Honningsvaag - The North Cape - 27th August 2010

The day after departing Andalsnes was spent at sea due to the fact we were heading to the top of Norway to The North Cape, billed as the high light of the trip we were to see the Midnight Sun and the chance to stand as far north as we could in Europe without enrolling ourselves on a North Pole expedition! At one stage The North Cape was considered the most northern inhabited point of Europe.

Next stop, the North Pole

We were now deep into the Arctic Circle and much of the landscape we were going to see would be covered under a thick layer of snow and shrouded in darkness in the winter months. But we were visiting in August and the air was crisp and clear and the skies were bright blue.

We docked in the town of Honningsvaag, this is the point that many North Pole expeditions leave from and it also provides an ideal base for visiting The North Cape. We travelled by bus along an extremely varied landscape. There were no lush green trees or azure blue fjords that we had become accustomed to so far on our trip. Instead the landscape was barren, bearing the scars of the savage winters with many a reindeer roaming the flat grounds.

Interior of a traditional Sami home

This area of Norway, along with the northern parts of Sweden and Finland is home to the Sami, believed to be Europe's most northern inhabitants, they live off the land and are expert coastal fishermen, shepherds and most famously reindeer herders. We were lucky to come across a small settlement en route to The North Cape. Dressed in his traditional clothing we were invited into his authentic home and were even allowed to pet the reindeer (one of my trip highlights was all the reindeer!). I can still remember the feeling of total isolation and I can still hear the absolute peace and quiet, not a car or any other modern luxury insight. Further up the coast we arrived at The North Cape. There is a wonderful visitor centre with a truly amazing video which illustrates how the area looks and all the different wildlife that visit throughout the different seasons of the year.

After all the visitor attractions have been visited and the gift shop perused you step out behind the centre to the cliff edge. Perched on the top is a huge metal globe with a signpost underneath stating that you are at 71 degrees North. Despite the fact that there were many tourists around I felt absolutely alone, standing on the cliff edge staring out to sea knowing that there was absolutely nothing ahead of me but the deep blue ice cold Arctic Ocean is an amazing and very humbling experience. It also struck me how so very far away from home I was and it made me realise just how big the world is and what a tiny part of it we really are.

The North Cape from Arcadia

The Midnight Sun

Back on board ship we departed in the early evening, the sky was covered in thick cloud and there was rain in the air but as we sailed past the North Cape cliffs back towards civilization the clouds lifted and the sun shone down onto the metal globe making it gleam like a beacon. As the night wore on the light never faded. One half of the year sees the northern lights the other half the midnight sun, we were lucky to have the latter.



This trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity and my words and pictures cannot do it justice, it was simply breathtaking.



Andalsnes 25th August 2010

We departed the EidFjord and turned left back in to the North Sea. Our overnight course was to follow the Norwegian coast line northwards. At some point overnight the ship entered in to the Romsdalfjordan where our destination was the working town of Andalsnes. With the sun forcing its way into the cabin, I awoke and drew back the curtains. I was greeted by the bright, crisp clear scenery of the Norwegian hills. The water resembled a deep ink coloured mill pond and the greenery was akin to a lush velvet green cloth that had been draped over the ragged edges of the hills.

We docked in the centre of the fjord and used the ship's tender to get ashore. On first impressions Andalsnes was a busy working town with a strong community spirit. We were however to leave Andalsnes and venture into the surrounding countryside, travelling deep into the valley and up high into the mountains. Our first stop was the 'Troll Wall' or the Trollveggen as it is known locally. At 5950 feet it is Europes tallest vertical cliff face, with over 3000 feet of it being a sheer vertical rock face. We made a coach stop beside part of the wall to take pictures and to gaze up at cliff edge. Local legend would have you beleive that the raggedness of the summit was made after the trolls were caught out after midnight and were inturn turned into stone. It is also said theat the clouds that shroud the summit are the fumes coming from the witches couldrens as they cook up a poisonous broth that they intend to feed to the trolls, the poor trolls! The Trollveggen Wall is in stark contrast to the lushness of the countryside we had left behind in Andalsnes just 15 minutes previously, with it's grey, ragged surface and dust laden base it is surrounded by other hills and mountians giving you a feeling of total isolation, the peace and quiet was spectacular which was commanded by the awe that it invokes to those stood at it's base.

During the winter the area is covered in a blanket of snow, the roads impassable for 4 months of the year, even then, in August traces of the winter snow still clung to the side of the rocks.

From the Trollveggen Wall we headed along the valley floor to the start of the Trollstigen, or to give it it's English name the Troll Road. We had seen pictures of the road in the excursion brochure, it contains 11 extremely tight hairpin bends, we innocently thought it would make for a pleasant and relaxing journey which would take in some lovely scenery, but unfortunately we underestimated the tightness of the bends and the height of the mountain it winds its way up. However, it was too late to turn back so off we set, sandwiched between 2 other coaches we crept ever so slowly along the first stretch of road. The first bend was not too bad, we were still at street level and we didn't really get the full impact of the bend. We carried on climbing, creeping passed trickling waterfalls, we came to the 6th bend the coach only just made it around the corner, nearly scraping its side along the rocks but we made it. Onwards and upwards we went, all the time getting breath-taking views down into the valley and along to the fjord at the bottom. It was only when we got to bend 10 that things got a little frightening; another coach was heading in the other direction, as we were on the outside the driver had to manoeuvre the coach as close to the cliffs edge as was deemed safe enough to. As I looked down I could see little rocks crumbling away from under the tires. Thankfully we came out of it unscathed and we stopped at the biggest waterfall for a breather, more for the driver than for us! Much to the drivers credit, we cleared the road and climbed closer to the summit of the mountain where there is a viewing platform offering astonishing views back down to the fjord where we could see the sun glistening of the hull of Arcadia. It was obviously still beautiful sunshine in the town but up there it was grey, cold and damp. We were offered coffee and a sample of traditional Norwegian food to help us overcome our eventful journey and to calm the more nervous members of the group down. After leaving the visitor centre our driver said he wanted to take us higher to the summit of the mountain. We drove for another 10 minutes to the flat top of the mountain. Perched along the roadside and placed along the ground were peculiar stone monuments that passing tourists added to with each trip. However the locals would like you to believe the trolls were building towers to outfox the passing tourists.

We made our descent back down the Trollstigen and back along the valley road towards Andalsnes where Arcadia sat peacefully on the water waiting for us. This trip was the start of my love affair with Norway. The isolation, the quietness, the rugged scenerey and the overally beauty of the country had captured my heart. I eargly awaited the our next stop of Honningsvaag which was to include the trip highlight of the North Cape and the Midnight Sun.