—Lofoten 2012 LiveFeed—
Wed, 30 May 2012
23:30
Setting off against the night. I don’t dare riding on slovakian roads during the day in full traffic… too dangerous. My destination is island of Vaeroy in Norway, 2000 miles away.
I have one less bag of luggage. Even from those very few things I had with me last year, I was able to exlude some. I’m not taking 5l jerrycan of petrol with me, amount of clothes was reduced to one half, I don’t need 3 pairs of shoes, razor, no shampoos for Malina and also the 10kg of tools and replacements parts were reduced hugely to only the most probable problems I can encounter like flat tyres and blown lightbulbs.
.
Wed, 30 May 2012
23:31
Can’t start the engine. Battery is dead.
That’s because I was trying to charge all my equipment earlier. Not clever. Looking for car battery charger.
Thu, 31 May 2012
01:31
Setting off… again, successfully now.
01:31
Setting off… again, successfully now.
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Thu, 31 May 2012
01:48
Stopping by Prievidza to plug my iPhone into the Hypermac battery. Hypermac doesn’t work. That’s too bad. Too many things depend on my Hypermac, from navigation, to charging my laptop and storing photos. This journey looks like a quick failure. Last chance… connecting Hypermac to my scooter’s battery, it flashes and works. Lucky… but too many problems for the first 10 miles of the journey.
01:48
Stopping by Prievidza to plug my iPhone into the Hypermac battery. Hypermac doesn’t work. That’s too bad. Too many things depend on my Hypermac, from navigation, to charging my laptop and storing photos. This journey looks like a quick failure. Last chance… connecting Hypermac to my scooter’s battery, it flashes and works. Lucky… but too many problems for the first 10 miles of the journey.
.
Thu, 31 May 2012
04:18
Dusk, Čadca, direction north.
04:18
Dusk, Čadca, direction north.
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Thu 31 May 2012
05:39
Taking gas… somewhere in southern Poland.
05:39
Taking gas… somewhere in southern Poland.
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Thu, 31 May 2012
09:13
West of Lodz. I’m finished for today, 300 miles behind me, I need sleep. I found quiet forest lane far from everything and pitched my tent there. The ground is covered with spiderwebs. Good morning to you, good night to me.
09:13
West of Lodz. I’m finished for today, 300 miles behind me, I need sleep. I found quiet forest lane far from everything and pitched my tent there. The ground is covered with spiderwebs. Good morning to you, good night to me.
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Thu, 31 May 2012
17:01
Mum’s cake… the only advantage of the first day on the road.
17:01
Mum’s cake… the only advantage of the first day on the road.
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Thu, 31 May 2012
19:01
Journey goes on, I’ll be riding all night to catch the morning ferry in Gdynia.
19:01
Journey goes on, I’ll be riding all night to catch the morning ferry in Gdynia.
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Fri, 1 June 2012
02:00
Very dark night. Gigantic opened mine with metal monster lit as whole towns biting deeper and deeper into the rock. Rows of workers standing in front of the gates. Looks like an army of evil goblins from J.R.R. coming from the underground.
02:00
Very dark night. Gigantic opened mine with metal monster lit as whole towns biting deeper and deeper into the rock. Rows of workers standing in front of the gates. Looks like an army of evil goblins from J.R.R. coming from the underground.
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Fri, 1 June 2012
03:15
Bad bad bad roads, lorry after lorry, on my small narrow village roads in the middle of the night. It is starting to rain.
03:15
Bad bad bad roads, lorry after lorry, on my small narrow village roads in the middle of the night. It is starting to rain.
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Fri, 1 June 2012
05:30
Gdansk, Gdynia. I always imagined them as gloomy, depressive, grey industrial cities, where it is cold and rains a lot. It is early morning, i can see cranes all around me, buildings are grey, it is cold and raining. That was an accurate impression.
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Fri, 1 June 2012
05:45
Nowhere to hide from rain on the terminal. I found shelter in the parking lot of a large shopping centre, still closed. I have 3 hours to spare. Caught internet signal from McDonald’s 😛
Fri, 1 June 2012
10:00
Malina and a group of Harleys finally allowed to get onboard.
Fri, 1 June 2012
10:00
Finnlady. Rain stopped. In 21 hours, 500 miles further north, we’ll be in Helsinki. I have 500 miles behind me myself and I’m going to get some sleep.
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Sat, 2 June 2012
9:00
Helsinky, rain. This is not the port in the centre where we go, we’re going somewhere else. I need to go to the centre to buy some camping stove. I can’t use the GPS on my iPhone in rain. How am I going to get there?
9:00
Helsinky, rain. This is not the port in the centre where we go, we’re going somewhere else. I need to go to the centre to buy some camping stove. I can’t use the GPS on my iPhone in rain. How am I going to get there?
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Sat, 2 June 2012
12:00
I made it to the centre with no GPS… with luck. Bought a tiny camping stove. Ate a Big Mac… sorry, I was really hungry.
12:00
I made it to the centre with no GPS… with luck. Bought a tiny camping stove. Ate a Big Mac… sorry, I was really hungry.
.
Sat, 2 June 2012
12:01
Next destination, port of Vaasa, 300 miles from Helsinki. Finally better roads.
12:01
Next destination, port of Vaasa, 300 miles from Helsinki. Finally better roads.
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Sat, 2 June 2012
16:43
Tampere. Some squeaking noise coming out of my engine.
16:43
Tampere. Some squeaking noise coming out of my engine.
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Sat, 2 June 2012
19:08
I can’t ride anymore, Vaasa is 20miles away, the ferry leaves early in the morning. I pitched my tent by a beautiful lake. The mosquitos didn’t hatch yet, there are swans quietly swimming on the lake.
19:08
I can’t ride anymore, Vaasa is 20miles away, the ferry leaves early in the morning. I pitched my tent by a beautiful lake. The mosquitos didn’t hatch yet, there are swans quietly swimming on the lake.
Sun, 3 June 2012
01:00
Didn’t get very dark tonight.
Sun, 3 June 2012
05:00
Port of Vaasa. The lady on the ferry says the sea is calm, no need to tie Malina with the straps.
Sun, 3 June 2012
11:30
Sweden. Umea. Empty, wide, smooth roads… finally north!
Sun, 3 June 2012
16:45
Road 363 into the mountains. Occasionally I come across a car, but mostly just raindeer. I lunched in forest next to a lake… in a luxurious way. These caviar tubes are cheap here.
Sun, 3 June 2012
23:50
Arjeplog… raining for 5 hours now. Filled the tank. Quite a bit of snow around and very cold. Can’t go any further, must stop and sleep. Set up my camp next to a mountain of snow. Malina tipped over in a mud, while I was looking for a place to pitch the tent. I can smell gas, god knows where in the engine it spilled and what harm it’ll cause there.
Mon, 4 June 2012
08:00
Today 270km to Bodo through mountains, fjords and park Junkerdal, sweet!
Mon, 4 June 2012
11:35
Crossing the Arctic Circle.
Pondelok, 4 Jún 2012
12:05
wauuuuu…
Mon, 4 June 2012
14:00
Bodo. Got the mobile internet sorted to start writing LiveFeed. Ferry to Varoy leaving at 16:30.
Mon, 4 June 2012
20:00
Sailing, stopping on the island of Rost…
Mon, 4 June 2012
23:29
After 5 days and 5 nights, finally my first port of call, Vaeroy. 1500 miles on Malina, another 800 miles on ferries. But besides the roads in Slovakia and mainly Poland, it was a pleasant journey. I think I’ll rather ride all across Norway, Sweden, Germany and Czech Republic, then going through the suffering on the Polish roads again.
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Mon, 4 June 2012
23:30
Island of Vaeroy. Population of 750, mostly living in the main town of Sorland. I pitched my tent on a white sand beach on the northern side of the island near village of Nordland. Nice spot to watch the midnight sun.
Wed, 6 June 2012
3:30
Hiked through the whole island to the mountain of Mastadheia, 10 hours long hike, took me all night.
Wed, 6 June 2012
18:00
Peaks of mountains are in the clouds all day.
Wed, 6 June 2012
20:00
I found drinking water, electric socket and discovered lots of dried stockfish in the harbour. The old lighthouse is haunted.
Thu, 7 June 2012
17:00
Looking from the top of Gjerdheia down at the main town on the island, Sorland.
Thu, 7 June 2012
23:01
Tried to climb the highest peak of the island, but couldn’t get through the top 10 metres. Had to give up. Also, the signs of fresh landslides didn’t make it look any more secure either.
Sat, 9 June 2012
03:03
3 AM…
Sat, 9 June 2012
20:13
Shooting in the field…
Sat, 9 June 2012
20:14
Down there by the old airport I live. It was closed after a tragic accident caused by strong winds. Investigation showed that no airport should have been built on such windy location. It was built under pressure of “higher authorities”. 5 lives was the cost. The official report blames the pilot. His body was never found.
Sat, 9 June 2012
23:30
23:30
After 10 hours long hike, hungry, thirsty and exhausted, I sat on Malina to go to the harbor and wash myself. After couple of miles, the engine died… for no obvious reason. Suddenly I saw how my expedition is becoming just an overpriced trip to remote location, searching for service, hotels, buses and trains… and how am I actually going to carry all my stuff? And btw, I feel exhausted right now.
Helplessly I was starring at the engine… what can I do here with a screwdriver? Fuelpump is faulty since I bought it (Vespa services were not bothered to fix under warranty), immobiliser had to be replaced twice under warranty, or is it something else? In every case, none of that I can fix myself.
And so I was looking and looking… and never in my life I was so happy to find disconnected cable from the spark plug. So luckily no end of my journey, just a little drama.
Helplessly I was starring at the engine… what can I do here with a screwdriver? Fuelpump is faulty since I bought it (Vespa services were not bothered to fix under warranty), immobiliser had to be replaced twice under warranty, or is it something else? In every case, none of that I can fix myself.
And so I was looking and looking… and never in my life I was so happy to find disconnected cable from the spark plug. So luckily no end of my journey, just a little drama.
.
Sun, 10 June 2012
23:45
Said good-bye to island of Varoy… beautiful and lonely place.
…smoking mountains on the horizon is all that’s left…
Mon, 11 June 2012
21:26
My new home on island of Moskenesoy…
…today is my birthday and for the first time I saw orcas, swimming right below the cliff where I’m camping…
Tue, 12 June 2012
19:16
Not every day is perfect. Dangerous weather today, hiking to mountains impossible. Reconnaissance mission to 5 fishing ports. Marked places where and when I need to be standing to get the best light. Today’s light wasn’t best, not even good. Maybe tomorrow.
Wed, 13 June 2012
…the tourist season has started and I’m not alone on my rocky coast, two other wild campers arrived…
…dried stockfish, one can smell it everywhere…
…I’m wearing two layers of clothes less, the spring has finally arrived…
Thu, 14 June 2012
“A i Lofoten” is a fishing village at the end of the road E10. I spent the day by chasing the sunlight. The sun keeps hiding behind clouds. Tough job to get som pictures done.
…stockfish are exported from Lofoten for at least 1000 years, mainly to Italy and Spain where they are prepared as delicatessen in restaurants. The heads of the fish go to Nigeria where they are used in soups.
Fri, 15 June 2012
What a morning when you get up and there is a seal gazing at you…
…today I started photographing Reine, once declared the most beautiful town on Earth…
…after the whole day of walking I could go to bed feeling good about the work done. But the light was still good so I walked up… or rather I should say climbed up… a very steep trail to the mountains above Reine.
Sat, 16 June 2012
The first day of pure sunshine! Now I finally don’t have to be chasing the sun to get some good light, the whole sky is blue. That is some work when I have time to set up my gear, not worrying that the cloud will come and ruin my picture again. This is the day my camera was waiting for…
…there was no time to sleep in the last three or four days. Again I spent most of the night working. There will be more than enough time to sleep when the rain starts again…
Sun, 17 June 2012
…everyting is covered in clouds, not possible to do any work in such conditions. So I went for a hike across the island. At least I escaped from the camping cars full of pensioners who flooded the island…
Mon, 18 June 2012
…rainy day in my tent, mostly sleeping after so many nights in the field…
Tue, 19 June 2012
…snowy day. I climbed up to Munkeba hut. I would go even higher, but there are avalanches everywhere falling down into fjords with loud rumbling noise…
Wed, 20 June 2012
…it’s raining. I moved to Henningsvaer.
Thu, 21 June 2012
It’s raining.
Fri, 22 June 2012
Not raining. At least not here…
…Henningsvaer…
…in the evening, I climbed up to Festagtinden, short but challenging hike….
…late night…
…g’morning…
…came back at 8am to get couple of hours of sleep before next hike…
Sat, 23 June 2012
…after another sleepless night only a light hike to Glomtinden…
Sun, 24 June 2012
…did I mention that summer has arrived?…
…this is where I sleep tonight, high above the clouds…
…one girl with dog has run up the mountain at night. It was a nice dog. This is a 4-5 hours run.
…cloud theatre…
…looking from Justandinten, over 750 above sea level, just before midnight.
Mon, 25 June 2012
…jubilee… 40,000km…
…village in the garden valley…
…Umstad to Eggum hike wasn’t as amazing as I expected. No seals or sea eagles as promised, only some sheep and stones. The path is in pretty bad condition. There are better places on Lofoten to spend 6 hours on.
Tue, 26 June 2012
I didn’t have a chance to sleep much in last few days, so please excuse me, it is cloudy and I’m going to get some sleep…
Wed, 27 June 2012
…right before the Nappstraumen tunnel on the Vestvagoy side is a parking lot. Short hike uphill will get you here…
…reminder of storms…
Thu, 28 June 2012
…working day. Chasing good light late into the night…
Fri, 29 June 2012
…I only slept for couple of hours. It is the last sunny day according to forecasts. But a successful one it was. My harddrive is full, all camera batteries are empty and I am totally exhausted… sign of a productive shoot…
Sat, 30 June 2012
psssst, it is raining and I’m sleeping.
Sun, 1 July 2012
Visiting dorka in Sortland. We had lunch, afternoon tea and a pie.
Mon, 2 July 2012
It’s raining, I’m eating pie from Dorka.
Tue, 3 July 2012
Still raining, still eating pie.
Wed, 4 July 2012
It stopped raining. This is Kalle, nice wildcamping spot where I usually go to spend rainy days.
Shower… cold
Lofoten Cathedral nearby…
…day by the fjord…
Thu, 5 July 2012
Are you sleeping? I’m not, I got enough sleep while it was raining…
…midnight sun…
…good morning world…
Fri, 6 July 2012
Rainig… never mind, I’ve had another 49 hours long day, time to go to bed now.
Sat, 7 July 2012
Hiking to the beach through mountain pass…
Sun, 8 July 2012
My scooter is living it’s own life here, it was given a flower at night while I was sleeping…
…Nesland to Nusfjord hike…
…this is the last night I am alone on Lofoten and I found amazing place to spend the night on…
Mon, 9 July 2012
…farm…
…They should be arriving today.
Tue, 10 July 2012
…Here they are! From left… Pinky with Pinky, Snowman with Snowman and me on the right…
…one snowman couldn’t keep up with us and was left here…
…by Munkebu hut…
Wed, 11 July 2012
…this is were I found the sea shells…
…my favourite road…
…day made for taking postcard pictures…
Thu, 12 July 2012
…posing!…
…last postcard…
…and it is over. After 6 weeks I’m leaving Lofoten…
Fri, 13 July 2012
Friday 13 at 0:03 I ran out of gas near the arctic circle, where the roadworks start on the way to Arjeplog. It is cold, wet and midgets are all over me. After pushing the scooter for 10km I found the least probable thing on the road… a rose.
…after 18.3 km… Shell…
Sat, 14 July 2012
Ghost farm Karsvall. My drive belt snapped, I’m stuck here. This is strange, deserted, lonely place. I need help!
I see lots of toys, old Fords, Christmas decorations in the windows and last newspapers I found are from 1998. There are photos of little Sandra in the garage and her small hut with pictures of kittens is where the forest starts. Videotapes, sledges, army jeep and heavy tractor with keys in the ignition… looks like they haven’t moved out from here, but more like they disappeared from here.
Sun, 15 July 2012
I’m saved! After 15km of wandering I found a house of my saviours who lend me the tools I needed and even got hold of a drive belt from snowmobile which fits in my scooter!
Mon, 16 July 2012
Riding south through Sweden on E45. Rarely I come across any traffic. I washed my lucky scarf and wrapped it around my neck so that nothing else happens to me.
Tue, 17 July 2012
Still riding thorough Sweden. And then Germany through the night. A deer jumped on the road in front of me. It was a close one, but my emergency braking manoeuvre worked. Lucky scarf works too.
Wed, 18 July 2012
After riding all night I arrived to a small town in north Czech Republic, Hodkovice nad Mohelkou. My family lives there. This was a long journey, I got there absolutely exhausted.
Thu, 19 July 2012
My auntie was feeding me well all day long. With my little cousin we went to try out bob sleights and visited local airport full of gliders from Netherlands. We picked some berries in the forest and auntie made cake from them. Now I will have enough strength to get home… last 450 km.
Fri, 20 July 2012
…Vlárka – Dubnica nad vahom – Ilava – Valaská Belá – Bojnice – Prievidza – Handlová…
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