Day 20: Jørundgard to Toftemo

A fly woke me up.  The room I was in last night was huge, I was the only person in it but there were seven beds in there.  At about 3.30am I woke up and became aware of a very loud fly buzzing around the room.  I tried to ignore it, knowing that there was very little chance I’d be able to catch it, for about an hour but finally admitted defeat and got up! It hadn’t been the best night’s sleep ever.  There had been an open air concert in the courtyard that finished at 9pm.  I think Jasper went and listened to it (and if I catch up with him again I must ask what role the horse played).  I wanted to finish my book so, after a dinner of local beer and local food, I went to bed.  The Jørundgard village has lots of faux ancient buildings that people can wander in and out of.   I’d finished my book by 8.45pm, and was always just on the point of dropping off when someone barged through the door!  The last time it was gone 10pm and I was dead to the world when I realised that someone else was in the room with me!

Local beer

Local food

It was warm when I left, not as warm as the UK has been experiencing in the last few days but warm enough, at 5am, for me to think ‘I hope a lot of the path is through the forest today!’  And up through the forest the path did go!  A lot of the trail could be marked ‘not suitable for wheelchair users’ or ‘likely to necessitate wheelchair use in the near future!’  I managed to fall over from a stationary standing position! I shifted my weight slightly and the rock I was standing on wobbled and tipped me forward! 

Not suitable for wheelchair users!

There were big notices telling walkers not to cross the train track which meant a circuitous path to get around  it. I wished for longer legs on several occasions as I heaved myself up and over huge rocks.  

I passed a couple sitting outside their tent eating breakfast and chatted for a while. I admire people who carry their tents as well as everything else, but have zero desire to do so myself. I am far too old, and far too accustomed to my creature comforts to sleep on the ground! 

Out of the forest and on to tracks and roads, the sun was warm.  I felt as though I was constantly seeking shade and looking for an elusive bench so I could take a break.  Actually, the sun was more than warm!  I knew I was going to pass a camp site and hoped that it would have a cafe or a shop.  It did, but it is Sunday so they were closed!

Arriving in Dovre I saw the two retired Norwegian gentleman I met yesterday.  We sat and chatted for a while before seeing if there was a stamp at the church - there wasn’t.  There were three more Commonwealth War Graves for young soldiers who died in 1940.   While we were chatting a local gave just each a present. Moose salami!

At my overnight accommodation, once I’d checked in, showered, done my washing etc., I sat in the cafe and inhaled my first coffee of the day.  The couple I’d seen earlier in the day walked in.  Antonio and Monica, they live in Oslo although he is Spanish and she is Polish.  They are doing the Gudbrandsdalsleden in sections and had come to the end of their latest stage and are heading back to Oslo for work tomorrow morning. Great to chat with them!

 Tomorrow I have a dilemma.  Breakfast doesn’t start until 8am, but I have a long day.  If the weather is going to be cool I think I will have breakfast (and coffee), maybe make a sandwich to take for lunch.  There are no shops now for three days!