ROAD TRIP Day 14 - 69°59´N Part I - the road to Stø

(From Narvik to Narvik – a week in Lofoten, Ofoten and Vestrålen)

The background to this part of the journey goes back Day 9, when we rented a cabin outside Kiruna. The woman we rented a cabin from was Swiss-German, and perhaps appreciated the opportunity for an evening of German conversation. So when we stopped by her place, which was a few minutes’ walk from the cabin, she invited us to join her for a glass of wine. As we sat on her terrace watching the (not setting) sun move across the lake, the conversation turned inevitably to our trip, where we came from and where we were heading. It seems that most tourists in the area were on some kind of road trip. Hardly anyone we met was just there to visit the place they were at. Most were coming from somewhere and heading somewhere else. Anyways, upon hearing that we were heading to Norway, she disappeared into her house and emerged a few seconds later with a booklet guide to the north of Norway. The booklet was one you could get from any tourist information and was in German. She had it from when she and her sister took a road trip across the top of Norway up to Kirkenes the year before. As she told us that we could have the booklet to take with us, she also recommended taking what she called a “Moby Dick tour” – a sperm whale watching tour.* 

Hunny Bear at Å

I was, of course, very keen. I had been on a whale watching tour once before, off the coast of Perth, Australia. Back then, we were after humpbacks. It was an amazing enough experience to ensure that I would always be on board on any whale watching tour I ever came across. I had not planned a whale watching tour into this trip because the only ones I had come across along our route were killer whale tours, but it was not the season for killer whales. I did not, at that time, know about sperm whale tours. To my surprise, MTC was also keen on whale watching. Our only concern was distance and price. The starting point of the tour was somewhat further north than we had planned to go, but we were not sure how far and we fully expected that it would not be cheap. It turned out that it was, in fact, not too much to pay, taking into account the fact that they guarantee whale sightings. If a whale is not spotted on any trip, passengers are allowed back on the next tour for free, or half their money back. That being the case, we booked a place on the boat on Day 15 of the trip.

As we set off again on the morning of Day 14, it felt like we were resuming the trip after a break. In a way, it was. We had stayed in the same place, Ballstad, for the last three nights, which turned out to be the longest we spent at any one spot throughout the whole trip. We drove around the islands, with Ballstad as our base during that time. We did not have to pitch or take down the tent for two days. We spent more time hiking and sitting around than driving. I did not have to look into my handy road atlas for three days, expect when we drove to Å and when I brought it out to show our fellow campers where we had been. So it did feel like a break from the trip. As we set off again, we headed north to Stø in Västerålen. Stø is the starting point for the Arctic Whale Tours tour. There is also another whale watching tour organiser*** in Västerålen and they start from Andenes.

On the drive to Å

Anyway, the drive to Stø reminded us (as though we needed reminding) just how spectacular the landscape of the Lofotens is. I have not said much about the landscape so far because to put into words what we saw and experienced requires a greater flair for the language than that I possess. I struggle to convey in mere words the dramatic, awe inspiring, awesome landscape which lay before us at every turn. The drive from Ballstad to Å was undoubtedly one of the most amazing drives I have taken in my life. My thoughts kept returning to Skull Island –you know, where they found King Kong? and Isla Nublar – you know, the Jurassic Park island? The sheer cliffs rising as though completely vertically out of the sea, the jagged rock piercing the sky, all the more menacing when shrouded in low lying clouds; snow patched mountains lying side by side with crystal clear fjords, there is nothing like it. Well perhaps there is, but not anywhere that I have been... so far. On a clear day, the contrast of the green on the hills, the sheer rock, the blue sky and its bright blue reflection in the water, and not forgetting of course, the little red houses scattered throughout the landscape, is nothing short of spectacular.

Connecting the Lofoten islands

As we headed further north towards Stø, the landscape, while probably still amazing in its own right, gradually became less dramatic. Having been at the Lofotens though, I think our ability to objectively appreciate the beauty of Västerålen was somewhat compromised. We do, after all, absorb the world in perspective. Any experience we have, we inevitably judge against what we have previously experienced. In the same tone, after Lofoten, Västerålen was almost unspectacular. The cliffs were less sheer, the mountains less rocky, the contrast of colours less dramatic. I did, however, have occasion to yell out incomprehensibly, much like the "sheep on the roof" incident. On that drive, I saw for the first time EVER in my life, the end of a rainbow. I don´t know if it is indeed as rare as popular culture has led me to believe, but I was amazed. I did not, however, find a pot of gold. 

Somewhere at the Lofotens

Anyway, the plan was to camp “wild” somewhere randomly for the night before the whale watching tour, seeing as we had just spent the last three nights in a camp site. We could not, however, find a decent place to camp (my version) or agree on where to camp (MTC´s version) so we ended up at what is definitely the worst camp site we have been at on this whole trip. For 200NOK, we were given the privilege of pitching our tent anywhere we wanted to on an area that was at 60% rock and 35% puddles of water, and subject to the strongest winds we experienced on the whole trip. It took us at least an hour with my cursing and swearing to pitch the tent, after having found the least unsuitable spot, fighting to keep the tent from being blown away or blown apart or broken in the process. Eventually, we managed to erect the big tent, but realised retrospectively that the wind was too strong for that tent to survive the night. It was another hour´s work of taking down the big tent and pitching the smaller tent instead. Our inability to agree on a wild camping site, and the struggle against the wind and rocky ground led to to decide that I did not need any photographic reminders of this location. A decision, I must admit, in retrospect I somewhat regret.  

Thankfully, the camp site had a kitchen furnished with a couple of tables and chairs. There, we could prepare and have dinner out of the mighty wind. We spent the evening watching a movie on the computer in there, while the wind howled on outside, wondering if getting onto to a boat the next day was going to be at all possible, let alone a good idea.

The story continues... ROAD TRIP Day 15 - 69°59´N Part II - there she blows!

* That was the first night when we could see the midnight sun, but neither MTC^ nor I were really very taken by it. People seem to make a big deal of it, and it is certainly marketed quite actively as an attraction of the far North. I fail to see the big deal. We peeked out from the mosquito free safety of the cabin to confirm that we could in fact see the sun at midnight and that was it. Even the photo-taking fanatic that I usually am, did not feel the need to venture out to capture a photo of the sun at midnight. 

** I am guessing that is because the name "Moby Dick" transcends the language barrier, as opposed to "sperm whale" which is something completely different in other languages. 
***The call themselves the “Original Moby Dick tour” or something like that

^MTC: my travel companion

Day 1(Sun) –Visited with Anya and Daniel at Daniel´s parents´ place at Sandsjöfors. Stayed in the summer cabin at Uppsjön

Day 2 (Mon) – Campsite in Stockholm

Day 3 (Tue) – Campsite in Stockholm

Day 4 (Wed) – Sala Silvergruva, Övre Hedesundsfjärden (the site of one million mosquitoes) 

Day 5 (Thu) – Close to Hällan (the imaginary horse)

Day 6 (Fri) – Campsite close to Docksta

Day 7 (Sat) – Via Ferrata, dinner at Bjuröklubb, camped somewhere along the E45 between Storforsen and Jokkmokk (broken tent incident)

Day 8 (Sun) – Crossed the Artic Circle, Jokkmokk, Gällivaare and Kiruna. Stuga at Alttajärvi, about 20km south of Kiruna

Day 9 (Mon) – Kiruna, golf at Björkliden, crossed the border into Norway, camped on the edge of the fjord a few kilometres outside Narvik.

Day 10 (Tue) – Lødingen, Ofoten

Day 11 (Wed) – Ballstad, Lofoten

Day 12 (Thu) – Drove to Å and back to Ballstad, Lofoten. First Impressions of Norway

Day 13 (Fri) – Ballstad, Lofoten (diving day)
Day 14 (Sat) - drove north to Stø, windy rocky campsite.