The Nordkinn Peninsula
The Slettnes bird observatory proved an excellent place to spend the night, although in the morning I had an easier time spotting reindeer from there than birds as two of them came by to greet me. I returned to Mehamn where I had disembarked from the boat yesterday. The next shopping opportunity would be in Ifjord so in the supermarket I filled every cubic centimeter of my bags with food in preparation for the 100 km of nothingness that lay ahead of me.
To leave Nordkinnhalvøya I had to climb to about 300 meters and cross a high plateau. The wind was fierce up there and of course it was a headwind. It blew so strong from the south that I had to pedal on the scarce downhill sections, and when the road changed direction I had to be extra careful to stay upright in the crosswind. Up there I passed the two German cyclists I met yesterday on their way to Cape Town; it wasn't until Ifjord that I would see another cyclist today.
After the Hopseided isthmus where the road descends back to sea level I had to climb up again to over 300 meters to reach another plateau. Once more I was faced with a brutal headwind and the minimal to non-existent vegetation provided no cover. Despite going downhill most of the time I had to make a huge effort just to keep going. When I finally reached the Laksfjord I was exhausted, far more than I should be after this first half of the day. But the road was tracing the shoreline again and thus would stay below that monstrous wind.
The Mainland
I reached Ifjord later than I had planned but still in time to grab some baguettes and waffles from the local restaurant. At that point I dialed down my distance plans for the day but I decided I would continue riding at least to Tanafjord and then look for a place to pitch the tent. I had to cross another high plateau to get there but without the wind for the most part it was so much easier this time around than on the peninsula.
On the plateau I witnessed a spectacular movement of a large herd of reindeer up a hill. The herd was comprised of hundreds of animals that moved in a long drawn out bunch. Graciously they followed the lead animal on the steep slope, briefly illuminated by the setting sun when they reached the top, and disappeared on the far side of the hill.
At the Tanafjord I hoped to find a place to camp but before I could do that I needed to refill my water stores. That wasn't as easy as I was used to in Norway, however, and I kept riding from one arm of the fjord to the next without spotting an accessible source of drinking water. It was quite surreal: while there were some streams and lakes at the roadside they weren't reachable safely or they were covered in vegetation.
Eventually I reached the Tana river which too was out of reach. The sun had already set and it got quite cold -- for the first time since I've crossed the arctic circle the temperature dropped below ten degrees outside a tunnel. Weary I made my way up the Tana to Tana bru where the campsite that I hoped to find was non-existent. It was already past midnight so unsurprisingly all the shops were closed. I decided that I would cross the Tana to try my luck at the next campsite just four kilometers upstream in Skiippagurra. It was the right decision: not only did the campsite actually exist, they also didn't charge extra for the use of the showers! What better way to celebrate the end of a long day in the saddle than by taking a long, hot shower?
gps tracks
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