Lofalitsidwa: 30.12.2019
New day, new luck.
Anyone who thinks I got up around 9 am and gathered everything to get there as quickly and as far as possible is mistaken.
Since I hadn't really set up or secured my tent, the night was, let's say, windy.
The snow and the ground were so hard that I couldn't get the pegs in and the tarp was only loosely attached so that rain wouldn't come in if it rained. The only problem was that it stormed all night. Although I had set up the tent in a wind-protected area, it was still exposed to the wind. Well, around 4 or 5 am, I secured it as much as possible in my underwear and shoes.
At around 11 am, I slowly ventured out, it was cold, -2 °C and windy.
Then I started.
These beautiful side roads that are also full of ice.
The woodpecker there in the dead pine must be hammering away because it's cold.
Well, only 229km left... then I'm there.
By the way, if you think the pictures were taken in the evening, it was around 12 pm... and it's almost the brightest time here.
I just really liked these houses. That's what many of them look like there.
After walking for about 30 minutes and a car passing by, I was picked up.
By Germans. There are Germans everywhere here. The two of them have been on vacation here for a week and are going back home on the 3rd.
Then when our paths separated, I could continue along this road without any problems.
Oh, it's just annoying that a car passes by every hour. So I had to walk until I was picked up again.
This time by two Dutch people.
So.... after we said goodbye in Skaidi, I continued. The woman also told me that it's really beautiful but also dangerous here during Easter because of all the avalanches coming down from the roofs.
Just after passing the gas station where they dropped me off, the next one stopped.
First, I asked if he is going to Olderfjørd and he said yes, but I can also come with him all the way to Nordkapp, that's where he's going now. Because he lives there. And so I'm almost at Nordkapp now.
We had a good conversation about the tunnels that are currently being built up here, the icy road, the expensive fines for not having spikes, and his great passion for chess.
Sometimes you can't write or remember everything. Or you don't know if it's relevant. Like that they spread hot sand here. Or that when the road to Nordkapp is closed, residents have to spend the night in a hotel and the journey takes 3 days.
There are coincidences.
Actually, I was just looking for a place to stay overnight. I saw a snowplow and ended up on the company premises. Then I asked someone if they know a good wind-protected place where I can set up my tent. I also pointed to a spot where I thought it was good.
Then we chatted for a bit and he said if you want to go to Nordkapp, I can take you there tomorrow morning. Yeah, sure.
Then another colleague who is now driving up to Nordkapp joined us.
After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to go with them if possible.?
Boom, I had my ride.
A small snowplow that leads the convoy and drives ahead to transport tourists up and down. Because in winter, you can only go up there in such a convoy.
So off we went.
And I'm still really here. At Nordkapp.
I don't want to say it's windy, but it's stormy.
It wasn't planned that I would arrive today or anything. But really cool.
And I even saw the Northern Lights, I tried to take a photo but it was too dark. So it's just a black picture.
The Northern Lights map shows it at least. It's not like what you see in other pictures. It's more like a slightly green shimmering cloud. You wouldn't even notice it if everything around you wasn't dark. It's very faint.
There is a certain area there that the locals call "Sugar Hole". When a road company went bankrupt, sugar was poured into the tanks of excavators and buses there. There are many places in Norway that have special names known to the locals.
By the way...
... I'm sitting in the snowplow. And it's snowing a lot.
On the way back, we had to wait because a car was driving at 20 km/h. It was a German... .
Well, I have something for tonight again.