Friday, May 26, 2006
End of Day 10 : Kräksmälla to Oskarshamn : 54 miles (523 Total)
Day 10 was originally meant to be our day off, but we decicded to push on rather than spend our day off in the middle of nowhere, without even a pub!
So we set off at a quick pace, and we soon came to a lookout tower at Abooda. Now lookout towers are normally at high points, and this one was no exception! It was at the top of a very steep hill that nearly killed us! It was like some kind of hill-climbing challenge, my lungs nearly fell out! But we made it to the top, had a drink in the cafe and then climbed the tower. 21 metres high, and great views of all the surrounding lakes.
We carried on at a quick pace, and made it to Högsby for lunch. After that we set off through the forests rather than take the main roads, this was where things started going wrong! We obviously missed an unsigned turn off and ended up by some houses at the bottom of a dead end track . I thought I could hear a banjo playing somewhere in the distance! So we turned around and made it back to our starting point 40 mins after we set out! And 7 miles added to the day!
So we decided to take the main roads instead and made very good time into Oskarshamn. And we hadn't been rained on at all!! The first time since day 1! We were happy about this!
Our hotel took a bit of finding, as it was way out past the dockyards and factories, but after a nice shower we strolled back into town and found a nice pub, The Krakan, which did fantastic food.
Possibly the best burger I have tasted, certainly way up there. Had several more beers in there, chatting to a few locals, and then headed home to crash for the night.
So we set off at a quick pace, and we soon came to a lookout tower at Abooda. Now lookout towers are normally at high points, and this one was no exception! It was at the top of a very steep hill that nearly killed us! It was like some kind of hill-climbing challenge, my lungs nearly fell out! But we made it to the top, had a drink in the cafe and then climbed the tower. 21 metres high, and great views of all the surrounding lakes.
We carried on at a quick pace, and made it to Högsby for lunch. After that we set off through the forests rather than take the main roads, this was where things started going wrong! We obviously missed an unsigned turn off and ended up by some houses at the bottom of a dead end track . I thought I could hear a banjo playing somewhere in the distance! So we turned around and made it back to our starting point 40 mins after we set out! And 7 miles added to the day!
So we decided to take the main roads instead and made very good time into Oskarshamn. And we hadn't been rained on at all!! The first time since day 1! We were happy about this!
Our hotel took a bit of finding, as it was way out past the dockyards and factories, but after a nice shower we strolled back into town and found a nice pub, The Krakan, which did fantastic food.
Possibly the best burger I have tasted, certainly way up there. Had several more beers in there, chatting to a few locals, and then headed home to crash for the night.# posted by neil @ 8:33 am 
