Luckily the tractors stop some time in the night but then snoring starts.
By
the morning the cloud hangs down to earth. Porridge and packing.
We have to reach Gryllefjord center by 8:21 to catch the bus to Skaland. After barely 100 meters our friend bus driver picks us up. And we go again to Torsken and back. The driver is married to an Ukrainian and has traveled a lot across Europe. He gives a long description of a Belorussian with whom he visited Tallinn in 1999. They went to Statoil gas station together. The Belorussian went hysteric and started grabbing all this foreign-made stuff. Both of them probably got a culture shock. Because of talking to us the driver forgets to leave this day's newspapers in Torsken. The bus also delivers newspapers and goods to the shop. Today there are more passengers, not only us.
Bus change in Straumsbotn, one driver hands us over to the next one. It appears that our already purchased group ticket includes all the way up to Skaland. Rain. Visibility is almost zero. We land in Skaland. The shopkeeper announces that this is a beautiful place only we cannot see it today very well. Immediately he comforts us that the sky will clear up by the evening.
For camping we try to find the beginning of a hiking trail nearby but evaluate the distances wrong and march a long way out of the village. There we find a nice place on a hillock with a view to the fjord, small beach downstairs. The moss is like trampoline.
On the search for next hiking trail we reach Bøvær where the road ends. But there's a long sandy beach and fishermen's hut on stilts. We walk a bit back until the place where I saw a red mark on a tree. The trail goes uphill and soon we look down on Bøvær. The fjord is full of little islets and blue water. After a picnic on clouds' edge we disappear into fog. Or cloud. A little while after that we collide with a wood grouse's family. A hen with chicks. The big bird gives an order to hide and dashes about until we back off a bit. Then we hurry past them before the chicks loose the nerve and come out of their hiding places.
Foggy forest, twisted birches, thick fern and rocks-flower-heads. Trolls live here for sure. On top of the mountain is a plateau and thick fog. We find a box underneath a rock with a code. If you enter the code in internet you could win something. We copy the code and write our names and today's date in a notebook. Last people were here yesterday.
Trail marks end and the trail itself also disappears somewhere. According to the map it is supposed to continue on the other side of the mountain to a lake and down to the sea. There should be nice white beaches. Real beach weather as we have. The boots have given up resisting water and squish on every step.
After evaluating the situation and voting we decide to risk and go ahead by the sound of a stream. Votes 3:0. We descend in thick cloud along rocks, moss and water. Mossy rocks. Moss-sponge.
Suddenly a mirage appears.The breathtakingness of the phenomenon is illustrated by the long pause between 'aww's and first photo click. It looks first that there's sea down the slope, but no, it's the lake and behind the lake is the shimmering sea. The cloud moves fast and part of the picture appears and then disappears again into cotton.
By the lake we split up. Lauri to the right and me with Krõõp to the left. The trail should go on the right side shore but it doesn't look like it. The shore looks much more steep there. On the other side of the lake is a boat called 'suvi' (summer) and narrow trail appears again.
Through a swamp to the beach. Filled with rocks. The rocks are different from yesterday's and the sea is of different color. I pour some water out of the socks.
From there on we continue on a unpaved road. It shouldn't be there according to the map. Reaching Steinfjord we see a sign saying that it's some kind of dangerous road and we're not supposed to walk there. Or something.
If we don't want to climb back through the trolls then we have to pass a tunnel. Steinfjordtunnelen, 1265 meters. Tunnels are narrow here. And probably the darkest places in the whole polar day. I stay at the end of our row because despite everlasting day I have a torch with me. Fast walking and one car. We lean at the wall until it passes. Water drips from somewhere. No radon.
Back in Skaland, we sight-see the village. If Gryllefjord was very inhabited and we saw even a few cars, then here many houses are either deserted or on sale. Our now second friendly bus driver drives past.
This time we get some frozen salmon and frozen vegetables from the shop, collect driftwood and take water from the stream. We grill all the purchased food (Lauri is amazing in starting a fire), socks and boots lined up around the fire. Dinner is fabulous.
Far away on the sea the sky clears a bit. It means a finger-wide orange strip between dark clouds and the horizon.
By the time we get to sleep there's sun for a moment on the opposite side of the fjord. After the sun has disappeared behind a hillock, the mountains turn dark blue. Three little birds harass a bigger one.
We have to reach Gryllefjord center by 8:21 to catch the bus to Skaland. After barely 100 meters our friend bus driver picks us up. And we go again to Torsken and back. The driver is married to an Ukrainian and has traveled a lot across Europe. He gives a long description of a Belorussian with whom he visited Tallinn in 1999. They went to Statoil gas station together. The Belorussian went hysteric and started grabbing all this foreign-made stuff. Both of them probably got a culture shock. Because of talking to us the driver forgets to leave this day's newspapers in Torsken. The bus also delivers newspapers and goods to the shop. Today there are more passengers, not only us.
Bus change in Straumsbotn, one driver hands us over to the next one. It appears that our already purchased group ticket includes all the way up to Skaland. Rain. Visibility is almost zero. We land in Skaland. The shopkeeper announces that this is a beautiful place only we cannot see it today very well. Immediately he comforts us that the sky will clear up by the evening.
For camping we try to find the beginning of a hiking trail nearby but evaluate the distances wrong and march a long way out of the village. There we find a nice place on a hillock with a view to the fjord, small beach downstairs. The moss is like trampoline.
On the search for next hiking trail we reach Bøvær where the road ends. But there's a long sandy beach and fishermen's hut on stilts. We walk a bit back until the place where I saw a red mark on a tree. The trail goes uphill and soon we look down on Bøvær. The fjord is full of little islets and blue water. After a picnic on clouds' edge we disappear into fog. Or cloud. A little while after that we collide with a wood grouse's family. A hen with chicks. The big bird gives an order to hide and dashes about until we back off a bit. Then we hurry past them before the chicks loose the nerve and come out of their hiding places.
Foggy forest, twisted birches, thick fern and rocks-flower-heads. Trolls live here for sure. On top of the mountain is a plateau and thick fog. We find a box underneath a rock with a code. If you enter the code in internet you could win something. We copy the code and write our names and today's date in a notebook. Last people were here yesterday.
Trail marks end and the trail itself also disappears somewhere. According to the map it is supposed to continue on the other side of the mountain to a lake and down to the sea. There should be nice white beaches. Real beach weather as we have. The boots have given up resisting water and squish on every step.
After evaluating the situation and voting we decide to risk and go ahead by the sound of a stream. Votes 3:0. We descend in thick cloud along rocks, moss and water. Mossy rocks. Moss-sponge.
Suddenly a mirage appears.The breathtakingness of the phenomenon is illustrated by the long pause between 'aww's and first photo click. It looks first that there's sea down the slope, but no, it's the lake and behind the lake is the shimmering sea. The cloud moves fast and part of the picture appears and then disappears again into cotton.
By the lake we split up. Lauri to the right and me with Krõõp to the left. The trail should go on the right side shore but it doesn't look like it. The shore looks much more steep there. On the other side of the lake is a boat called 'suvi' (summer) and narrow trail appears again.
Through a swamp to the beach. Filled with rocks. The rocks are different from yesterday's and the sea is of different color. I pour some water out of the socks.
From there on we continue on a unpaved road. It shouldn't be there according to the map. Reaching Steinfjord we see a sign saying that it's some kind of dangerous road and we're not supposed to walk there. Or something.
If we don't want to climb back through the trolls then we have to pass a tunnel. Steinfjordtunnelen, 1265 meters. Tunnels are narrow here. And probably the darkest places in the whole polar day. I stay at the end of our row because despite everlasting day I have a torch with me. Fast walking and one car. We lean at the wall until it passes. Water drips from somewhere. No radon.
Back in Skaland, we sight-see the village. If Gryllefjord was very inhabited and we saw even a few cars, then here many houses are either deserted or on sale. Our now second friendly bus driver drives past.
This time we get some frozen salmon and frozen vegetables from the shop, collect driftwood and take water from the stream. We grill all the purchased food (Lauri is amazing in starting a fire), socks and boots lined up around the fire. Dinner is fabulous.
Far away on the sea the sky clears a bit. It means a finger-wide orange strip between dark clouds and the horizon.
By the time we get to sleep there's sun for a moment on the opposite side of the fjord. After the sun has disappeared behind a hillock, the mountains turn dark blue. Three little birds harass a bigger one.
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