Second rain-free day in a row -- after that rather wet first week, who'd have thunk it? It did not get any warmer though, outside the direct sunshine it was still quite chilly. With the frequent short climbs and steadily changing cloud patterns for me this meant changing in and out of the wind jacket multiple times per hour.

Leaving the beach I soon found myself in the rugged part of Gimsøya again which fits in well with the southern part of Lofoten: the road follows a narrow stretch of flat at the foot of the cliffs with settlements interspersed wherever the flat bit is wide enough to support a few buildings.

On the southern road I met a rider from Como, Italy who had experienced quite a few mishaps since starting out there, including a broken rear rim. Which reminded me why I got that indestructible heavy-duty Andra 35 rear wheel a few years ago.

After days of traveling south without meeting anyone who went the same direction I was getting the exception that I was violating some unwritten rule. Today I finally met three more bike tourers that were going south as well. Interestingly they did not start out in the north like I did but reached the Nordkapp from Sweden; the one other southbound tourer I met -- guy I reached the Kapp together with -- too arrived from the south. That would still make me an outlier among those traveling north-south.

Such were my thoughts during the final kilometers before the southwestern tip of Lofoten where the road is undulating horizontally as well as vertically. The Nappstraumtunnel, undersea tunnel number two of this trip, went by quickly but I believe it was there that I lost the fancy merino wool shirt that I bought just for this trip. It must have slipped from the handlebar bag where I had tucked it after donning and removing it for maybe a dozen times this afternoon, but apparently it was not fastened secure enough. That sucks. I hope to find a sports store tomorrow in Bodø where I can buy a replacement lest I'll be riding in camping clothes for a while.

When I rolled onto the Moskenes ferry terminal I could see the ferry leaving in the distance. I must have been around twenty minutes late. With more than two hours before the next sailing I decided to pay the village of Å a visit which is every bit as scenic as I imagined. On the way there I even found a grocery store that was open this sunday, something I had no idea was possible in this country.

The ferry itself -- largest I've boarded so far with a two-story loading bay -- is a bit noisy plus some traveling group occupied all the power outlets before I even had a chance to get my charging equipment out. No cellphone reception either out here on the ocean. Four hours on the boat, I hope I'll be able to convert some of that idle time into quality sleep.

gallery