As beautiful as it is here, with people and nature, I want to keep going. Bronnoysund is to be the next stop. – No sooner said than we are informed that on the way there we will once again have to drive ‘around the outside’, i.e. that there is no way through the islands (and protected from the Atlantic). And there are always dangers lurking ‘outside’… It is better to drive this route in a convoy from a certain place. The coast guard leads this convoy, and one drives as close as possible around the tricky spots, thus following the weakest member of the group.
We heard this recommendation days ago, but didn’t find the assembly point or missed it in time or whatever – and got through fine. Not that I don’t take these warnings seriously, but I also see what kind of boats people are cruising around with out here. Crazy guys, I often think.
The ArgoFram is stable. The ArgoFram is perfectly motorised. And when I have my fear under control, I am a capable captain (even more so when I have to get someone to the next place in one piece). – I have the ominous places shown to me on the map, and when we pass them, I just keep going. The currents don’t bother the boat, the winds are moderate, the rain is and continues to make it wet, all good.
At Rorvik we pass through a narrow passage and come out into the open sea again, sail ‘behind’ an island in the sheltered area and again through open water until we are soon in Bronnoysund: an inviting place, somehow connected to the mainland on a headland and yet also spread out over offshore islands. The part of town where our harbour is located seems new, looks modern, with an impressive shopping centre right next door. But toilet or shower? Not a thing!
Instead, we meet a sailor at our pier, with whom we quickly strike up a conversation. He seems to be very experienced, having been to Spitsbergen six times – which somehow connects us. After all, I was there exactly 40 years ago, in 1982, when it was not yet a tourist destination. And we had to carry a rifle (because polar bears sometimes rummaged through the residents’ rubbish bins when they were very hungry). This Spitsbergen, or Svalbard, has a certain charm, of course, now that the border to Russia is still closed….
Thoughts but… And yet I dwell on them. – We discuss the possibility of stopping at Bear Island, possibly setting up a fuel depot beforehand… Because we have seen that I can drive 500 km: from Larvik to Haugesund. Theoretically, I don’t want to exclude anything… It tingles!
I do my gymnastics right by the harbour. Because a window of sunlight opens up, which has to be noticed immediately! – When the sun comes through, everything suddenly changes. Even if it’s only for half an hour: I want to move around, get some air, ride my bike and explore the surroundings… And in the process I discover a boulder with a kind of signpost indicating that this is the centre of Norway (at least of the mainland). That means: from the southernmost tip of Norway to here is just as far as from here to the North Cape!
An endlessly long coast. There is still a lot to do…