Sunday 28th June. We reach Nordkapp

We had a nice lazy start to today as the morning was basically free time. After breakfast I had a chance to catch up on emails and blogging, whilst Mick went and played with the car. At 1pm we all met up for a lovely lunch just down the street. Amongst the buffet were lots of fresh vegetables and a delicious reindeer ragout.

Back to the cars, and we drove south of Alta to Sorrisniva where we divided into two groups. Our group did the river safari first, after several of us borrowed warm overalls. Mick is beginning to talk about a new TR regalia item, one piece insulated driving suits.

The boats were an interesting design, very slim and with large outboard motors. Small padded seats gave us a comfortable ride, sitting in a line down the centre of the boat.

We were taken 21 kms up stream, passing meadows, trees and then into a narrow canyon with waterfalls on each side. The salmon fishing in river said to be some of best in Norway, and we passed a large fishing lodge used by the King of Norway when he comes to stay in the area. There is very little road access to the river, so there were many boats on the banks along the way.

The return trip was much colder, and we were very glad to get back and to meet the other group round an open fire surrounded by reindeer skin covered benches.

The two groups then swopped agendas, they went on the boat trip, while we went to the slate quarry on the side of valley.

Our guide was the third generation of a family working the slate, and his helpful nephew made four generations. He showed us a traditional slate worker's hut from earlier times, and also where they wait for the Northern Lights display in the winter (they run holidays just to see the lights!). Working the slate has always been a hand industry, though they are now assisted by powerful machines. The workers are very muscular, which Mick confirmed when he later lifted a 10kg lump hammer that our guide had been using like a toffee hammer. Their main market now is roof tiles, many of which we recognised later on houses in the Alta region. The slate is greyer and thicker than Welsh slate, more like a granite.

Our guide demonstrated how the slate is split, then we each had the chance to make a slate coaster. Great fun, and a good souvenir of our trip.

Our evening meal was in a circular building back by the river, heated by a huge open fire in the very middle of the room. Food was very good, but no wine as we still had a long drive in front of us.

We left at 8.45pm, just as the rain started. The drive to Nordkapp took just under four hours, and it rained the whole way. Despite this the scenery was still awesome. We crossed a high plateau, then followed the edge of a fjord, with mountains glimpsed through the low cloud and mist. Small communities, and the occasional town were scattered across the whole area.

The TR3 is not a good vehicle for rainy weather! We got wetter then when we had the roof down, and developed synchronised wiping of the drips as we drove.

As we got further north and the land opened up we started to see reindeer at the sides of the road, eating the sparse grass. Dave Burgess had a reindeer jump the crash barrier just in front of him!

We finally arrived at Nordkapp at 24.40, just as the earlier arrivals from our group were allowed to drive up to the globe sculpture by the headland. We all parked, and many photos were taken as we enjoyed the feeling of having achieved our objective. It was still raining, and very cold, but the rain finally stopped just before we left at 01.20. Sadly the shop and toilets had all closed at 1am, so no souvenirs, and crossed legs for the return trip.

It was a long way back to Alta, but a more relaxed drive and we had the time to stop and take some photos of the reindeer. At least we didn't have to worry about driving in the dark.

The sun came out on our way back!

We got back to Alta around 4.40 in the morning, together with the final three cars of our group, and went straight to bed!

Total mileage for the day was 329 miles. Total mileage Oslo to Nordkapp: 1720 miles.

 

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Saturday 27th June. Senja to Alta.

Today was another drive through spectacular scenery. My photographs can't do it justice, but imagine the Alps cut up and floating in a sea and you can get a rough idea. The sides of many of the mountains are completely sheer, with snow on the peaks and small communities of brightly coloured houses clustered round the lower slopes close to the edge of the fjords.

Today was a long drive, and we had three ferries to catch where reservations were impossible. We left the hotel at 7.50, and our first stop was a lookout point at the side of the road. Interesting design, and a nice view! The second lookout should have given us a view of the sheer cliffs bordering the fjord, but it was too misty to see anything.

Mick and I took a small detour to get fuel, at a deserted petrol station in the middle of nowhere!

Everyone arrived at the first ferry in time for the 9.30 crossing, and we all got on board which was a relief. If anyone had missed that ferry then they would have had to take an inland route to our next stop, and would have missed the best of the scenery.

Our next stop was a shop on the outskirts of Tromso where we stocked up on bits of food and drink. They also had lots of samples of fish and cheese to try, so we left there fairly full! I now have my first souvenir to take home, a pot of fish seasoning! There was a bit of confusion as we left the car park, but everyone was very tolerant of us blocking the exit whilst we dragged the last stragglers out of the shop.

In Tromso we followed Bjarne around getting a look at the city, and allowing the residents to get a look at us! Judging by the number of camera pointed at us we were quite a novelty. A couple of cars had got to Tromso earlier than the main group, looking for a garage to repair Roger's shock absorber, and they told me there is an extensive series of tunnels under the town as well.

On the outskirts of Tromso we stopped for fuel (so our earlier stop was unnecessary) then drove to our second ferry of the day. We had lunch on board, either purchased there or from our earlier stop. Several people had to have an ice cream, including Mick (surprise, surprise), but as he still hadn't finished when we drove off it bought a new dimension to 'Arctic driving'.

We drove through more great scenery onto our third, and final, ferry of the day. Roger, while looking at his broken shock absorber, got approached by a local lady who, it turned out, had a friend with a garage who might be able to help. After a phone call he turned out to be on the same ferry, on his way back from a bike ride! Another local offered to give him and his bicycle a lift back to the garage with Roger following, so, shortly later, Roger had a welded shock absorber and was back on the road again.

We then had a long drive to our final destination, Alta. There was more spectacular scenery, especially when we turned a corner onto a high plateau with a wonderful view of water and mountains, and sunshine! We stopped for a couple of photos, then set off again.

Many of the fjord crossings have elegant bridges across the water. We are constantly surprised by how many people live so far north, and how much has been invested in the local infrastructure. Not only the bridges but also the long tunnels under the mountains. Some tunnels are 5 or 6 kilometres long, yet the roads are almost empty.

Just before Alta we hit a set of major roadworks. The road was rough gravel for several miles, and tough going for the cars. Finally getting onto a real road again we approached another tunnel when we got overtaken by a motorbike. Suddenly a policeman stepped out and we realised it was a speed trap. Luckily for us, plus Alan and Andy whom we had caught up with by that point, there were only two policemen there, so they could only book one vehicle at a time. Later on we learnt that Bjarne was the only one of our group to have got a fine, despite the fact that is was possible several of us had been driving rather faster than the limit.

We were all very happy to arrive at the hotel between 6 and 7 in the evening, and had plenty of time before our 8.30 dinner to wash and enjoy a drink (or two). Dinner was good, and for the first time we had no fish at all: reindeer steaks which tasted slightly livery and were very tender. After dinner we gave Bjarne the results of our whip round to pay his fine, and for the first time he was speechless, for a few moments at least!

Mick and I headed for bed at about 10.40, leaving the others to enjoy further drinks. We have slightly thicker curtains here so are hoping for a better night's sleep.

Total distance travelled today, 289 miles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Friday 26th June

Up fairly sharpish this morning, but very sad to leave our fishing hut. We had even managed to switch on he heating on the previous evening so it was warm in the lounge for an early morning cup of tea.

First stop was the Lofotr Viking museum, where we were shown a replica Viking dwelling based on the finds made by a local farmer when ploughing. The hut was 83 m long and 12 m high, and included general living quarters, a feasting area, workshop and stables for the animals. Our guide told us how, in around 1000 ad the Vikings were united under a single king, but many of them were not happy to relinquish their authority to left to immigrate to Iceland. Around 20% of the population left, taking with them treasures, all possessions, animals and even sometimes the structure of their houses. There is a possibility that the remains found were related to a family known to have settled in Iceland on a large farm there. That farm is still in existence and being farmed by the same family, some 25 generations later. After the serious stuff they let us play with the helmets and swords!

We then had a longish drive to Andoy Friluftssentre for lunch. It was our coldest driving experience of the trip so far, and the hot peppery soup/reindeer stew served when we arrived was very welcome.

After lunch we drove up the outer coast to Andennes, past craggy mountains and a bleak shoreline. There was a large amount of flat land here between mountains and sea, and a large number of installations for tracking satellites, submarines and shipping. We believe much of it was established during the Second World War, but there is now a weather rocket launching station and a visitor space centre.

The sun came out on the last section of the drive, and we almost managed to sun bathe on the boat before departure.

A short drive from the ferry terminal took us to our overnight accommodation at Hamn i Senja, where we were assigned rooms in a wonderful complex of apartments overlooking the fjord. Everyone relaxed with drinks on the terraces before we went to the restaurant for our daily dose of fish. Today we had fish soup, followed by baked cod. Very nice!

Robert decided it was warm enough for a quick swim, a first north of the Arctic circle for him.

After dinner several people decided to stay up and see the midnight sun, but Mick and I disappeared off to bed! Apparently there too many clouds for a good view, but there was the sight of two whales playing in the sea to keep everyone happy.

Miles traveled: 238 on Wednesday (forgot to put it in Wednesday's blog), 188 today.

 

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Thursday 25th June Nusfjord

Today was a non driving day. We left our huts at 9am on four fishing boats. Which boat you were on was decided yesterday by a draw, and we were in team TR4 with 8 Norweigans and two Danes. We were issued with overalls, one piece insulated suits with built in flotation devices, and set out to sea. One boat spent most of the morning watching a whale, then puffins and only caught two fish. Our boat was full of serious fishermen (and women) and a skipper that was good at finding the fish.

We caught mainly scie (not sure what that is in English) and a few cod. Mick caught one cod, weight about 5 kg, while I caught lots of the scie (over 20). Tom on our boat caught a 8.5 kg scie, and won the fishing competition! In all, on our boat, we caught 120 kg of fish!

Our captain gutted some of the fish for us (keeping the cod heads), throwing the remnants over board to the delight of the following sea gulls. We tried a few pieces of fish raw, the rest was added into a cream and leek sauce for fish soup for lunch.

After lunch we all landed at Bunesfjorden where we had coffee and waffles, then went on a guided walk over the headland to another beach. Bjarne and several others had planned on walking up a large peak (1000 ft) next to the beach, but the cloud level was too low, and we were running late as well. The mountains here are very steep and can be dangerous. We were told that two walkers had died a few weeks ago!

At 5pm we were picked up by a faster boat and taken down the fjord to Reine, where we boarded a bus for the hour long trip back round the islands to Nusfjord. Had we gone to Denmark in September for the planned TR meeting we would have seen a model of Reine in Legoland - it has been voted the most picturesque village in Norway!

At 7.30 we all gathered for a drink in the old cod liver oil factory. We were shown how a dried fish was hammered to make the local snack edible and then some of our catch from today was bought in and we were shown how to remove the cod tongues (really the lower jaw), considered a delicacy. The rest of the cod heads are placed on wooden racks and dried outside. Apparently the dried heads are sold to Nigeria where they are ground up and made into a nutrition rich soup.

Our meal this evening was a buffet, which included thin slices of the raw fish we had caught today, served with an oily sauce, then sprinkled with a sesame/wasabi mix. We also had crayfish and lots of other fish dishes, plus lamb shanks and a veg mash - another really good meal. Some of the Norweigans are staying here for a few more days, they have already visited Nordkapp twice, so they said their farewells at the end of the meal.

Tom was presented with a captains hat for his winning catch!

We left our dark, candlelit meal at about 10 pm and were once again surprised to walk out into full daylight! It's another six days at least until we see the sun set.

 

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