Today was Island hopping day as we rode up through the Lotofan Islands. All the islands are connected by either new tunnels or new bridges now so now there are no ferries to slow us down
As we leave Reine ( rainy Reine!) I was amused by this parking sign. "Parkering" - a lovely word
And the nostrils were assailed with the smell of cod drying in open air racks. Given the climate it would not be an efficient operation but hey- they have been drying cod this way for hundreds of years and they would not want an upstart from the New World telling them how to dry fish! . The cod are dried on wooden racks and they are everywhere
Then 20 minutes from rainy Reine the rain comes. And heavy it comes. It is a downpour that catches us unawares. There is something a little futile trying to put rain gear on at the side of the road when one is already soaking wet. Then as soon as the rain gear goes on it stops raining Here it comes - a blackhead of the sky and it has our name on it !
So the Lotofens would have been stunning on a fine day. As it was they were still very pretty and enjoyable as we worked our way north missing most of the heavy showers
With nice new bridges
Albeit some of them wet hence the inconvenient rain drop on the camera lense. You now know what a magnified rain drop looks like!
And bridges being built
We stop at some roadworks 30km from our destination at Narvik. Another motorbike pulls alongside. " Gidday Dick and Diana " says the Kiwi voice from under the helmet. It is Chris Eden who we had been in touch with and who we were mutually leapfrogging with over the previous 5 days or so. Chris is also from Queenstown. . We stay at the same hotel so we have a good catch up that night. We find we have many mutual acquaintances. It is a good night. Chris heads East tomorrow to the other side of Russia as we head North so our paths seperate the next morning. Between us we are doing a good chunk of the world.
And thus ends another good day in the "office".
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