As-salâmu 'alaikum: 31 Juli 2008

Olderfjord - Norkap ~ 125 km

Yesterday we made an appointment for breakfast, "not before 8 am"... so I think we got up at about 8.30. I managed to repair the Zip of my trousers, that broke yesterday in the evening, just before breakfast. Hans, Holger, Mathieu and I were sitting in the small kitchen of the camping, because weather was a little rainy. Hot chocolate today not only for me, but also for Holger, who loves chocolate the same as I do... Then our ways separated: The two germans were going to Alta for the flight back to Germany, Mathieu and I still had to go to the northcape.

Going along the coast was beautiful! Just a little bit windy... Everytime a little sun appeared, it was even more beautiful, and warmer... For the first time I wore my bike-winter-jacket. And it was necessary... Until Karasjok I just wore a T-Shirt... For having lunch we hid behind a hill, so it was quite warm to sit there.

We were thinking about taking the ferry (because in my brandnew norway map there was marked the ferry as well...), because everyone told us horrible stories: the man at Karasjok (well, better don't believe him?), but also Hans and Holger told, that they got off their bikes... So we made a little detour for going to the ferry harbour. There were cars. So hopefully there would be also people... Nope. There was nobody, just a timetabe. We missed the last ferry for 15 minutes - and 9 years. So no other chance than going through the tunnel. The men at Karasjok told me as well, that the best time for passing the tunnel is after 4 pm, because all buses transporting tourists to the northcape would go earlier. Concerning the traffic it wasn't too bad. Just ... even when a motorbike passed, it sound like a truck...

Just before the entrance there was a sign "attention, fog in the tunnel". having a look at the entrance you could see the fog coming out of it... So, as every tunnel beneath some water, it started with a part going down - in this case with a decline of 9 % for a distance of 3 km. Going down would have been much fun, if you would have been possible to see something. But in combination with the fog it was spooky... For not using the brakes all the time I used myself as a wind-brake, sitting very straight on my bike. At the end it was right the opposite: 3 km with an incline of 9 %. *fear* Every one km there was a sign, so you could do the tunnel just little by litte, step by step. and little by little we reached the other end... What a joy! Happy! Emotions! and a rainbow... how nice! and some chocolate, of course... We did it! (And it wasn't even as hard as I imagined it to be...)

For going to the northcape we had to cross the whole Island Magerøya. That means: hills. for 30 more km. The awful thing about traveling together with someone with a recumbent bike is, that going downhill you can't have a little rest anymore... at least I couldn't, I don't bear (ertragen) someone waiting for me. Mathieu was just so much faster without pedaling than me struggeling (strampelnd)... I guess that is one reason why I was really exhausted that evening.

As we both were not here for saying: "I was at the northcape!" but for some other reasons we didn't even go to the touristic northcape. (Sorry for all those who would have wished receiving a post card from over there) The famous globe I saw only from faaar away. I wouldn't have beared the torustic crowds after two weeks traveling through beautiful nature that seemed to be just for me, as there was nobody else... And the nature at Magerøya was worth having a closer look to it.

So we stayed somewhere in the middle of nowhere for the night. Wind was blowing, but however Mathieu found a nice place to stay, nearly without wind when sitting in the right place - behind the stone hill. My plans for cooking tonight were gone. I don't remember the time when we finally reached, I just remeber it was late... So Mathieu prepared some food, while I was changing clothes. A thing, that last quite a long time, as I put on two pair of socks, two trousers, two t-shirts, a thin pullover, my fleece jacket, wind tousers, wind jacket and a scarf... (And I was sh-sh-shivering as well...) So we had some tea. and some more tea... while sitting there Mathieu started to write some notes in his carnet (I refused, because of having too cold and beeing too tired), I nearly was falling asleep while SITTING... So I just HAD to go to bed. My dream *) of seeing the Midnight Sun (today is the last possibility for this year...) didn't come true ... so hopefully tomorrow we could see the solar eclipse...

*) At home I fixed a sheet at my cupboard (it's still there in my old room at my parents place) with the title "Wenn ich einmal groß bin..." (When I'm growen up...), and I started to write all things that I want to do somewhen in my life. On point is "I want to see the midnight sun". Another one says: "I want to see the starry night at the southern hemisphere" for example.

Click: Even the waste Containers have the dark red colour like the wooden houses...