Part 8 - Vossen and Fishing Cinema

Yesterday morning we started our tour as the evening had ended: with rain. Just a few kilometers after departure, we crossed the famous Hardanger Bridge, which we had also passed in 2019. However, this time we had done our research beforehand and were able to photograph it from the local side after the Vallavik Tunnel. Because right after the bridge, we entered another tunnel that led us along the side of the fjords with Norway's largest waterfalls this year.
Whether Ædnavossen, Espelandsvossen or Latevossen... we saw them all and many smaller ones as well. The weather was absolutely miserable, but that doesn't matter in the car. What was really exhausting, however, was the road along the fjords. So narrow that sometimes there really was no room for 2 cars side by side. Before each curve, we were anxious about oncoming traffic. Once we faced a situation where a city bus came towards us and there was really only a few millimeters of space between us. Another time, a large Italian camper came toward us and had to reverse, and another time we had to back up to let someone pass. The road was also not straight, but twisted like serpentine around and through the mountains. There were quite a few elevation meters!
This shouldn't sound too frightening; it was indeed a genuine adventure to get through with our big rig under our behinds. For that, we were repeatedly rewarded with fascinating nature and stunning views of fjords, mountains, and waterfalls.

Eventually, we reached a free spot to handle our waste and supply needs because the plan was to be self-sufficient somewhere again. But then we found a promising camper spot directly by the Erfjord through the Park4Night app.
Since we sometimes have good luck, the clouds began to clear and upon arrival at the spot, we could even park with a premium view, meaning directly in the front row.
There were 3 other campers there, including an eager young couple from Baden-Württemberg who was busy fishing.
We quickly handled the check-in by sending the license plate and the number of overnight stays to a phone number. The response indicated that the owner would come by in the evening with a card payment device. Totally uncomplicated, wonderful.
The weather got better, warm and sunny, and our neighbors Tim and Julia kept pulling one fish after another out of the water. But unfortunately only small ones that weren't worth it.
And now comes the incredible story.

Suddenly, a French family arrived, a mom, dad, and 3 daughters. They set up to our left on the shore and the dad cast his line into the water 10 minutes later. Before anyone could even look, he had already caught a 50cm long pollock! Set up, cast, bite! Crazy!
But then it got awkward; this man was fishing for the first time (or maybe caught something for the first time, it was a bit unclear) and didn't know what to do next. Completely helpless, he looked around until Julia rushed to help and first offered him pliers to take the hook out of the fish's mouth. Tim then showed him how to stun and dispatch the fish, but even then, the French dad was still struggling. So Tim helped him gut the fish, and so it ended up in a bucket. All the campers present watched the whole spectacle.
Eventually, the mom must have watched enough YouTube videos or done other internet research to process the fish further. While doing so, she wildly sawed at the fish with what was probably a dull knife until two acceptable fillets were finally created. Yes, maybe I could have helped, but it was much more entertaining this way, and I wanted to let the family enjoy their success.

The rest of the evening got nicer as the anglers, motorboats, and lighting conditions put on a show over the mountains. We also had great conversations with Tim and Julia, sitting together by the fire pit. Lacking wood, I quickly placed our candle in the middle, creating a really cozy atmosphere. Until half-past two at night, the four of us sat there chatting about life and travel. The two had already been to Canada twice, seen wild bears, fished for salmon, and traveled New Zealand for 4 months. Even though the cold came with sunset, and we had to put on 4 layers of clothing, we found it hard to head towards bed. Such evenings are really the best.

This morning, the sun was shining brightly again, but our further planning forced us to leave these lovely people behind. They wanted to extend their stay for another day, and the lines were already cast again. A newly arrived camper had professional equipment with him and was bringing in 40cm pollocks one after another. He even gifted Tim 2 as a precaution.

Well, around 11 we were back on our way south. A 10-minute ferry ride took us to the western mainland and the deepest road tunnel towards Stavanger. The light display in the tunnel is impressive. We drove along the western coast until we reached our chosen spot in Farsund.
On the way, we encountered a free camping toilet emptying station via an automated machine. We had heard about it, but now we could finally try it out.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the campsite, we were disappointed; it was all full.
What a bummer, we wanted to spend another 2 days there before our departure from Norway. But just 10 minutes further, there is a relatively new parking spot in the middle of the village of Vanse that saved us after 6 hours of driving. Fortunately, everything was free here, and with a QR code, you could also pay by card. There is a sanitary building with restrooms, showers, and even a washing machine and dryer, which can only be entered with a code received by SMS.
Again, really cool that there is such a thing.
The wind is blowing quite strong here on the coast, but the sun is shining. We'll see what tomorrow brings.