It's the middle of July, and the high temperature yesterday was 17C (63F).
Now, we realize that some of you have been baking and would gladly trade places with us... for a few days. And we also realize and appreciate that our current temperatures are great when you're out hiking in the sunshine. The problem is that we could count on one hand the number of days we've had like that during the last month and a half here in Norway.
And I think it's a bit of a longer term problem for us. We haven't really had a stretch of hot weather since we were in Tanzania in February of last year. Although, there were definitely a few warm days when we were in Canada last August and September. But then this past winter in Turkiye wasn't warm at all. So really, we haven't had decent shorts and t-shirt weather in almost 10 months!
No choice but to put up with it for now, although we're pretty sure that we will get some summer weather again next month in Canada.
Yesterday, we drove down to the small city of Stavanger (pop 140,000). Again, we had to take a ferry, and drove through two long tunnels under the water.
Yep, this was the first part of our day. Rain.
Scenery along the way.
Good timing, there's our ferry just pulling in.
Loading onto the ferry.
It was only a 20 minute crossing, and the weather wasn't the best so we didn't get out to take pictures.
Onto the other side.
And into the tunnel.
Motorhome parking in Stavanger is neither cheap or easy. But Stavanger has a great network of bicycle paths so we found a free parking area on the outskirts and we will ride in if the weather becomes good enough. The parking is at a recreational park and beach, and although it's nice enough, it's kind of been taken over by people who think it's a campground. There are even people who park here with rooftop tents and sleep overnight.
It looks like it's been this way for about two years, but I can't see it lasting. They'll either ban it for motorhomes, or put up some kind of barrier, or start charging money which I'm surprised they haven't done yet.
In the meantime, it is free, and it is convenient to get into the city, so we decided to stay for the night. There is a sign that says two day maximum, but no idea if it's enforced.
By 4:00pm or so, things were starting to clear up and we got out for a walk. It was really windy though. My ears were actually cold when we were walking by the water.
Nobody in swimming!
If it were hot out, this beach would be packed at this time of year.
The three Viking swords monument.
The swords commemorate the historic Battle of Hafrsfjord which took place here in the year 872, when King Harald Fairhair gathered all of Norway under one crown. The largest sword represents the victorious Harald, and the two smaller swords represent the defeated petty kings. The monument also represents peace, since the swords are planted into solid rock, so they may never be removed.
You can see all the motorhomes parked on the left.
Old stone boathouse.
Motorhomes and vans, (and even people sleeping in their cars) continued to arrive right up until 11:00pm. The place was pretty busy overnight, although it was surprisingly quiet and we slept well. Once again, we are glad that the vast majority of European RV's do not have generators.
We've already had a big rainstorm go through this morning, but it's supposed to clear up for a few hours so we're going to attempt the bike ride into the old part of the city. Calling for a high of 15C (60F).
Here's a map of our route over the last few days since we left Bergen...
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Nice price drop on this Greenworks 2000 PSI Electric Pressure Washer.
And in Canada...
Even though we've had some Hot days the weather has been like a roller coaster.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy your adventure.
It's about time.
Yeah, it would be nice to see the weather level out a bit but we have no control over it so we just have to find a way to work with it. We are moving further south again, in hopes of finding some warmer and sunnier weather. We hope things level out for you as well.
DeleteWell northern BC's weather is just like Norway! A few nice days now and then so it's lucky we winter in Mazatlan. Norway is where my maternal family is from so I'm enjoying the journey!
ReplyDeleteThe year we were up in Northern British Columbia, it was hot, hot hot and unfortunately there were a lot of forest fires that year because of the lack of rain. It seems to be one or the other in British Columbia,
DeleteYeah, we would be heading south in the winter too if we lived up there where you are! Glad that you can enjoy to weather in Mexico. So far we find Mexico to be perfect weather for the winter as long as we don't stay by the coast too long because it gets too hot there for us, we prefer being inland.
We are glad that you are enjoying our adventures here in Norway. It seems that quite a few of our readers have family history starting out in Norway.
I think any weather that seems to never end, be it cold, rain, humidity, or heat, starts to wear on one over time, so I am not surprised you are missing heat. It seems difficult to find a spot that has "perfect" weather for more than a few days at a time. Here in NC, we wish for coolish to warmish lower humidity days, or, when it's been dry for awhile, rain. But what we usually get is high humidity and often too much heat for my taste. I am looking forward to (hopefully) some beautiful days in the fall.
ReplyDeleteWe never had a problem handling all the sunshine that we had in Mexico. I remember one winter that we went for almost four months without any rain. As long as it doesn't get too hot we are totally fine living in sunshine. You are correct though, it is hard to find a spot that has "perfect" weather year round but we will keep on looking for it. We have heard that summers can get really hot and very humid in North Carolina, I don't think we would enjoy that. At least here in Norway, there is no humidity! We would be totally fine here with the temperatures, it is all the rain that is getting us down!
DeleteWe hope that you will have a nice fall too! :-)
Yes, sunshine is great so long as it's not overly hot or humid. Unfortunately, most of the spots we've lived or stayed in either had excessive heat or humidity (or both!) to accompany the sunshine. I love shade. :)
DeleteWe have found that when we are inland in Mexico it is beautiful and sunny and not a bit humid but that is during the winter months. We have no idea what it is like during the summer months but we have heard that it is still quite nice however they do get the rain in the summer but not all day long, only for a few hours and then it is over.
DeleteYes, you were fortunate to be in that part of Mexico. We've mostly been in the southeast coastal parts of the country, where humidity is a constant companion. And Merida, which is sometimes less humid than the coast, is ungodly hot for much of the year. It's too bad, since it's such a lovely city other than that. Just too hot and humid for me!
DeleteThis is one of the many reasons why we stay inland, We have been to the Yucatán Peninsula several times and just find it way too hot and humid for us, plus all the mosquitoes and noseeums. Merida was ok, but we prefer the little city of Campeche much more. If you go back to Mexico to live for a while you should try some of the inland locations.
DeleteYes, we would love to. We chose the Yucatan peninsula because we were familiar with it from the time we lived in Belize and traveled there, and we had one good friend there, unlike any other parts of Mexico. It was also easier traveling to visit family in the eastern US. Someday that will not be a consideration, so we would love to explore other parts of Mexico. Queretaro is high on my list.
DeleteWe really liked Queretaro and the surrounding area. If you moved there it would be easy to get to Mexico City for flights out of the country.
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