Today we were extra early at the port to get the ferry. It was slow going because there were an amazing number of people who wanted to cross with their car. Although we were there 2.5 hours earlier, we barely made it onto the ferry. Yes, we made it this time. Yay!
The crossing itself was rather unspectacular. The sea was calm. Luckily! And the best thing about the whole thing was that the prescribed medicine helped Pia to survive the crossing. So we were all satisfied with this crossing, which took three hours and was rather leisurely at a speed of 30 km/h.
On our last day in Lofoten it started to rain and it also became a bit windy. It felt more like April weather, because about every ten minutes the weather changed from rain to sun and back again. But that wasn’t as bad as it might sound now.
Safe and unharmed we reached the town of Bodo on the mainland. And after a small snack break we drove on to Glamfjord. We reached the hotel in the evening.
On the way we saw exciting things that we usually only know from adventure novels and movies. For example, there was this maelstrom about 30 kilometers from Bodo. It is said to be the largest maelstrom in the world and is called Saltstraumen. According to Wikipedia, “from an 80 kilometer long fjord […] huge masses of water are pressed into a 2.6 kilometer long and about 150 meters wide sound, which connects the Saltenfrjord and Skjerstafjord.
We really respected this maelstrom, some also call it a whirlpool, because we guessed what kind of power it might have. Typical for it are strong water vortices, which reach speeds up to 40 km/h. These whirlpools can be up to ten meters in diameter and more than four meters in depth. Not where you want to fall in. Even Theo kept his feet still for once and just marveled at the sight of this natural phenomenon.
There were an amazing number of tourist boats on the river – the purest thrill. We rather spared ourselves that and watched from a respectful distance.
On the mainland, the landscape changed to gentler hills and longer fjords reaching into the mainland. Clouds shrouded the mountain peaks.
Tomorrow we will visit the glacier, dam and waterfalls in the area. So stay tuned and read tomorrow how it goes on our trip.