Rain Shadow

A travel day. We strike camp and leave the parched land in the rain shadow east of Hardangervidda, and head west. A stop in Rjukan to have the rear wheel on the car balanced, and then skirting the edge of the plateau to a discretionary Supercharger stop at Åmot. After a coffee break and 80 kWh of free juice, it’s over – and through – the mountains to Vestlandet. As we emerge from a long tunnel on the other side of the country it’s lashing it down with rain and 12°C cooler. Briefly surprising, but entirely typical for this side of the country, and a huge contrast to the weather we’ve been having in the east. I had my fill of Atlantic seaboard weather in Scotland, so I’m glad we’re only visiting.

On arrival at the campsite we wait in the car for twenty minutes for the downpour to ease off, before erecting the tent. Later, the weather improves, and we’re able to enjoy our Lapskaus outside. (Lapskaus is the dish residents of Liverpool are named after.)

Later we retreat into the tent to watch England be defeated by Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals. It’s a good match, and Croatia deserve to win.

When I first moved to Norway you could just about stream low-quality TV over wired Internet. Now we can watch HD TV in the middle of nowhere with an iPad with 4G connection. Amazing.