Delayed!⛴🌊

The alarm went off at 5.35 a.m. We were up early to go to Kristiansand for the ferry to Denmark. We gave breakfast a miss and left at 6.30 a.m. We were at the port in plenty of time and a very pleasant young man checked us in. I thought we would have to show the booking confirmation on the iPad but he was way ahead of us and said there’s no need for that, it’s John and Lynne isn’t it? Having checked in we joined the queue and waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually a very polite gentleman came to tell us there was a two hour delay due to the weather and if we wanted to go into the town for a look around it would not be a problem. With memories of driving round for 3 hours the other day looking for parking, we decided to pass on that idea. Instead we settled down and had breakfast whilst watching an episode of Sneaky Pete until the port internet gave up the ghost. Strange that the weather was responsible for the delay though, as there seemed to be virtually no wind where we were! The wait turned out not to be two hours though and at about 9.30 we saw people getting back in their cars and I guessed we were about to board. I just had time to turn the gas off and get back in before we drove onto the ferry.

Finally the ferry left Kristiansand at 9.45 am. Exactly an hour and three-quarters behind schedule. By the time we were out in the open sea it became clear why there had been a delay. The Captain had made an announcement saying there were 6 meter waves so we should expect some ‘movement’ during the crossing. I didn’t find that at all alarming until we started to see, and more to the point feel, 6 meter waves. At one point I went to the gents toilets and stood at the urinal with a perfect view of the ocean from a full length window on my right side (weird). The waves and the ship’s wake were enormous. When I came out and said to Lynne that I had never seen a swell like that before, she gave me that knowing smutty look as if I had been talking about something entirely different. I don’t know, you can take the girl out of Birmingham but you can’t take the Birmingham out of the girl! After I had admonished her for her filthy thoughts we went for a walk round the duty-free because she had some remaining Norwegian Krone left burning a hole in her pocket. The walk was the most entertaining part of the day as it was impossible to walk in a straight line because the boat was pitching all over the place. We bought a bottle of gin which cost 199 NOK leaving 120 to dispose of. I had no doubt Lynne would find something to spend it on and later she wondered off on her own and came back with a little Norwegian Troll holding a moose warning sign. The irony wasn’t lost on me as we’d seen hundreds of those signs on the road, but no moose.

The hours passed quickly with us both reading and I don’t think we were far from Hirtshals when the whole ship shuddered sideways and we heard the sound of breaking glass and crockery from two directions, presumably cafes or restaurants fore and aft. See the use of nautical terms there? Nobody knew I was such a seasoned seafarer! Not even me. Anyway, it wasn’t long afterwards that they made an announcement to say that due to the weather our arrival in Hirtshals had been postponed! WHAT? Where does that leave us? I thought. At that point I didn’t know what to think, what do they mean by postponed and how long for? I had visions of sitting floating around till darkness came. So on top of setting out late we were now delayed indefinitely as far as we knew. It seemed like ages before another announcement and by then I’m sure I wasn’t the only one whose imagination had started to get the better of them. Then came the announcement that said in 25 minutes they were going to have another run at it. Very reassuring I have to say.

Sure enough 25 minutes later the ship slipped easily into the harbour and we were left wondering what all the fuss had been about. Soon after disembarking we were on the E39 heading south. What came next was totally predictable. Needless to say the wind was blowing a gale and hitting us sideways as we drove down the motorway. Lynne asked me after a while whether I felt deflated at leaving Norway but I was too busy trying to keep us going in a straight line to think much about it. Looking at the flat featureless Danish countryside though, it was impossible not to be. We probably have something like two weeks before we’ll get home and somehow it’s akin to that feeling of a holiday being over. The plan had been to get to Copenhagen today but as we didn’t finally get off the ferry till 2.00 pm we decided at 4.00 to wild camp again which is where we are now, at a motorway services just outside Aalborg. So that’s it for today, a slightly anxious boat ride and another fight with the steering wheel for the 70 miles I managed to drive down an extremely windy motorway.