Thursday, 13 February 2025
Bernie finally came in out of the cold about 10.30pm last night. He had one more glimpse of a whisp of aurora before it started snowing in earnest and he decided to call it a night on the Northern Lights watch!
During yesterday’s 5.00pm briefing we received some hints on pronouncing Norwegian words which I should have recorded for future reference so I’ll do that now.
- æ = a
- ø = ur
- å = or
Easy?!
One thing yesterday’s briefing didn’t mention was rough sailing conditions overnight. Hmmn, we certainly had a bit of rock and roll going on around 3.00-4.00am but it wasn’t long before we were in sheltered waters again for our final approach to Honningsvåg (so that would be pronounced roughly like Honn-ings-vorg). Honningsvåg is situated on the south-east of the island of Magerøya and is considered to be the gateway to the North Cape, the northernmost point of Europe.
As we docked we were greeted with a proper winter wonderland. Snow on the ground and snow falling. It has been unseasonably warm in Norway this winter so we haven’t seen much snow before now. Of course with the snow the temperature was a bit chilly. It was -2.2°C with a ‘feels like’ temperature of -10.9°C. Brrr.
Knowing that we would be out in the cold during our excursion to Nordkapp (the North Cape) we donned multiple layers of clothing, neck-warmers, hats, gloves, coats and … the waterproof overpants. Definitely going to need those today.
We had booked the North Cape and King Crab Experience today so after our guide, Josephine, introduced herself and our driver, Stoll, we were whisked around to Sarnes via the Honningsvågtunnelen. We were dropped off at Destinasjon 71 – Camp Sarnes where we learnt all about king crabs. These are an introduced species courtesy of Josef Stalin who had them released along the coast of Russia. They have since migrated along the Norwegian coast.
King crabs eat EVERYTHING including each other and even themselves! They can chew a leg off and it will regenerate. Because they are so voracious it is a balancing act to have enough growing to be caught, as they are a very valuable catch, but without having so many that they take over traditional cod fishing grounds.
After our introduction to the king crab out of doors we adjourned inside the camp’s beautiful building fashioned in the style of a pair of traditional Sámi tee-pees. An open fire was blazing in the centre of the room where we were invited to take seats at the tables where we would be served some king crab. We started with tomato soup with macaroni … at quarter past nine in the morning!! If only we had known the King Crab Experience was going to be first and we could have held back a bit at breakfast.
At this stage we were still only expecting a mouthful or two of crab so we were confident we could manage that. The staff delivered bread, mayonnaise and lemon wedges to our tables and then brought out massive platters of crab to each table. OMG, so much more crab than we expected. Despite it being barely time for morning tea Bernie managed four legs while I chowed my way through three legs and some shoulder. The shells had been sawn for us so it was very easy to access all the yummy crab meat inside. So, so fresh and so delicious.
Stuffed full of crab it was time to return to our bus to continue our excursion to the cape. We made sure we put our ice grippers over our shoes at this point as one of the passengers had slipped on the way down to the dock and was taken away in an ambulance to have a badly sprained/broken ankle checked out. Not something that you want to happen on a holiday. Hopefully the injury will not be too limiting for the rest of her holiday.
After we re-boarded Josephine did a head count. Oh dear, we seem to have two too many people on this bus are there two people here who came on the other bus?? Silence, silence, silence and then finally two women owned up to having been on the other bus, but isn’t this bus going to the same place? they said. Can’t we just stay here? Now the things is, like yesterday, the buses are different colours! They boarded a RED bus at the harbour, they are now on a WHITE bus. They did not want to go to the other bus but Josephine patiently explained that it gets very confusing to keep track of people if the numbers don’t add up. They finally did the walk of shame along the aisle of the bus, down the middle stairs and off to the correct bus. How hard is it to keep track of which bus you’re on … especially when they are different colours!
We drove back through the tunnel and turned left to keep heading north. Josephine pointed out the summer farms of Sámi reindeer herders who will bring their herds back to Magerøya in a couple of months. At the moment the herds are wintering further south. When the reindeer are taken south they are fat from the summer pastures and they swim the strait to the mainland before being herded to their winter grazing grounds. When they return after a lean winter they come by boat!!
As we neared Nordkapp, Josephine told us that, although it is touted at the northernmost point of Europe, it is actually Cape Knivskjellodden (the peninsula just to the west) that should hold the title. However on account of it having a much more dramatic and picturesque cliff face everyone just accepts that Nordkapp is the northernmost point. It is certainly the most northerly point that can be reached by road. It is an eight hour hike to reach Cape Knivskjellodden that is truly the northernmost point. Understandably few visitors hike out there … especially not in winter!
We joined the masses taking photos of the globe that marks the North Cape. An obligatory selfie with the globe over our shoulders, some photos of Cape Knivskjellodden and a shot or two looking north over the Barents Sea rounded out our North Cape photography.
We wandered over to the ‘Children of the World’ sculpture which is comprised of seven monuments made by seven children from all parts of the world, symbolizing cooperation, friendship, hope and joy across all boundaries. Initiated in 1989, it is the site where an annual prize is awarded to an individual or project which has demonstrated compassion and an ability to help suffering children somewhere in the world.
With our fingers starting to feel a bit numb we headed indoors to have a look around the HUGE gift shop. Don’t need anything, don’t need anything, don’t need anything was my mantra. There were some lovely mugs but I absolutely don’t need anymore mugs from places that we visit. We never seem to break mugs and there’s a limit to how many fit in the mug drawer. It’s currently at capacity! I managed to resist all the mugs, but we did buy a cap from Nordkapp for Bernie because, well, it’s a cap from Nordkapp! Ha, ha.
We wandered downstairs to watch the short panoramic film featuring the scenery of the island of Magerøya. Spectacular! Before the movie started we had time for a quick foray down the ‘time tunnel’ that records the chronology of discovery and early tourism at the North Cape with a series of dioramas. We also had a quick peek in St Johannes Kapell, the world’s northernmost ecumenical chapel.
And back to the bus. Extra passengers … again! This time the confusion was caused by the fact that another Hurtigruten boat has arrived at Honningsvåg and they were supposed to be on Bus 1 that departed from the other boat. OK, that is a bit more confusing. Still they got on and noted that the driver was different and thought it was strange that the driver had changed. Um, yeah, all the passengers are different from the ones you travelled out with too. Josephine sorted them out and sent them off to find the other Bus 1.
The weather had deteriorated since we went inside and as we drove back to Honningsvåg behind the snow plow it was virtually a white-out. Josephine told us that they had four days recently that the road was closed. Even the snow plow couldn’t get through and all tours had to be cancelled. It’s a pretty harsh environment up here so I guess we should count ourselves lucky that we made it to the northernmost point of Europe.
We made our way back onto the boat and headed to the dining room for a light lunch. We were planning to walk around the town so needed to fortify ourselves with more food, ha, ha. We put all our layers back on – and our ice grippers – and headed out in a snowstorm. Crazy! Fortunately the way were headed we had our backs to the snow – it wasn’t driving into our faces. We completed the suggested walking route taking in the boat harbour, Klubben Lighthouse and Honningsvåg Church.
Fortunately the snow eased off and our walk around town was not unpleasant. Have to say that we have both been delighted with how well our cold weather gear is serving us. I am especially pleased with my new hiking boots. I’m wearing ski socks and my Gortex Merrell boots and my feet have been warm and dry. I had thought I might need to double up on my socks, but that hasn’t been necessary.
Tonight at dinner we finally learnt the name of our waiter, Kristos. He was a bit reserved to start with earlier in the week. He told us the other nights that he’s from Estonia and Estonians don’t like to share. However, we have persisted and he has been joking around with us a bit more. Our group of six was just about last to leave the dining room again. Kristos had to start dropping hints that he needed us to clear the table so he could set up for the next sitting.
Terrible cloud cover again tonight. Not good for aurora spotting! Fingers crossed for Tromsø??
Steps: 11,773 (7.74km)
