An arresting start

We only got around the corner. Literally. We had only gone point 621 of a kilometer when we rounded a bend to see policemen all across the road. Every vehicle was being stopped. So were we. We pulled into the side of the road and were asked to produce our papers and prepare for a breath test. This was before 09:00 Sunday morning. Guess if you were one of the revellers last night and tried to slip out of town early you were now in difficulties. If you are over the limit you face a hefty fine, the confiscation of your licence, and 28 days in prison. No messing here. And speeding is similarly enforced. If you are caught on one of the thousands of cameras you can expect your credit card to be billed for €100, if the police stop you, expect to pay up to €400. Signs on it too. The rate of deaths from road accidents are about 75% of those in Ireland. If we could reduce our deaths by 25% , 100 more people would be alive each year. Sobering!

On the day that was in in though we were in too high spirits to treat the checkpoint very seriously. We though it hilarious that within a kilometer of arriving in Norway we were being randomly stopped, checked and breathalysed. It had not happened to either of us in 30 years driving in Ireland. The very idea of random breath tests would nearly cause a constitutional crisis at home. We joked with the police about it. They were good natured and we assured them that we appreciated the serious nature of the job they were doing. Nevertheless we took a few snaps. The officer in charge wandered over to see what was going on. We had our licences and copies of all our papers with us and these were checked, but he then decided that breath tests would be a waste of resources and wished us well on our trip. We remounted, restarted the bikes and were off ... again!

Very quickly words are not enough to describe the journey. Instantly we were into a transformed landscape. Like nothing we had seen in Ireland or theUK. Superb. Magical. Stunning. Every bend something new. We could have marked our progress kilometer by kilometer with photos. That's the difficulty with the motorbike, it covers ground quickly but is less friendly that the bicycle when it comes to a quick stop for a snap. Nevertheless , between us we have almost 2000 shots. The merest hint of an invitation and we will be round with a slide show!!! You have been warned!!

Reflections on a first Norwegian day

By the way, as I write this it is pouring rain in Ireland. It has been pouring rain now for over 50 consecutive days. Raining since we were in Norway. And in Norway the weather was sunny dry and warm. You can see in the photo on the right that at our first stop we heated up so quickly that we were down to T Shirts in minutes. So much for all the cold weather gear we were carrying! Already we loved this country. We were now at a height of 410 metres and felt on top of the world. By the way, the building in the background is a public convenience. Complete with grass roof. And pristine inside. The road was in great repair and we had it almost to ourselves. The only reminder of its potential to be inhospitable were the very high poles marking the edge of the road so that it could be identified in snow. And there were very deep, seriously deep, drains at the edge so missing the margin was not to be recommended. Anyway we could not stay here all day, inviting as it might be, so we geared up again and continued North.

Another corner, another new experience. A very long tunnel. No hard shoulder so no opportunity to pause before going in. Not a great idea on a bike, you know. Going from bright sunshine to dark tunnel while wearing sunglasses. Hairy few moments while old eyes adjusted to the sudden change in the environment. Yes, the tunnel did have lights but it was not bright by any means. And over the space of few kilometres we dropped from 410m to just 14m. Took a little getting used to. But we adjusted. Its a puzzle though. If you wear prescription sunglasses, how do you deal with these situations. if you don't wear sunglasses your eyes tire from the glare in the sunshine. If you do, its hard to see and balance in the dark. Answers on a postcard please to ... NO, on refection, this is the 21st century, please leave a comment!

Another corner, another new experience. Our first short ferry crossing. The coast here has so many fjords cutting into it that the road frequently converts to a ferry. Handy, and efficient. We just arrived at the end of the road, waited a few minutes. Popped on to the ferry and 20 minutes later we were on our way again. Handy break too. Got 20 minutes rest and were still moving. Neat. Only cost a few euro too. Need I say it again? We are having a great time here. And we have only done 100k in Norway and its not even lunchtime yet!

Food. What? Yes! Good idea. Snag. All closed on Sunday. This is Sunday. Oops! Not to worry (who? Us? Worry? Never! what does M say? NO PANIC!) This in Norway not NI, or F so we will get somewhere open. And we do. That reminds me: around this stage we noticed that the speed signs were exact. If there was a bend coming up a reduced speed would be indicated, and you could rely on it being the correct speed to get you comfortable round the bend. Not drive you round the bend where at home it says 100k when you should be doing 50! Food? Oh yes, lets stop for a sticky bun. To be fair B seems to manage long periods without snacks but, well, I enjoyed them. It was so hot here it was like being in the South of France (next time!!) so it was back to T shirts and coffee outside in the shade. Great. Let's get petrol (on average every 150 k and certainly before 300k) and move on.

Move on we did. To our hotel in Skei. Now lets be honest. We don't slum it all the time. We have done enough camping to last a lifetime. We do do hostels and even huts and have been seen in Wigwams or tepees or whatever. But not in Skei. Yes it was a nice hotel and the views were stunning and the price was, well, actually very reasonable! Less than a B&B at home: nice job on the booking, well done interweb thingy! Is this Blog too long (Please leave a comment!).

Too slow...I'll keep going until I get feedback. Let the pictures speak for themselves for a moment, a la AJ - see Andy In America !

The room

The Balcony

The view from the window

You still with us? Very good. Have to say you've got stamina. I like it! Believe it or not, it is now only 13:00 in Norway. Bit early to check in, eh? The staff at the Best Western Skei Hotel could not have been nicer. Hurried up the arrangements and apologised for the fact that a room was not ready. Suggested a meal. We decided to go for a full lunch. Took trouble to explain the menu to us. Wonderful meal. Checked in, they apologised again but would compensate with a GOOD room. Did they ever! Then we were off again. To see a glacier in the afternoon.

En Route 5 to the glacier

Another corner, another new experience. With no bags on the bikes we had a lovely spin out to the Boyabreen glacier and back. More on glaciers later. However on the way we rounded a bend in anticipation of entering a tunnel (good road signs again!) and were doing the right speed to stop before we did so. The tunnel entrance was full of goats. Yes goats. Josh has the postcard. And more were spilling down the mountain, through a gap in the fencing and into the tunnel mouth. They were comfortable in the shade. Only two pesky bikers turned up to disturb them. We gingerly made our way through them.

Cool! The Boyabreen Glacier

Having survived the goats we 'did' the glacier from a discreet distance , had more coffee and returned to base. No, I meant more about glaciers later - days later - or weeks in your case. Be patient! Back in Skei the hotel was full of busloads of tourists. Taking helicopter trips to see the glacier. Cheats.

Day one ended quietly at the local ESSO station: the only thing open in Skei. Good on you Ess0: more power to your engineers! Ice cream at midnight. Goodnight. Another 250k done. Tomorrow will be different. Another corner, another new experience. A photo finish.

The sun tries to set in Skei