Aboard the MS Polarlys
After an uneventful morning I was ready to board the MS Polarlys to sail to Mehamn. My boarding was delayed however by a fascinating to watch fire drill that the crew was holding together with local firefighters. Outside I met the only two other cyclists to travel northbound on the Polarlys, a couple from Berlin who just embarked on a two-year bike tour from Nordkapp to Cape Town. Now that is dedication!
Mehamn is only two stops from Honningsvåg so this was a short trip that I mainly used to charge my devices. At one point I'm fairly certain I spotted a whale who scrambled out of the way of the boat near the Nordkinn peninsula. In Mehamn I stocked up on supplies for the night and rolled on toward Gamvik.
Land's End
While the hills aren't as tough as on Magerøya, Nordkinn is a hilly region. Between Mehamn and Gamvik the road winds through a series of rocky climbs with little to no vegetation. The barren stone desert reminds of Mont Ventoux. Even the reindeer seem to avoid those parts of the interior while they are quite numerous near the coast.
The hills stopped after I reached the village of Gamvik. From there a single-track road leads to Slettnes, a spot on the Barents Sea coast that apparently has been inhabited since prehistoric times but nowadays is known as the site of the northernmost lighthouse on the European mainland. Incidentally, it is also the northernmost point on the mainland that is reachable by road.
The sun was already about to set when I arrived which made for a spectacular backdrop. After a day at the bustling Nordkapp, it is astounding just how quiet Slettnes is. Naturally there are campervans parked on that road but the folks inside remain unobtrusive. Even the birds don't seem to mind the few that walked down to the sea through sharp, pointy stones. Occasionally ship engines booming from the sea disrupt the silence but those are gone fast. What an amazing place!
gps tracks
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