Day 46 – to Repparford

It was a farewell to north coast this morning. I very much hope I’ll be back. I’m getting to that age now where it’s not going to be practically possible, funds aside, to get back to everywhere I had once intended, but this is a place that Is high on my list.

Driving past so many mountains that you know have no footpaths to their summits reminds me of Patagonia, the only other real wilderness I have spent time in. Because of the extreme weather here, I think this is even wilder.

This is the dog with the island I’m keen to purchase in the background..

After a dog walk, though I’m not sure why I say that, because the walk is more for my good than his, we were just about ready to head off when a young German guy turned up in his Volvo, a student in fact, on a gap year. He had chosen to spend his year in his Volvo, driving around Europe. I’ve met some strange people, but this guy was up there with the oddest. He had a wooden pallet to sleep on in his car, ate only cold food, no heating, no water, nowhere to discharge. That maybe okay for a few days, but for a year it could be a bit much. He had driven today from Alta, and said he wasn’t sure where he was headed. He told me how good a town Alta was because of its shopping mall, where he spent considerable time. Could be he was just cold. In one village he visited he got chatting to a resident and asked if the guy would wash his clothes. Which he did. At one time he did mention drugs in Alta, and I think that may be the solution to the conundrum as to just what was going on.

It was a three hour drive to where I was headed, a campsite Repparfjord, on the west coast just off the main E6, that had good reviews.

My power has been getting low after practically no sun for a week, and driving doesn’t seem to be recharging it as it should. I’ve been busy reading Victron help forums and exchanging emails with my van builder who is on some deserted California beach without internet.

When I reached the site it was closed. I called the owner who said I was welcome to stay anyway, though no bathrooms were open, which suited me fine.

Just a matter of minutes after I hooked up to the power supply my charge read 100%, and I recalled what I had read in a forum, that it is just the digital read out that is wrong, and needs recalibrating, the batteries had had more power than indicated. Something of a relief, especially as I hadn’t paid for the campsite.

I had always expected to use the odd site, but we will see what the weather brings as the daylight lessens, 10 minutes a day up here at the moment.

A German T5 pulled in having seen my van. A while back I met a German family who were travelling on their two month parental leave, and this was another, 4 week old in tow. They needed a bathroom, obviously, so didn’t stay. But the German parental leave seems tremendous, just a chance for a big road trip..

Of course, no sooner had I hooked up than the cloud cleared, after a week, to a clear sky and fine evening. Roja and I hiked up to a waterfall a kilometre or so away, and I was pack to go a bit of rearranging before dark. I have stuff I’ve brought with me, food and the likes, but I can’t remember where exactly I’ve put it..