{"id":22981,"date":"2016-08-01T11:20:44","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T10:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ourtour.co.uk\/home\/?p=22981"},"modified":"2021-07-23T16:21:17","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T15:21:17","slug":"meeting-the-charlie-bloggers-in-the-arctic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourtour.co.uk\/home\/meeting-the-charlie-bloggers-in-the-arctic\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting the Charlie Bloggers in the Arctic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zagan the motorhome’s shivering! It’s finally cooled off up here in the Arctic (high of 9\u00b0C today), although we’ve held off popping the heating on since it’s still 19\u00b0C in the van\u00a0(scratch that, the heating’s just gone on). We’re sat at the side of the small natural bay at Hamn I Senja, free camping and making good use of the free WiFi on offer (N69.41621, E17.16755<\/a>). OK, let me skip back a couple of days then I’ll come back to Hamn.<\/p>\n

\"Room

Room for a 7m motorhome beside the road to Hamn, Senja, Norway<\/p><\/div>\n

Shortly after Ju hit Publish on the last blog post, we scoffed breaded cod and haddock for tea. Strange what small things get me buzzing these days, but these wee\u00a0bits of fish did it for me. Apart from this blog and a few other bits and bobs of ‘work-type’ stuff, our time’s mainly spent on wandering and thinking up stuff to do to enjoy\u00a0our time on Earth. The highs and lows of real work are gone. It’s Monday morning as I tap this out, for example, which would have meant queues of traffic, chairing 8am meetings and running through the status of endless actions on project plans. Not today, woo hoo! I’m sat with the Arctic Ocean behind me, calm and turquoise, beautiful even under a flat grey sky. Eh? Ah, yes, sorry, gone waffling on again… What I’m trying to say is this: I really enjoyed catching, cleaning, filleting and breading these fish below, it gave me a warm feeling of achievement.<\/p>\n

\"Home

Home made breaded fish: tasted fan-flippin-tastic<\/p><\/div>\n

The following morning, unpoisoned, we left Mefjordvaer, grabbing some milk (\u00a34.50 for two litres – more than usual as we accidentally bought it from a convenience store\/post office\/cafe place) and nipping into a freebie service point on our way out of the area. Service points in Arctic Norway are amazingly common and don’t charge, but often don’t have a grey water disposal point, so I’ve taken to using the loo to empty ours into the drains system. They’re all artisan too, as in a local craftsman made them, so they’re all a bit different. I had to hunt around for the access point to the sewer at this one – a handle lifted a metal inner cap on a manhole cover about 5m from the hut.<\/p>\n

\"Service

Service point outside Mefjordvaer. The door to the cabin was locked, kicking off a small hunt-the-drain game<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Using

Using the cassette for grey water disposal into awkward or inaccessible\u00a0drains\u00a0works pretty well<\/p><\/div>\n

With Ju at the helm we then plunged into the hillside, as you do up here, ploughing through solid rock before popping out into more giant scenery. Saw-tooth mountains rose above, as the still waters of fjords slid past to one side, then the other as the road cut back and forth seeking a goat path over the slopes.<\/p>\n

\"Motorhome-wide

Motorhome-wide roads on Senja. Ju made good use of the passing places (all nicely marked with a blue M)<\/p><\/div>\n

Short drives on Senja take a long old time, and\u00a0we’d a rendez-vous lined up with fellow bloggers Wayne and Angie (check out\u00a0charliethechucklebuss.com<\/a> – they’ve been on the road a good while). Pulling off the main road at Steinfjord, we squinted at the satnav as it squeezed us though the town before driving us past a perfectly good exit road right next to the free beach-side parking (N69.45671, E17.34698). Satnav, you piece of crap!<\/p>\n

\"Cracking

Cracking view from the windscreen at Steinfjord<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Zagan

Zagan and Charlie buddying up on an Arctic beach at Steinfjord<\/p><\/div>\n

Wayne and Angie have been in touch with us through this ‘ere blog, taking a detour off their route up towards the North Cape to come meet us. Not only did they make the effort to drive over, but they were incredibly generous to us – so much so I’ll need to write a list:<\/p>\n