Safe Return Doubtful

I mentioned in an earlier post that the summer in northern Norway has been much cooler than usual and wet, not at all like further south in Europe. Locals I have spoken to remain hopeful that autumn, August and September, would be better, but the last week has not been encouraging. The last few days in the fjords around Storekorsnes have been with heavy cloud and drizzle, and a temperature between 7 and 10C. That’s manageable without the heating in the van, but the solar panels are starved of any sun, which I didn’t expect would be a problem at this stage of the year. 

From Storekorsnes I continued around the peninsulas and fjords that jut into the sea channel between the mainland and the island of Seiland. Across to Kafjord there is a ferry which runs three times a day. From there it was over a two hundred metre pass and down to Komagfjord, which I had identified as a good place to stop. 

Almost as soon as I arrived into the village I met a guy who offered me a place to stop at this small marina. We spoke for a while. He is one of the 22 permanent residents this side of the ferry, though this number swells considerably in the summer as there a lot of cabins, or second homes. Most of those people departed last week, as the schools all went back earlier this week. The little marina was ideal. I even had an electric hook-up and a toilet and shower. This will be the guy’s business, but it is not ready to received campervans yet, so he could not charge, and just wanted a good review. He had converted the old boathouse to a self-catering accommodation and had three older guys, two Swedes and a Finn, arriving later for a few days fishing. 

Later in the evening I met the three guys, and we sat outside around a fire that they just about managed to keep lit in the drizzly rain, and chatted. They were old University friends and got together every couple of years for a break like this, and were now in their sixties. 

The electric hook-up gave me a chance to use the starter battery charger I got in Alta, and charge the battery overnight. That seems to have worked so far, instead of being at 12.1 – 12.3 volts, it is now 12.5 to 12.7 volts, with the engine off. 

The hiking in the area wasn’t great, but the place was atmospheric in the cloud, and a very pleasant stopover. 

From Komagfjord, I got the lunchtime ferry back across the fjord and then drove a couple of hours north to the Hammerfest on the island of Kvaløya, linked to the mainland by a bridge. I was here two years ago, but got my timing wrong, and could only stay one night, as I was due at a friend’s house in Finland a few days after. I came to Hammerfest from Seiland National Park and the ferry to it at Akkarfjord. I remembered being really impressed by the small dumpling like hills around the ferry dock at Akkarfjord, so decided to head for there. 

It had changed a bit in two years, in that there is a new dock, in the opposite side of the harbour, and even a new ferry; the old one stood next to it, ready to head to Greece in a few days. The long trip, on a small ferry boat, will take a month, hopefully, if the weather plays ball.. 

Overnight the weather cleared, and it seems the next few days will be with sun. The forecasts I use had predicted less rain and cloud, but not been very optimistic. Apparently, at this time of the year, the weather is notoriously difficult to forecast. 

Rua and I had a wonderful morning out on the peninsula at Akkarfjord, amongst the dumplings, hiking around to the lighthouse at the furthermost point. 

Akkarfjord is just twenty minutes drive from Hammerfest, though the town itself did not interest me. I was headed for Forsøl, a small town another half hour on from Hammerfest, and at the end of the road. At Forsøl there is a rocky beach and some good hiking, when the weather is good.. otherwise it can be windswept and bleak, but I’ve been lucky, it seems it will be a good place to be for the weekend. 

The only problem is that the area I have stopped at is a huge car park, just out off town on directly on the sea. For some reasons it attracts huge German motorhomes, 15 metres long, that can’t fit anywhere else. These were not there when I arrived, but four of them, who because of the difficulties they face due to their size, travel in convoy. The owners seem pleasant enough, except one, who asked me to move because it was the place he had last night.. needless to say I didn’t. They all have huge dogs as well, German Shepherds, but the dogs seems well behaved up until now.