup.
I am sitting writing this blog, its just passed midnight and is totally hosing it down with rain. Its battering off the roof. However, we are comfortable in Bessie, she has performed impeccably so far (touch wood). I have a beer, a whisky and some crisps and my family are all asleep, recharging their batteries for another day tomorrow. We managed a nice wee walk as soon as we got here, better to strike while the iron is hot-the weather was fine at that point and we wandered around the village and looked at the cliffs before the rain set in for the night. The wee houses are all nicely painted, and there were some fishers gutting their catch from today. Nothing huge but plenty decent sized cod, saithe and pollock. I don't think I am done catching our tea yet on this trip, just need to make some room in our freezer first.
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 cheaper going further towards Narvik and taking a different ferry but for us Bodo was the best option. We didn't have a ferry booked and this is a very popular crossing, I wasn't too concerned as long as we got over today. The 11am ferry deadline came and went and we dawdled and sorted supplies and then drove to the ferry terminal to see if we had a chance of the later ferry. The first 3 lanes at the terminals were almost empty, but these are for people who have pre booked, so we were channeled into lane 4 which only had a lorry, a couple of campers and a few cars already in it. The sign at the end said the next ferry was at 4pm as we thought. So, that was it sealed, we were in the first standby queue and we weren't moving, we were getting over today-hopefully. Theres no indication as to how big a ferry it is and how many vehicles or lanes worth it can carry. We chilled in the van, had lunch and then I took the boys for a wander around the terminal and into Bodo, which I am sure is a lovely city. The Hurtigrutten ferry boat was in the harbour and also another little cruise ship called Lofoten, so there was plenty to look at. However, all the roads we had driven on getting here were full of roadworks and the bit of the town we walked through was also like a major construction site with new sea front apartments and buildings going up. We headed back to van and Joyce had made up some pasta with the delicious smoked salmon that Rune had gifted us a while back so we had some food for the crossing. Soon after the young ticket man came round and we bought our ticket. This meant we were getting on, it cost us 2171NOK all in which is probably about £200, but if you have a look at the map and see the mileage, diesel and time it has saved us then you'll probably understand the choice.
About 5 minutes later I looked out the window and the ferry was there, I couldn't fathom how we didn't see it earlier when we were out for our walk. The 3 reserved lanes which were now almost full got on first and then our lane started to move but it was stop start, a couple of lorries from land 5 got on but that was it and then our lane filed onto the boat, it was well filled by the time we got on, and we were shoe horned in between all the big lorries. I think if we had been an hour later we may not have gotten on this crossing. The weather was clearing and soon were were casting off, Logan the Brave and myself sat up on deck while Mum and old square eyes Callum found an inside seat and got comfy. The boat eased out the harbour and soon we realised why we hadn't seen it coming in, as soon as it exited the harbour entrance it made a sudden turn to starboard and sped up a channel that was hidden from view. It passed a couple of very small vessels in this channel at a fair rate of knots, they had a bouncy ride. Drivers in Norway do not mess about on the roads, and it would seem that their counterparts at the helm of a big ship are no different, lol.
Soon we were steaming out across the Vestfjorden passing spectacular islands who's tops were still under a cloud cap sadly. we settled down two enjoy the crossing which was far from smooth. This was not a bad day, quite calm in fact but a heavy swell had the boat pitching from side to side, no where near as bad as our original crossing to Norway but there were some who were struggling to keep their lunch down, that's for sure. Team Easson had no such issues and were soon chomping their way through our fine Smoked salmon pasta, an expensive sausage and chips out the cafe and and ice cream to wash it down, our boys have strong stomachs!!There was a few squally showers as we made the 3 1/2 hour crossing and we were well across before the Lofoten Wall started to make itself visible, it a long line of mountains that rise straight from the sea to over a thousand meters, its an impressive sight, and on a blue sky day would be outstanding. Its a bit like approaching the Cuillin from Elgol, except that these mountains continue far to the left and as far as the eye can see to the right, the direction we will be heading tomorrow.
Soon we were off the ferry and drove the few miles south to the fishing village of A (with a small "o" above the A). Its a spectacular village, hemmed in by 900 meter peaks to the right and the seas to the left, there is a campsite at A but also a free parking are at the end of the road, which we though we would have a look at first to see if it was ok to park there, and its half filled with motorhomes, camper vans, small vans and people sleeping in their mondeo estates....so we figured its ok. Lofoten has the very same problem that the north of Scotland has with tourists, so many people want to visit. There isn't the infrastructure to make it pleasant for the locals who need to live and work here. Also, and the same could be said for the rest of Norway and Scotland too, the campsites a simply too expensive for what they offer. Often rundown, not particularly attractive, an extra payment if you happen to want a shower😳....... So, we are parked in a free spot, offering nothing to the local campsite incase its not too good. Many would say that motorhomes bring nothing to local economies, well, we have spent a lot of cash so far on this trip. It's gone somewhere-not stayed in my bank account. Its unfair to say all are the same but if some of the site owners were a bit more realistic in their pricing, and offered more information about their facilities and the surrounding area we would use more campsites, anyway, rant over.............At the back of the car park are massive racks of drying cods heads, stockfish is what Lofoten was built upon, massive cod shoals swim here from the Barents sea to spawn and for hundreds if not thousands of years have fed whoever lived here and also been traded for other essential supplies. the fish are caught in march and April and hung on huge racks to dry natural-no salt is used, they are then shipped all over the world. It's a strange sight for us to see this, but part of the local culture and heritage. I didn't know about it before we planned this trip, but its something we will learn about over the coming few days. And I guess at some point we should try a local dish made with the dried cod,
apparently it delicious. I think most of it is exported, particularly to Italy and maybe Portugal and I think the cods heads are often bound for African country's where it us made into soup.
I am sitting writing this blog, its just passed midnight and is totally hosing it down with rain. Its battering off the roof. However, we are comfortable in Bessie, she has performed impeccably so far (touch wood). I have a beer, a whisky and some crisps and my family are all asleep, recharging their batteries for another day tomorrow. We managed a nice wee walk as soon as we got here, better to strike while the iron is hot-the weather was fine at that point and we wandered around the village and looked at the cliffs before the rain set in for the night. The wee houses are all nicely painted, and there were some fishers gutting their catch from today. Nothing huge but plenty decent sized cod, saithe and pollock. I don't think I am done catching our tea yet on this trip, just need to make some room in our freezer first.
Those cod heads look like something out of a horror film! And a fearsome looking whaling spear gun, I wouldn't be feeling bad about your free parking spot that evening buddy considering even what you paid for the ferry crossings helping to keep those boats running and people working on them, I believe you are correct with what you are saying about campsites definitely here in Scotland some are way too expensive for what you get
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