Day 11 Lofoten

After leaving our parking place by a little lake we headed through scenery which was stunning, despite being on the main E10 road. It was 4C when we got up and driving into a dark valley that got no sun there was frost on the ground. We went through several tunnels, some through mountains and one under the sea and went over some long bridges too.

Photo stops were many before we reached Svolvaer. It’s quite a big town. We headed for the car park behind a children’s playground in order to try the “demanding” climb up towards Svolvaergeita. It is famous for having at the top 2 pinnacles - more daring souls leap from one to the other. It is said there was a wedding there - presumably the bride leapt across into the arms of her beloved - or vice versa.

But before we could set off Mr C had to download another parking app in order to park. It cost us £10 for the 2 hours we were there. The climb was indeed demanding as every granite step was a step of between 9-12 inches high which is hard on arthritic knees. The path was straight up for a kilometre and very busy with lots of young Swedish, Norwegian and German climbers carrying their hard hats and ropes for Svolvaergeita, or running down having completed their climb A few other people were like us, going no further than the shoulder where the “demanding “ climb ended and the “very demanding” one started. We chatted to a couple from Ohio - or rather, they chatted to us, telling us about various US national parks they had visited. Yellowstone sounded good but we explained it was unlikely we’d make it now, having been to Iran and Pakistan. After taking a few photos and watching someone climb up the face of a pinnacle we struggled down - even with poles it was grim on the knees - worse than going up in fact, but worth it for the view.

We decided to get off the E10 and look for a pretty place to park for the night. We drove round Gimsoya which was pretty but had no places to stop, so we drove on to Vestvagoy island and took the RV815 southwards where we have a spot in the sun by the sea overlooking jagged peaks. We drove 103 miles today.

Now I must make a pear and spinach orzo for supper - if my creaking knees can lift me from my lounging position.

Thank you for the stars and lovely comments about our journey. I don’t have much time to read journals just now so apologies for not reciprocating.