Nordkapp
That Havoysund waiting room was comfy enough for me easily fall asleep. Four hours later I woke up to the noise of people entering the building to wait for their bus. I grabbed some food from the local supermarket before heading back to the pier and almost missed the boat because it had been the wrong pier all along. Luckily I noticed the enormous Hurtigrute ship further down the port in time. Once again I was on bord MS Nordlys and had no trouble locating my favorite corner on the observation deck from earlier journeys. This time however the sightseeing was limited due to the thick fog that blocked the view in most directions.
I disembarked two hours later in Honningsvag and took on the dreaded crossing of the island of Mageroya. It's always a challenge regardless of the weather but this time it got really rough: a relentless headwind with gusts that threatened to push me off the road on the descents joined forces with rain clouds and freezing cold air to try and sabotage my ride. Above an altitude of 100 m it was like cycle touring the Styx whereas down in the valleys it could actually be quite pleasant. The reindeer didn't seem to mind. A few groups of them were relaxing at 300 meters facing the elements with the stoic calm of an animal that just made it through the arctic winter. I prevailed in the end, and even allowed myself a short detour to explore the fishing village of Skarsvag.
At Nordkapp visibility was better than expected: the iconic globe sculpture wasn't veiled in fog, at least not all the time, and there was a clear view of the sea. I had the obligatory picture taken and then went to talk to the various cycle tourers that were hanging out in the hall. Some of them had long journeys behind them; I was the "freshest" one by a long mile with only two and a half days on the road so far. It was late afternoon when I left. I've never been to the Kapp this early, but there was no point waiting for the midnight sun behind these gray clouds.
Leaving Nordkapp I found myself engulfed in dense fog which vanished about fifty meters below the Kapp peak. The wind had picked up, even more than earlier on my way there. I took the descents extra carefully, unclipped at low speed, for fear of my life. One of those wind gusts at the wrong moment could have taken me out at high speed. Numb hands from the freezing cold didn't make it any safe either.
Porsangerfjord
At the tunnel I bumped into one of the cyclists again how I met at the cape. He got the premium sleeping spot next to the toilet building -- I've been to Nordkapp three times now, and every time there was a cycle tourer sleeping there. After a short chat I got back on the bike and headed into the Nordkapptunnel. Inside I was almost alone the whole time except for a few buses that kept hauling pensioners to the island in time for the midnight Nordkapp experience. It took me just over 33 minutes to reach the mainland, and I was a little sweaty from climbing those 200 meters back up from undersea.
The plan was to keep riding through what in other latitudes is called the "night" until that resting place next to the new tunnel about two thirds the distance to Olderfjord. I remembered from my last time passing through that there were a few shelters down by the fjord there that I wanted to spend the night in if possible. After the midnight bus traffic had subsided I was all alone out there on the road so I was in good spirit. The weather forecast looked alright: no precipitation and a light tailwind. I got wet anyways, mostly from what appeared to be rain clouds dropping down to sea level. The wind was turning as well, more and more it hit me with surprise gusts from the west; at one point I came to a stand still because it happened quicker than I could shift to a lower gear.
The scenery more than made up for it all. The bogs and surreal rock formations to the right; wild beaches, cliffs and the sea to the left -- this part of the coast never ceases to be amazing. When I reached the resting place, located in a picturesque bay, both the shelters were already taken. I decided to stay for the night anyways and pitched my tent. Not exactly an easy task in the furious wind which kept undoing every step of my work. The wind lasted throughout the night and by the time I got up had almost completely disassembled one half of the tent. Gotta buy some stonger pegs some time.
gps tracks
gallery
