Got. To Oslo Day 3 - Lyr to Fjällbacka

We were all very sorry to leave Lyr. We had fantastic memories of the night before and I think in some small way we had all fallen in love with the island. However, we had push on and head for Fjällbacka some 60 miles (100 km) or so further up the coast.

Our first destination for the day was to be Ellös where we would cross the water on the first of the 4 ferries we would use today. We travelled through farmland surrounded roads and then got on to the main road to Ellös. A couple of miles outside of Ellös there was a huge climb which, although not particularly steep, was long. At the top of the hill I managed to reset my trip computer somehow which was annoying as I was trying to keep a note of all our distances. Anyway, the descent down the hill was a fast one. I managed to hit a maximum speed of 46 mph (74 kph - sorry Fred but I think that beats your record)... scary but exhilarating.

We stopped off in Ellös for a time and some of the guys bought snacks from the supermarket. You have to keep eating at regular intervals during a long cycle to keep up your energy levels.

We took a ferry from the mainland a few miles outside of Ellös across on to the island of Malö. On Malö we met up with Svein again who had left Lyr earlier than us to drive his motorhome furhter up the coast and then come back to meet us on Malö. We met at a tea shop in a beautiful bay where we sat and ate ice cream and drank coffee on the jetty.

Break over we headed for the other side of the island as we were going to get another ferry onto another island called Flatön. Fred had phoned ahead and booked us into a fish restaurant called Brygghuset in a place called Fiskebäckskil (possibly the most unpronouncable place name on our trip). When we got there we all ordered the same things; the fish soup (a mixture of catfish and mussels) and the herring platter (called Sild in Scandinavia - one of their staple diets). The food was amazing and I would thoroughly recommend the restaurant if you happen to be in the neighbourhood.

After lunch we headed for the harbour where we would get the final ferry of the day back across to the mainland to land at Lysekil which is at the mouth of the Gullmarsfjorden. The town itself is very picturesque (from what I saw of it) around the harbour area. After that we met up with Peter again in Brastad before heading for Hamburgsund, our final stop before hitting Fjällbacka. Along the way we said farewell to Svein who had to go pick up his motorhome and then drive back home to Frederikstad in Norway. He spent most of the journey just using three gears as his rear gear cable had snapped. (Thanks for the company Svein, it was a pleasure to share the road with you.)

It was getting late when we arrived in Hamburgsund and as the sun was beginning to drop it was also getting a little cold. We sat and had a rest before cycling the final 5 miles (8 km) to Fjällbacka. We arrived around 8:15pm which meant that we had around 15 minutes before our ferry journey across the water on to Valön where our hostel for the next two nights was. Anyway, as we had some time to spare we went to the local supermarket to load up on necessities. As I paid for my stuff and left I noticed that the van had disappeared, as had everyone else. I had no idea where the harbour was and I couldn't cycle fast as I had 3 bags full of shopping. With 5 minutes to catch the ferry things were looking bleak. I walked back to the main road where we had come in as I saw a road sign that looked as though it might have been for the harbour. I phoned Mauro but couldn't get through. Luckily he phoned back and Fred came round in the van to show me how to get to the harbour.

After much laughter we packed the tiny boat with 7 bikes, all our luggage & groceries and 9 people including the captain of the boat. John and I had to stand at the very back of the boat and hang on to the bar on top of the cabin. With the sun dropping fast in the sky now it was quite exciting as the boat gathered speed across the water. Eventually we arrived at a small jetty and unloaded all our gear. This was the island of Valön, our home for the next 2 nights.

The accommodation was quite simple... we even had an outside toilet and shower but by then we didn't care. We had cycled some 65 miles (just over 100 km) in around 10 hours and now all we wanted was food and sleep. Bob excelled himself and made us another culinary delight. Afterwards we just stared up at the clear night sky again and tried to spot satellites again. Tomorrow was a day off. We were going to make the most of it.