30th//31st May - Heading south to the Lofoten Islands

Well rain was forecast and rain was what I got.  It was raining hard when I woke up and that continued for much of the day.
The run down the north west coast would have been nice except that with the rain and 4 degree temperature also came strong cross winds, so a lot of the ride was quite ‘physical’ in one way or another.
All that water meant the many waterfalls were full and the road would be punctuated by gushing falls  right next to you as you rode - in the wind this often meant riding through spray too.

When the sky did clear there were some lovely views as I rode down one side of a fjord across the end and then back along the other side.

Inland and higher up there were some lakes that were still frozen.

It was about a 9 hour ride to the Lofoton Isles so I decided to break the journey and try and find some hot food.  I had googled a cafe and found one that said it would be open and also had rooms to rent, so I pulled in for a look.

Turns out I struck lucky - the cafe was open, but only until 6pm (I arrived about 4.30), but most importantly it was serving a twice weekly ‘all you can eat’ fixed price buffet for the equivalent of about £18, which is unheard of in Norway.  So, I  had 2 platefuls of various meats, fish and vegetables, followed by 2 sweets and 2 coffees - very tasty and great value.  The room was basic but comfortable, with a shared bathroom, but as I was the only one staying I had it to myself.

Opposite the cafe there was a lake which was largely frozen, so I went to walk off my dinner and then called it a night.

The following morning was still cloudy & cold with spells of rain, so I headed off and continued south to Bjerkvik and then turned right to pick up the road that would eventually take me to the Lofoten Islands.

It became a bit drier towards the middle of the day and some fun roads opened up weaving their way amongst the hills.

There was even some blue sky from time to time, which helps to show the landscape in its true glory.

And then there was the first of a number of bridges and tunnels that took the road across to the islands. 

The scenery started to resemble pictures I had seen when researching this trip, with small waterside settlements beneath snow capped peaks. 

Unfortunately it was also starting to cloud over and drizzle was in the air again. 

As I took the final turn onto a local road that should take me to the cabin on a beach that  I had pre-booked the rain started to fall.

But still, not a bad setting, even in the rain!

With a great view from the window 

Looking back from the bay there were just a couple of cabins  and a few couples in motorhomes, other than that nothing much for miles. 

I had booked this place for 2 nights to give me time to either chill by the beach with a book, or go exploring around Lofoten the following day.  The latest forecast was rain throughout and so I guessed a chill on the beach wasn't going to happen any time soon!