Henningsvær to Svolvær, then back south

My breakfast in quaint Henningsvær is stuff bought from a local supermarket - yogurt, fruit and various goodies. I pedal back across a couple of relatively small bridges that yesterday had been so windy that I'd had to get off on the last one and push my Brodie. The wind has died down, the sun's out and the sky is more or less clear.

The road hugs the side of cobalt Henningsvaerstraumen and the general vista is again stupendous. Snap, snap, snap.

I get back to the E10 that leads me further north-east-ish towards Kabelveg and I soon cover the 10km to the town. It turns out to be a busy little place full of music, basically due to an international brass band contest being held in nearby Svolvær. This means rooms will be hard to come by.

I venture down towards the quay in search of something to eat and drink.

Like many establishments in Norway, Kabelveg's supermarket has tables for customers who buy the heated food they sell and as I'm tucking in to a micro-waved pizza, the Finn cyclist from yesterday walks in, sits down. We have a nice chat. A welcome surprise.

He thinks after Svolvær, Lofoten's scenery is less dramatic (it could hardly be more) and that I've already covered the most scenic parts of the stunning and rugged archipelago. I enquire about the north coastline of this island - Austvågøy - as my maps tells me there's a small road looping around it, but he doesn't seem to be too thrilled with it and when I quiz him about the north coast of Vestvågøy, he reckons its 'romantic' beaches are pretty good. Maybe I should go. I'm still mulling things over in my head when we depart to go our separate ways.

What I need to do first is get to the main town of Svolvær and see if I can buy a warm sleeping bag. It's only a few kilometers away and once there I find a few shops selling outdoor stuff, but all the bags I look at are pricey - over 160 euros - which seems a bit too much.

I then visit the ferry terminal, but reckon it'll be best to cycle. Just curious.

The guesthouses are full as I had anticipated and I ride around for a while pondering my options before deciding to head back along the E10, going south.

The wind is slightly behind me and doing the ride back is quite different - obviously a new perspective. By the time I get to a campsite called Bobil I'm ready to call it a day, but they don't have any food.

The site owner's son - an adopted Pakistani - makes me a Nescafe and shows me his collection of foreign money. I end up selling him a few Taiwanese dollar bills I have left in my wallet, as he's never had a visitor from the island before. I'm a first.

His father tells me the only place to get a bite to eat will (possibly) be a guesthouse in Alstad, on the island of Vestvågøy - across Gimsøya. Two big bridges to conquer and it looks a long way on my map, but there's no choice - the cafe I stopped at on the way north will be locked up by now he says. He should know what he's talking about. He's local.

Off I go.

He's right about the cafe at Brustranda: closed.

I finally arrive at Alstad quite late in the day and the lady owner of teh guesthouse kindly makes me a sausage and egg supper while I take a hot shower and change. She's a real lifesaver and my room is 350 krone with breakfast: not bad at all. It's immaculately clean and I sleep well. It'd been a long day on the bike.

Today's ride: 90 km (56 miles)
Total: 222 km (138 miles)

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