The Travel Diary: The Coast of Helgeland
This is a cautionary – not inspirational – tale.
Aaah, summer vacation. That precious time a year dedicated to relaxation and exploring new places, preferably the two activities brought together in a beautiful combo with ice cream in your left hand and a cold beer in your right. Summer vacation brings you energy, joy and a sense of well-being, so that your memory bank is full until next year, when you once again are liberated from the dull everyday life for a few precious days.
When on holiday at a new and exotic destination, people tend to immerse themselves in the local culture. Or they spend lazy afternoons in the local coffee shop. Or they lie on the beach till they’re so bored even pub games are exciting. Or they bask in all the glory of the local sites, ice cream and beer in hands and all.
When on holiday, you definitely don’t want to speed through the local scenery like a cannonball on steroids. Which is what we did.
The coast on Helgeland has been on the Locombia Posse bucket list for a while. Now, in the summer of 2018, we realized the plan. Five days with all the important sights tagged along the route, only for us to miss everything entirely.
Don’t ask us for advise on what to see or where to eat.
All we are left with after this trip, is that the roads up there are flat and perfect for fast riding, even if the bike is loaded with everything needed for self-sustained travelling.
Rushing through 500 kilometers in five days doesn’t really give you much to talk about when you’re meeting mates back in the city. ”What do you think about the seven sisters?” they may ask me, whereupon I will have to answer: ”I didn’t meet that many people and I certainly didn’t do anything to any sisters”.
Going south from Mosjøen, the landscape around us is a blur of green, gray and blue, like a renaissance painting, no substance nor form. It’s not until the pain in my right foot (yes, I should have followed my own advise and changed my shoes by now), that the colors materialize into something with names and accompanying adjectives: Beautiful sky, mighty mountains and astonishing trees.
Then it’s too late. At the time we adjust our ferocious pace to the weakest link, a. k. a. yours truly, we have left the coast of Helgeland and find ourselves at the also interesting coast of Namdal. The coast of Nadmdal is deservedly worth attention and some visit. But you’ll have to find out for yourself. After all, this is supposed to be a warning about missing out when you go too fast and and inspirational text about the coast of Namdal.
Tl; dr: Slow down, enjoy the scenery.
