From Helsinki to Nordkapp-Part 2
All the way to the end
Walking along the side of a highway isn’t your common mode of transport, but I was beyond thrilled. The forest is giving way to the mountains, the fjords and Arctic Ocean are close. All I hear is the occasional breeze and water streams. Probably one car per hour passes me. I still try to hitchhike, but no luck. I walk past what looks like a customs office. They give me a shocked look. Borders are open here and across the EU so there won’t be passport controls. Like the States, you come up to the border and there is the sign. I come up to the “Norge” sign, and the asphalt on the road changes, indicating the border. I step over in excitement and laugh out loud to myself. I made it to Norway!
40km to Skibotn, I’ll walk until I’m tired and camp if that is what it takes. I still try hitchhiking. I can hear the engine of the next car speeding up. The driver avoiding eye contact. I suppose hitching from the middle of nowhere might be unnerving to many Norwegians. It’s afternoon and I must have gone 15-20km now. I see a parking lot with a closed up building, perhaps an old hotel. I rest here for some time. I see another vehicle coming down the road and I try my luck again. Thumb out with a smile. Miraculously the driver stops and cheerfully yells to get in. When I try to shake his hand, I noticed he doesn’t have hands. Just stumps. There are hooks tied to the door and window. He would “punch” the stick to shift gears. I didn't ask what happened. He lives in Tromsø and says he'll drop me in Skibotn. The fjords come so quickly I feel like I’ve entered a new world. Not far from the intersection he drops me at a gas station.
The town itself is a few kms from the gas station. Back on the highway I start walking again. There is a guy with his sheep in the fields and waves to me. About an hour and I make it to the waterfront, and by extension, the ocean. On the other side of the fjord are snow capped mountains. It’s early afternoon, but because its October and so far north, things were already appearing to look late in the day. The sun is low and behind the mountain. The campground is closed. I decide I need to keep going and push forward north to close the distance between Nordkapp and I. At a small grocery, I get myself a snack and beer. I ask if there are any buses going north today. “Actually any minute now there is a bus going to Alta, just stand by the road and wave it down.” I sit on my bag in the sidewalk and savor the drink. This day is not over yet.
Literally minutes later here comes the bus. What timing. It will take several hours to get to Alta. The road north climbs in elevation and as the sun begins to set I get one incredible view of the land beyond. There is an elderly couple next to me. We have a good chat about things to see. My body is protesting the last few days and I fall asleep, as it is now too dark to gaze at the scenery. We arrive at 11:00PM. For the first time in a long time, I decide I’ll go to a hotel. I stay at the Scandic across from the Northern Lights Cathedral. I remember the price being around $180. It is what it is. A nice bed after camping the past several days would be wonderful. Also my clothes really needed a good washing. The bed feels like a cloud and I pass out interrupted until the morning. For breakfast, it is by far the best buffet I've had in all my travels to date. Whatever you think you could crave for a breakfast I'm positive they have it.
I find the bus to Honningsvåg. There are less trees now as we enter more tundra and arctic. We pass by a group of reindeer. At the intersection of Skaidi, the road sign shows the fork towards either Hammerfest or Kirkenes. Honestly I’m surprised that so many people make their lives up here. The towns are small but have everything you need. It is peaceful. I guess they are used to the extremes of the weather. Another spilt at Olderfjord and we turn left. The road follows the coast with a view of remote fjords and Arctic Ocean on the horizon.
Honningsvåg and Nordkapp is located on Magerøya Island. We go through an undersea tunnel and arrive. Shortly after we drive into town the bus parks towards the end of the street pass the cemetery. I ask the driver when the bus goes back to Alta. He said the bus stops here and walks away. I guess I’ll figure that one out later. Sunset is coming. I explore the town to see what is around. I noticed fishing trawlers from Murmansk moored in the harbor. The hotels are closed. Apparently there is a hostel on the north side of town. Also closed. At the gas station I ask to borrow the phone to call the hostel just in case, but no answer. I walk back towards the end of town as the evening gets dark. At first I contemplate sleeping behind some old fishing shacks, but then see a road going up the mountain. The weather is calm and clear. I’ll spend the night on the mountain. Not a hard walk up, but enough to shake your leg muscles. From the top I can see the lights of the town. On the other side is another small town called Nordvågen. Very quiet sleeping up here. If you’re not the camping kind of person, sometimes sleeping alone in a tent out in nature can feel a bit intimidating. So far, its always been ok for me and surprisingly some of the best sleep I’ve ever gotten. Just be aware of your environment and take it easy. I can give more camping tips in future articles. I wake up in the middle of the night, hoping to see the Northern Lights. No luck. I’ve been checking every night since arriving to Scandinavia but have yet to see them. I’ve come to believe that the lights will show themselves when you don’t expect it and not intentionally looking. If its meant to be, I will see them.
Today is the day. The final bus north. As I pack my tent, I see that I am surrounded by wild blueberries. I pick a dozen and head back into town. The bus is by the harbor. I meet an Indian couple, we’re the only tourists. The environment is now vastly barren and open rock. Colors of the tundra are in layered blends of grey, brown and green. The grass has mostly died off. There are no more trees. Snow is in the forecast later this week. Just in time. The highway gently twists and turns, ending nearly as a straightaway to a large parking lot. Nordkapp is basically a museum and tourist shop. Most of it is closed because there is nobody here. At the edge of the cliff is an art piece of a globe mounted on a stand. The edge is a high cliff overlooking the ocean. I feel like I can see Svalbard on the horizon. The ocean is calm today, and I can hear the waves gently rolling over the rocks below. It feels like lands end, the edge of the world.
However, I haven’t gone all the way to the end yet. There is a hiking trail called Knivskjellodden. It sits across Nordkapp on the next peninsula spearheading its way out into the ocean. It is officially the Northernmost Point in Continental Europe. The bus takes me down the road a few kms and drops me at a small parking lot. You’ll see a sign for the trail. I say goodbye to the Indian couple who actually look disappointed when I tell them that Norkapp is not the furthest point. The trail takes several hours to hike at around 9kms one way. It would take all day to go there and back, but I’m intent on sleeping at the end. Marvelous, open scenery. Not too challenging of a walk so its easy to enjoy the views as you go along. You’ll walk out west, before the trail turns north. It descends a bit into a valley with a lake and then a straight shot to the ocean. There is algae on the rocks so its quite slippery, but I managed to get to the end and touch the water in order to make it official. The water is cold, the smell of algae and salt is strong, and now I have truly gone all the way to the end. There is a little monument marking the end with a box. Inside is a notebook full of all the people who have been here. I write my name in. From the water, the ground quickly gains elevation again. I find a good spot for my tent next to the cliffs. I’m all alone out here and it couldn’t be better. I enjoy the sunset with some more lentils and ramen. Contemplating all the past memories, and wondering what will happen in the future. A meditative paradise. On these cliffs, it feels like the world is behind me, and society doesn’t exists. Just the edge, the ocean, and the horizon.
Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for a future article where I will tell you about how I traveled from Knivskjellodden all the way to Hobart, Tasmania!
-AbroadwithBrian