Wednesday 22nd July 2015
After camping every night so far, it felt strange to wake up in a proper bed inside the nice warm hytte. I had slept well, as had the others. According to Mark, Finn and I were have a snore off, to see who was the loudest. Finn and I didn't hear a thing, so we deny it ever happened!
It did feel strange going to sleep while it was still light outside. This was the view from my bedroom window at ten past midnight! Luckily all the windows had blackout curtains.
Notice the heavy duty mosquito netting. The little devils had feasted on my juicy offerings during the night. I had been bitten on the top of my foot, in between the thumb and fore-finger on my right hand, and more annoyingly on the top of my left ear. This last one made taking my helmet off a painful affair which would annoy me for days to come.
After the usual morning routine we packed up. I sat on the porch listening to the sound of the river while I waited for the others. Now there were more of us, it took a while to round everyone up.
Today we were heading to Nordkapp Camping. This would be our base while we had a rest day to visit the Nordkapp Centre, and explore the rest of the area. The day began with the usual straight tree lined roads. Well, I only got about 500 metres. I had forgotten to put my earplugs in!
Stuart took the lead, engaged throttle position two, and disappeared towards the horizon with Alison locked against the topbox. Once he realised the rest of us were on a touring holiday, he calmed down a little and we soon caught up again. There was not much chance of getting lost through, as there was only the one road heading in our direction.
There was even less traffic this far north. The roads were straight lines between the scattering of villages and towns. It was still trees in every direction as far as I could see. But, the trees were getting smaller the further we travelled. The road surface was fairly good apart from a series of joining strips across the road every 100mtrs. I felt every one of these strips for the 60 or so kilometres we were on the main E8. Then luckily we had to turn off onto the 956 and the 93 which would take us to Alta.
This area was even more sparsely populated. We would see other traffic maybe every forty minutes or so. It must be a harsh life up here in the winter. Or at any time of the year for that matter.
We crossed into Norway at the old border crossing just past Leppajarvi, passing through the green channel, of course. I turned around and applied a sticker to the Norway sign, as many other travelers had done.
It was getting colder and a little overcast. Stuart pulled over so Alison could put on her overjacket to keep the wind off her. We all had the same idea, and followed suit. I also felt the need to water a nearby tree.
Unfortunately, Stuart had stopped in a mosquito infested area. The things were buzzing around all over the place. We all looked ridiculous swatting at them, like extras in a B-movie. It was time to get going again, quickly.
As we approached Alta the road followed a river valley. The road curved its way along the river bank and provided some much needed corners.
Before descending into a twisting, narrow gorge. I was now leading the group, and was having more than a little fun. So much so that I scared a couple of Swedish bikers who hadn't seen me coming.
As we arrived in Alta at a T-junction where we joined the E6, in front of us was a view of Altafjord surrounded by snowcapped mountains. The scenery was beginning to get much better after days of nothing but forest.
I also spotted the first signs for the Nordkapp. It was still a long way off, but at least we were on the right road. We had not had a morning coffee stop, as we had not passed a café on our route this morning. I was ready to stop, so I spotted a café and pulled over. It was nearly 1pm, so we had lunch.
I had a huge burger and chips, washed down with a bottle of coke and a coffee.
Finn had the " dish of the day", which was a lamb chop and mixed vegetables. Mark, Stuart and Alison also had burgers of various sorts. They were not used to stopping for lunch. They would have breakfast and an evening meal, and only eat garage snacks when they stopped for fuel throughout the day. Finn told them they needed to be educated in the ways of the Scandinavian traveler. Coffee stops and plenty of them!
The road out of Alta followed the shore line of the fjord, before climbing up to a plateau. The road was arrow straight right through this stunning scene of absolutely nothingness. There was a big angry looking sky overhead which added to the visual drama.
At Porsangen the road comes to a junction. Right will take you east towards Murmansk and the Russian border. We were headed left on the E69 towards Honningsvag and Mageroya, the island where the Nordkapp is located. The traffic started to increase slightly, with an ever increasing amount of campervans, motorhomes, and tourist coaches. But, it was still nothing like the traffic you get in the UK.
The E69 followed the coast from here to Honningvag. The views out over the sea were amazing. The water a rich azure blue, and dead calm.
The road also has a series of tunnels. Some of these are dark and gloomy. The Nordkapp Tunnel is the longest and links the island of Mageroya to the mainland.
There are signs of civilization too. Little collections of red painted cottages congregated on any flat piece of land found along this rugged coast.
I stop to take photographs along the way. I catch up with the others at a scenic viewpoint. Fellow travelers have built little stone cairns to bring them good luck.
It was only a short ride from the viewpoint to Nordkapp Camping. I had a small 2-3 berth hytte booked for the two nights. Finn and Mark would share with me. Stuart and Alison had already arranged to share with another couple (Sloth and Diablo from the Caponord forum ), who were travelling up at their own pace.
The very attractive young lady on reception joked about the three of us sharing a "small" hytte. She suggested we must be "very close friends", as they are usually stayed in by couples. We all had a good joke about it. But, in reality there was plenty of room. Mark volunteered to sleep on the floor, as he had a plush airbed. Finn took the top bunk, and I had the lower bunk.
We relaxed that evening talking and joking about the days events. Mark produced a bottle of whisky he had picked up on his way up through Eastern Europe. It certainly helped the conversation flow. But, I think there might be a few sore heads in the morning!
Here is the next episode of my vlog:
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