Day 1: Kongsberg to Gimsøysand
Sitting in an aisle seat of the Norwegian air flight to Evenes, I kept wondering why I had chosen a morning flight. With a taxi pick-up arranged (for few of us) at 0430, we had to wake-up pretty early and as usual, slept late last night too. I felt sorry for my brother-in-law, his wife and kid who had just reached Norway, the previous evening, from India. Parents-in-law arrived couple of weeks earlier and they were over with the jet lag. Kids were excited even though they really didn’t get the sleep they deserve. During the (approx) 90 minutes flight, I managed a short 30 minutes nap.
We reached Evenes few minutes late due to a delayed start from Oslo. Harstad / Narvik airport is a small airport, so, we didn’t have to wait too long to get our checked-in bags. While our bags were being picked, I walked to the Sixt counter to collect our car keys. After queing up for 20 minutes, I was told that the 9-seater van ‘reserved for us’ was not available since it was in an accident recently. Also, they didn’t have any other 9-seaters immediately available. Luckily, while checking with other car rentals at the airport, Europcar had a 9-seater van available. We took the VW Caravelle that was better (4WD) and spacious than the one I had booked earlier. Even though it created a bit of confusion and became more expensive, we were happy that the issue was soon sorted out. While walking to the car park, we got a welcome teaser to the arctic conditions – 10 m/s wind with temperature close to zero. It was almost 10:30 when we started cruising on E10 towards Svolvær, where we hoped to stop for lunch. Google maps predicted 2.5 hours to drive the 165 kms to Svolvær.
The drive was through a very scenic landscape with tall mountains along the coast. E10 had very less traffic and we rarely met another car. The situation would be very different in summer, when the tourist season is at its peak. I had read that it is normal to have traffic blocks on the same E10. After driving about 100 kms from the airport [between #3 and #4 in map], the tyre pressure low alarm started flashing in the car. I halted and checked all four tyres but couldn’t find any issue with the tyre. Probably a faulty sensor, we thought. I kept driving for another 2 more kilometers and I wasn’t comfortable that the alarm was still ON. We stopped at a parking space in Husjordøya [#4 in map] to check again and take a short break.
After a ten minutes stop, we could clearly see that the tyre pressure had dropped in the right side rear tyre. We recollected passing by a gas station not too long ago and tried to google it. When I searched google maps for workshop or gas stations, the nearest ones listed were in Svolvær [#5 in map], almost 65 kms away. We definitely won’t manage to get that far with this tyre condition and there were no other towns or shops visible on maps, en-route. Trusting our memory, we slowly drove back towards where we came from. After driving almost 15 kms backwards, we reached an un-manned gas station called Bunker Oil [#3 in map below]. By that time, the tyre was almost flat and the gas station didn’t have any facility to fix or re-fill air.
With no other options left, I called Europcar road side assistance. After understanding our situation, the service agent hung-up saying that a local mechanic would contact me soon. While waiting for that call, I noticed that most of us were tired and starting to be impatient – someone needed to use the toilet, someone hungry, kids didn’t want to wait, too windy and cold to step out of the car; and that bunker oil gas station had no toilet, no cafe, no shop, nothing! If not for the mobile network, we would have been stuck there hoping for help!! After few minutes, the local mechanic called and I explained to him, both, the tyre condition and passengers situation. That guy was kind enough to help us on both issues. He agreed to reach within couple of hours to fix the tyre and also gave directions to a local camping place where he believed that a cafe / restaurant was open. The camping place was 2 – 3 kms de-tour from E10 and I had to drive slowly.
That recommendation helped and made our day a lot better that what I feared. The cafe was open, kept warm and had food – waffles, coffee, hot chocolates, cocktails, etc. Also, enough space for kids to run around and play. So, everyone was happy again, esp. after our ‘waffle lunch’. After the mechanic fixed the tyre, we were on our way to the cottage @ Gimsøysand. At around 4 pm, we stopped at a grocery store in Svolvær [#5 in map] and managed to reach the cottage [#6 in map] before 6 pm. Everyone was tired after the long travel (that started at 0430 in the morning). But, our day was not finished yet. Out ‘sight seeing’ was just about to start.
The cottage was along the beach and the living room windows were facing North. If Aurora appears, we knew that it was possible to stay indoors and watch from the living room. The first thing I did was to check the weather prediction and Aurora forecasts. Both looked promising for the evening, mostly clear sky and a Kp level of 3+. The camera was soon ready with a wide angle lens installed on a tripod, and waiting. The nature did not disappoint us. At around 7 pm, we started seeing mild white / green rays in the sky. Eventually, it started getting stronger and stronger. The show went on until almost 10 PM. We thoroughly enjoyed it!
No words to express the happiness for being able to travel there and see the northern light really well, that too on the first evening! Having ticked off the northern list watching from the list, we got a good and peaceful sleep. All the trouble with car, etc. was completely forgotten after this amazing experience!
Day 2: Gimsøysand to Hamnøy
Day 2 – 28 October was Diwali. Like, the fireworks we would have seen in India, nature had put-up a Diwali special firework show for us last evening. That definitely is something we will remember forever.
Hoven is a stand-alone mountain in Gimsøya, that I had read about before traveling. Even though we didn’t have enough time to hike to the mountain peak, we did a hike, probably to one-thirds of its elevation. The hike trail starts near the Lofoten Links golf course and that point was almost 1K walking distance from our cottage. We reached there just before sunrise and got a beautiful view of the area and the sunrise.
After walking back to the cottage, we decided to take a look at the car tyre that was fixed the previous day. Thankfully, that was OK. But, we had another tyre flat now, right side front tyre! Yes, second flat tyre within 24 hours of renting a car! We were completely annoyed! I called the Europcar road assist guys again and complained. This time the local mechanic was closer, in a place called Kabelvåg (approx 30 kms away). The cottage management office had an air compressor that we used and the tyre pressure wasn’t dropping instantly.
Everyone agreed that driving to the workshop in Kabelvåg [#2 in map] was better than waiting for the mechanic to come after couple of hours. Also, we needed to get all tyres checked properly. We didn’t want this to be a routine every day! The car mechanic did a good job and helped to check all four tyres thoroughly. He confirmed that the tyres were old and the puncture was caused by the studs in the tyre. I didn’t have to pay anything to the mechanic. Europcar would send me the bill, he said!! Fortunately the second flat tyre experience wasn’t as bad as the previous one.
After leaving the workshop, we drove to Leknes [#3 in map] and arrived there for a late lunch @ Peppes Pizza. We then drove to Hamnøy and checked-in at Eliassen Rorbuer by 5.30 pm. Day #2 also turned out to be another day primarily spent on fixing the car and travel.
Rest of the trip, Hamnøy and surroundings, continued in Part III.
Planning details in Part I.
Life is a Journey.. 