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Day 18 part 3. Hvåra Bru to Larvik, then ferry to Hirtshals.

The weather although nice was not as warm as the outward trip to Bergen. We started in overcast conditions and sitting up on deck was a bit of a challenge for Damae's coldness sensors. After a quick cuppa and some photos, we decamped to the inside bit of the boat until much later. Unlike the trip to Bergen most of the much shorter ferry from Larvik to Hirtshals was in open sea.

The ferry threaded its way out of the bay past more of the characteristic red brown skerries and lighthouses, and into the sea. By four in the afternoon there was not much more to see of the coast, and it wasn't until some time after eight that Denmark became visible. We could see the lighthouse by the campsite we'd stayed at just over a week earlier and the rather industrial area of the harbour. As we approached Hirthals a very fast ferry whizzed off into the sunset to be replaced by a slow yacht heading for port.

We headed to the car deck and joined the throng of cyclists untying their bikes. There was a Dutch couple who we later met at the campsite, and a German couple on a pair of identical three wheel recumbents (HP Velotechnik Scorpions or something very similar). Damae being curious chatted in broken Gerutch with the lady and discovered that the main reason for getting the tricycles was to avoid back problems they had started suffering. Their trip sounded at least as hilly as our trip and the downhill performance of the tricycles was appreciated by their owners.

Then all of a sudden we were racing down the ramp and out of the ferry line-up area. We went straight to the campsite to find the reception was closed. We chatted to the Dutch couple after reading the 'out of hours' instruction and went to the same spot in the campsite we'd been in the last time. A special caravan adapted for a wheelchair user was still in the same spot as it had been, although the left the following day, as we did.

We put up the tent in record time and were eating a light meal whilst the Dutch couple were still setting up their tent. They spent loads of time unpacking things such as quite large folding chairs. It looked like they were carrying almost everything short of the kitchen sink. They said they had come up from Sweden and had been planning to do the Norwegian NSCR but the lady's knees had started causing problems. The next bit including Fedafjorden would definitely have been too much. We could not help thinking that part of the problem was that they were just carrying too much stuff.

So we were back in Denmark, this meant we were nearing the end of our second long adventure. We were a little sad, but little did we know that the best of the whole Danish section lay ahead of us tomorrow.

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