Sunday 29 June 2008

Rest day at Traneber Hytte, Andøya Friluftsenter

It's not a large room, in fact it is nearly the smallest of the trip, but it is nice and warm and comes well equipped for cooking, and with duvets and pillows. The view from the windows is of waving cotton-tufts on the bog on three sides, and of the mountains and wide fjord two hundred meters away and below on the other. The holiday season seems to be picking up, nearly all the huts are occupied this weekend.

This is a cosy place run by Nigel and Ingvald, who bought about 100 acres of peat bog above the road here in 1993 and have gradually transformed it into a little hut ground with hard standing for about twenty caravans, and those little sheds that Norwegians like to park their caravans next to (with the sliding door that connects the shed to the caravan when they've set up). Nigel seemed a little forbidding at first, but I suspect that he may find English visitors irritating now. Hope he won't mind me saying that is a dead ringer for Alan Rickman playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'.

Relaxing after a hot shower and a day spent riding hard into the headwind, I spent a good hour or two sitting on the porch of the cabin, talking to a Dutch couple in their seventies who have driven here to Andøya Friluftsenter in a hire car picked up in Svolvær last week. I should probably have dressed a little more warmly because I picked up a bit of a chill. This morning it's cloudy and cool, but yr.no promises sunshine and warmer weather tomorrow, so I am staying here - 300 kr for the cabin and good mobile phone coverage (430ms ping times to the Blogger servers, 10 times better than I was getting in Bø!)

I'm going to explore the area on foot a bit and wash my cycling clothes I think.

2 comments:

Cycletourer said...

Hi Jerry,

Great to read your posts and see the photos. It brings back good memories. We camped at the Friluftsenter just behind the washroom, we didn't meet Nigel, but only met Ingvald. I remarked to her about her good English and she said it was because her husband was from England. I'm seem to recall that I asked her where in England and she said Nottingham!

She was quite funny, as when I we booked in I was quite tired and put a very brief address. She looked at it carefully and said " Will a christmas card get to this address". I joked with her that I was well known in the village, but if she insisted I would add a postcode.

I thought she was joking about the Christmas card and just wanted my full address, however we did receive a Christmas card the following Christmas!

Have you sorted out your return journey yet! I'm told the last Bergen Newcastle ferry on August 28th is pretty well booked up except for expensive 4 berth cabins. I did mention the Smyril Line ferry, I just checked, the last one from Bergen is on the Tuesday 26th August at 13.00hrs and arrives in Scrabster at 5.00am on Wednesday 27th August and the cost for you and the bike would be £98. If that is any help.

Glad to see the weather is impoving and look out for Humpbacked whales at Andenes.

Cheers

Jon :-)

Jerry said...

Thanks Jon!

The Norwegian end-to-end cyclist I met yesterday advised me not to to follow the outside edge road around Senja - "4km of unlit tunnels", he said... I don't know whether to believe this, I'll have to ask others when I get to Gryllefjord.

I'm pleased to hear you stayed at the Friluftslivsenter too, I would have mentioned this to them if I'd known...

And yes, time is flying and I still don't have a ferry ticket booked or an escape plan, although I expect this will firm up in the next week or so. Thanks for the tip on Smyrnil line, this could be an exciting way to get home!