Arctic sunshine

The wind was gone in the morning, bright sunshine had replaced it. Back on the main road I started looking out for the tourers from yesterday, whether I would meet someone again. But sadly no, not even on one of the ferries did I recognize their faces. I wonder where they are right now.

The terrain got markedly more challening as there lie serious climbs between those ferry stations. The two ferries -- Furoy and Jektvik -- held me up for a few hours even if you don't count the actual sailing. And of course the rain that started in the late afternoon.

Even the crossing of the arctic circle happens on a ferry. On the nearest shore a replica of the Nordkapp wireframe globe can be seen. Quite unspectacular really.

Subarctic rain

Exiting the Jektvik-Kilbogavn ferry the weather was still nice but during the first climbs on that final segment gradually got colder and cloudier until the first droplets fell in my direction. Over the course of the morning the forecast was being corrected to ever grimmer rain prospects so I decided to call it a day on the next campsite. Of which there should have been one close to the ferry but that one had a sign at the reception declaring the whole site was rented out to temporary workers this season with no camping business going on.

At that point the rain was about to start for real. I was faced with a choice: stop and find a spot for camping in the area or ride on until at least the Nesna ferry where there is a campsite nearby. With little hesitation I chose the latter option as dealing with the rain on a bike is less of a chore than dealing with it in a tent.

The Kilboghamn-Nesna segment turned out to be full of tunnels. Long ones too, I believe the longest went on for more than three kilometers. Luckily in all but one of them I went downhill so at least I didn't have to climb too much in those conditions.

The countryside offers a lot of variety in this part of Norway: at the bottom of some fjords the scenery strongly resembles Switzerland, whereas the higher altitudes (200+ m) recall recent memories of the wilderness north of Alta.

To reach Nesna I had to climb a 300 m hill -- naturally with a tunnel in the middle -- that I used to test the legs and compare my form with that on the climbs of Nordkapp a week ago. Looking much better now, I must be getting more ready every day for those long slopes south of Trondheim.

Night, but not quite

Around 22:00 h the light was reduced to a glow in the north where the sun was hiding just below the globe. For the first time since I arrived in Tromsø I would have witnessed an actual sunset today if the weather had remained clear. Most of the traffic during these final hours were lorries that seemed to have been loaded heavily but with the dynamo powered lights on continuously I never felt unsafe on that road. Right now (1:25 h) it has gotten darker still but most everything out there remains perfectly visible.

At Nesna campsite I arrived about 13 min. too late to check in so I headed directly for the kitchen. Yesterday's sardines gave me an idea: I could use the oil they come in for cooking to avoid having to buy large quantities of it. To try out that new scheme of mine I bought tinned tuna (in olive oil) and a bar of cod. In the tuna oil that cod fried wonderfully and I had the best home cooked camping meal yet!

154 km in the saddle with frequent interruptions by ferries, 1480 m altitude gain -- I guess I'll be sleeping in tomorrow.

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