CAKSUT 'ün Gezi Notları Travel Notes by CAKSUT

With Motorcycle to NORDKAPP-Norway
Day-11 : 14 July 2016 Thursday
from Inari (Finland)>>>to NORDKAPP (Norway) :-Total distance : 422 km
TOTAL DISTANCE from ISTANBUL to NORDKAPP : 4,715 km

After a nice breakfast at the Hotel Kultahovi I started to pack my stuff and prepare my bike for the ride to the North. I departed around 08:50 from the parking lot. I bought fuel at the fuel station which is just at the corner to the main road, a few hundred meters from the Hotel. The road is flat and straight. All surrounding nature is green.

After 33 kms I came to a junction to the left. It was 09:12 and I took the direction to Karasjok which is a Norwegian city on the way to Nordkapp.The border between Finnland and Norway is without any procedure. It is only 100 km away from Inari. On the Norwegian side the road follows the Karasjohka River. The flatness of the earth surface is changing in Norway and curves are getting more.

In Karasjoki I visited an open air museum. It was a historical village of the Sami people.Sami are the native people of this part of the world.

.....this part is taken from Wikipedia :

The Sami people (also Sámi or Saami, traditionally known in English as Lapps or Laplanders) are an indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabiting the Arctic area of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. The Sami are the only indigenous people of Scandinavia recognized and protected under the international conventions of indigenous peoples, and are hence the northernmost indigenous people of Europe.^[8] Sami ancestral lands are not well-defined, and span an area of approximately 390,000 km² (150,000 sq. mi.),^{[citation needed]} which is approximately the size of Norway, in the Nordic countries. Their traditional languages are the Sami languages and are classified as a branch of the Uralic language family.
Traditionally, the Sami have pursued a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping, and sheep herding. Their best-known means of livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding. Currently about 10% of the Sami are connected to reindeer herding, providing them with meat, fur, and transportation. 2,800 Sami people are actively involved in herding on a full-time basis.^[9] For traditional, environmental, cultural, and political reasons, reindeer herding is legally reserved only for Sami people in some regions of the Nordic countries.^[10]

.......thanks to Wikipedia

Open-air museum of Sami culture

Sami Village

Kitchen hut of the Sami village

It was around 11:50 when I reached to the Norwegian city Lakselv. It is a small city and most of the buildings are located on the side of the main road. I wanted to buy fuel and to change some of my Euro notes into Norway Krones. Keep in mind !!! It is almost IMPOSSIBLE to change money in Norway. Even the banks are not helping for this purpose. I visited a bank branch in Lakselv and they declined to sell Krones to me. The only way to have Krones is to draw money at the ATM. But DO NOT be pesimistic !!! Someone may pay with credit card everywhere and for every amount.

I bought a small glass of champagne (Moet & Chandon) in a liquor shop. In Norway, alcoholic drinks are only sold in monopole shops. Then I departed for Nordkapp. The weather was rainy and I had my rain gear on.

I followed te route all along the west bank of the Porsangerfjorden. The view is very romantic and greyish. The water is less due to tide. There are a few huts distributed on the bank. I passed the towns Igeldas, Kalvik, Kistrand and Olderfjord and stopped at Russenes at the shop Lind & sons. I drank a coffee and bought a few stickers for my motorbike.

In the direction of Nordkapp the people on the road is getting more. This is a touristic route.
getting closer to the island of Honningsvag the routes are getting curved. The weather was windy and rainy. There is a underwater tunnel for passing to the Honningsvag. It is a long tunnel (maybe 4,5 kms). The naked surrounding earth is very alone and romantic.

When I came to the T-junction close to Honningsvag I took left branch n order to proceed to the Nordkapp. It was approx. 15:30 o'clock and it is fine to ride to the North. The distance is roughly 30 kms. The road conditions are good but the weather was terrible. Foggy and windy weather caused me to slow down. There was also rain with wind which was hurting my chicks when I opened windshield of my helmet.

15 kms before Nordkapp, view to the Northwest.

The temperature was around 8,5 degC when I reached to the Nordkapp. To enter the Nordkapp facility I paid approx. 27 Euro. There are lots of tourist buses and many cars and bikes who were visiting. It is a good job to collect money.

Just in front of the main entrance to Nordkapp

At the Nordkapp

Ready to celebrate at 71 deg 10min 21sec

The wind was very terrible outside. I took some pictures and then I walked to the building.

It is warm inside but very crowded. There are a lot of tourists from the Cruise Ships which are in the port of Honningsvag.

After one hour I decided to ride back to Honningsvag where there should be my Hostel I am going to stay for one night. I had arranged this Hostel on the internet maybe 2-3 days ago. It is very complicate to find free accomodation in tis area. The prices are also very high. The weather was much more terrible on the way back to the town. It is mostly downhill but the side wind was pressing me to the left.

Finally I was in front of the Vandererhiem Hostel. It is located 3-4 kms away from Honningsvag and almost at the junction to the Nordkapp direction.I paid 65.-USD incl. breakfast. They gave me one room on the ground level close to the WC and shower. The room was enough big.

After resting for half an hour and having shower I took my bike and I rode to the city Honningsvag. There is a big Shell fuel station on the way. I filled my tank.

This city is popular with fishery and tourism. Beside these two things there are also military bases here around. Especially the entrance of the city was smelling like a fish market.