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We’ve had a slow meander down the Helgaland Coast, which is, I’m almost sorry to say, breathtaking! There’s just no downtime from the scenic beauty …

The weather has definitely closed in. We are now at 6°C and rugged up in jackets. Before that, however, we took an inadvertent hike … We parked at our overnight stop at the base of Holmvassdam after a very interesting drive up what seemed to be a single lane. Getting through the tunnels on the way up proved equally entertaining, and Niki was good enough to keep her eyes open and film one small section. Anyway, after parking, and in a light drizzle, we put on light raincoats for a 10 minute walk to the top of the dam wall. Looking up to the left we could see a saddle that looked to be accessible, and with a glacier peeking out of the cloud, and, by now, heavier rain. Fortified by another couple who looked eager for a walk we took off, skirting a small river plunging down from the glacial edge and scrambling over various rocks, streams, muddy banks etc, to arrive at the edge of Norway’s 2nd largest glacier, Svartisen. What a sight, made all the better for not having planned this at all! So, drenched, frozen, and very pleased with ourselves, we stumbled back home.

Svartisen Glacier

Svartisen Glacier

Summit – Svartisen Glacier

Chilly! With wet gear now strewn over the seats we turned on the Truma gas heaters which got us to a living temperature in no time flat – and made for a good overnight in the back end of nowhere.

The weather had cleared a bit, but without internet access, and no detailed maps, we decided to give the planned Corbels Canyon a miss. Did take some photos of rocks to compensate a bit!

So we’ve settled down for the afternoon at the info/informal van overnight site at Holand, with a classic view of the same Svartisen glacier, but much further down the road. The glacier is 400sqkm! With the weather closing in again I’m glad we skipped our planned walk – cold rain, fog, no map … we know how those stories end. Nevertheless, the view out our van door is not too bad. And our Glacial Day continued …

Clever Niki has sorted out our internet woes, hopefully until we get our data plan card – bought in Germany, shipped to Denmark, and now waiting for us in the UK. Ah, missing the carrier pigeons… In any case, we are now able to better plan a couple of days ahead. Niki seems to do so by looking for convenient dumping stations – surely there’s better ways of planning a route that from toilet to toilet?