I really don't understand Norway. After setting out from the campsite at Alta, I thought I ought to change some of my Euros for NOK. I stopped at a bank in a small town I was passing through, but they told me that they dealt only with things like mortgages -- no 'counter' services. They pointed me to a bank about 50 km further on. Which also did not handle foreign exchange. The bank in Tromso would, they happily informed me. The fact that I wasn't going to Tromso didn't seem to register. (In the end, I finally managed to exchange Euros for NOK in Trondheim, a few days later.) Yet every other car, bus and campervan, not to mention motorcycle, on the road seemed to have a foreign plate -- Finnish, Swedish, German, Italian, French, Dutch, even one Australian- and one Israeli-registered bike, you name it, they were all represented. But where are the tourist services?

Even cafes and eateries seemed to be thin on the ground, or well disguised. I rode for hours, looking for somewhere to stop and have a coffee and a bite to eat. When I finally found a place that styled itself as a cafe, it offered only reindeer burger, without fries or any other accompaniment, or cake. Oh, and coffee.

While enjoying my rudolf burger -- which was delicious, I should say, with a delightful dressing made from some sort of berry -- I browsed a local tourist brochure that pointed me in the direction of what it described as "Norway's national waterfall" with what it claimed is the longest salmon ladder in Europe. So I set off on what turned out to be a 100-km detour to these fabled falls, Malselvfossen, along some shockingly potholed roads, all the while with persistent drizzle and clouds threatening more serious rain.

The car park at the falls charges 100 NOK -- best part of 10 quid! -- but you do get a "free" cup of coffee in the cafe overlooking the falls and the magnificent pool below. I spent about 20 minutes over my coffee, watching a couple of people fishing the pool from a boat, and my patience (?) was rewarded with the sight of them catching a magnificent salmon of 20 lb or so. A magnificent bar of silver that seemed to put up as much of a fight on the bank as it had in the river before it was despatched by the ghillie with a blow from his priest.

Back on the E6, I headed for the Lofoten islands. This, I think, epitomised the main error I made during this trip. I focussed far too much on reaching places on my checklist, rather than taking it easy and taking some of the back roads that might have allowed me to immerse myself more in experiencing what Norway had to offer. In my defense, what Norway seemed to have to offer that day was drizzle, more drizzle and the threat of rain. I also got wrapped up in the ride, enjoying rolling through the countryside and letting the vistas roll over me.

I came across a few campsites in the late afternoon, but I was not yet ready to stop for the evening -- and that turned out to be a bad mistake (one that I was destined to repeat in the coming days). As I rode on along the E10, I saw no further signs for campsites until long after I had crossed the bridge onto the islands at Tjeldsundbrua. A sign pointed towards a campsite at Offersoy Feriesenter -- but failed to note that the Offersoy was another 30 km away, down a stunningly beautiful single-track road that would have been an absolute joy to ride if it was not already approaching 9 o'clock at night and I was fretting that the reception would close before I got there.

There were a couple of stunning spots where rivers emptied out into the sea, with strong currents churning the surface. Interestingly, the first was lined with people fishing on the sea side of the river, and yet there was no one at the second, which looked far more attactive to me. But I guess the locals know what they are doing. At any other time I would have stopped and cast a bait for a while, but I was in a hurry to find a place to pitch my tent. "Maybe in the morning," I thought.

The campsite was in a lovely location but offered next to nothing in the way of services -- you even had to pay extra to use the shower, whereas other sites I stayed at provided showers, kitchens, laundry facilities, wi-fi, even saunas included in the price. (I paid the extra for the shower and took the longest, hottest shower in living memory!)

I pitched the tent in record time, made myself a bite to eat and took my coffee for a stroll down to the harbour in the gloaming. Simply magic.