Heading North
Taking the route to Lakselv from Karasjok, one first climbs up to around 350 m altitude and crosses a high plateau with several lakes. The weather had noticably improved compared to yesterday, it was dry and much warmer, but still overcast -- ideal cycling conditions. From up there one has an excellent view of the canyon of the Lakselv river. A downhill into the river valley follows, leading to a series of lakes and smaller hills that unfortunately cannot be captured in a photograph -- for the simple reason that the territory is part of a large exercise ground of the Norwegian military where taking pictures is strongly prohibited. This close to Russia that's probably a sound measure to take, nevermind the conflict with tourism.
I reached Lakselv -- the town -- after around 70 kilometers, and took the opportunity to resupply. In a supermarket parking lot I had an engaging conversation with a local lady about life in the Arctic; she seemed rather disillusioned with the people up there from her experiences as a teacher. At the outdoors store I finally grabbed a gas cartridge for my stove and had my first self-made coffee on the beach of the Porsangerfjord.
Porsangerfjorden
This long fjord extends up all the way to the sound of Mageroya. The coastline boasts some incredible views, but the cycling is not quite as fun as the E6 road carries rather heavy traffic here. A personal highlight was the first reindeer sighting of my trip: a group of three animals grazing on the shores of Porsangerfjorden. Stabbursdalen national park is along the way but I left that for another time.
It got warmer for a few hours and the sky was mostly blue until I reached Olderfjord. There I had a delicious reindeer pita for lunch and had a cyclist from southern Germany who has been through a lot on his way up to northern Norway -- kudos to him for keeping going after suffering a broken frame.
The Scenic Route
Having been to Nordkapp twice already I wanted to try something new this time, so instead of continuing directly from Olderfjord towards the tunnel I took the road to Havoysund. One of Norway's National Scenic Roads, it has a few special resting areas at points of significance or remarkable views. It was worth the detour! The density of magnificent views on this road is high even by Norway standards. I stopped countless times to take pictures of fjords, valleys, waterfalls, beaches, lakes, cliffs, and interesting rock formations. And of course of reindeer, of which I must have met a couple hundred on that stretch of road. I was blown away by what I got to see on that road.
The weather unfortunately had gotten pretty bad after the sunny noon. It was rather chilly at the coast with temperatures around four degrees and occasional rain. I avoided stopping as much as possible to stay warm, but that was rather futile as there were so many occasions when I felt it would be a crime not to stop and capure the moment in a picture.
Originally the plan was to stop and pitch the tent at one of the special sites on the route, Selvika, just ten kilometers outside Havoysund. However when I reached it there was a loud noise coming out from underground -- possibly some sort of pumping mechanism for the toilet -- that ruined the mood and would have ruined my sleep in any case. Thus I got back on the bike at around midnight and completed the road to Havoysund. Unsure what to do I cycled through town looking for a place to rest when I noticed a waiting room at the kai where I would be taking the boat to Honningsvag the next day. That waiting room was a godsent. Not only is it heated, it also has a bathroom and a shower. Phenomenal. This was exactly what I needed after a long day in the saddle. Let's just hope the hundreds of roaming seagulls that populate the port will let me catch some sleep tonight before the boat comes to pick me up.
gps tracks
gallery
