We have decided that we'll stick to Sparet today, as bible tells us that he'll lead us straight into Helsingborg. All seems to be going well - we're cruising along a lovely coatal path (albeit with a gusty headwind, but we're starting to expect that), ducking in and out of woods, and pretty much following the motorway - heaven!! Finally we reach the seaside, and Alice gleefully skips across the sand in full cycle kit (helmet included) to taste the salty sea!! We enjoy a picnic on the coast just before Bastad, and then wend our way through the town. Switching down to granny-gear, we decide to challenge ourselves to see how slowly we can cover the next 30 odd km, as we have a lot of time before our planned ferry trip to Denmark, and begin heading south to Angelholm...at least we think we're heading south but Sparet has once again fooled us, and all of a sudden we're on our way up a steep headland, towards the west!! Alas, there's no alternative route unless we double back to Bastad (which we all refuse to do unless there's no other option) and so, on and up the hill, thinking at least we may get a speccy viewpoint for all our hard work...it is not to be however, and after cycling through a golf course, we find ourselves on a short descent back to the coast. Luckily, after some 20km of winding sandy tracks, we manage to lose Sparet and are back on the main road into Angelholm. After food and coffee, I stock up on information on Helsinborg/Helsingor (marketed as one city in two countries - exciting!!) and we get a few more bread rolls from a local bakery for the evening, and we're on our way again.... At this point I guess I should mention that our plan in Helsingborg is to set up camp in the ferry terminal, catch the ferry across at 4am (they run every 20min, 24/7), then scoot down to Copenhagen for breakfast. Hazel has pointed out that neither Ali nor I do well without sleep, but we've both done it before...what's the big deal?!?Approaching Helsinborg, and we've lost Sparet again (having somehow met up with him on the main road out of Angelholm)....we're also approaching a motorway intersection with numerous roadworks being carried out around the newly constructed Ikea and maxi-shopping centre... At this point I'm in the lead and pedalling confidently, but begin to hear shrieking and bells ringing (our signal that someone needs to stop)... seeing the nearing motorway signs, Ali is beginnning to go into melt-down, and by the time we stop, having turned into a side road, she is no longer able to communicate her intense disagreement with our route. Hazel and I take up the map (thankfully!!) obtained at our coffee stop, and we navigate into town, arriving at the ferry port not long before sunset... Helsingborg is a beautiful city, but the ferry terminal is somewhat disappointing and so we settle in to a nearby pub, where we can keep an ever watchful eye on our bikes, whilst enjoying a delightful English pub meal and a few pints. We had a lovely chat with some Swedes who were recently returned from Copenhagen, and stocked up on food for our night long vigil (luckily the pub stayed open til midnight so we could hang out there for a while...). At some time around 10pm, Ali and I began to realise that maybe cycletouring and sleeping in terminals weren't a viable combination, and this was confirmed when I fell asleep in the pub!! Ali and Hazel nipped out to scout around, and despite our best intentions to save money, we find our selves checking in to the delightful Hotel Karan at about 11.30pm. Our bikes safely locked inside, we crash for a good 7hrs sleep...Denmark can wait another few hours!!!
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