Adventure North Cape ANC 1201

Adventure North Cape ANC 1201

30 Jul 2012
/Tobias Wachter
Text&Photos Tobias&Manuel Riding day 11: We got lucky today again! We really could not wish for better weather up her in Norway or I should actually say Norway, Finland and Sweden, because this where the countries we travelled through today. On our stopover in Karasjok we explored the Sami museum and fueled up our bikes. For lunch we stopped in Kautokeino and only found closed doors at our planed lunch stop restaurant. So we found a great alternative called Pitstop, which was a nice little restaurant on the side of the highway. Just before we arrived at our hotel, we did a little detour over the bridge, just to cross the border to Sweden. Riding day 10: Today is THE day of the tour. Alta - Nordkapp - Lakselv... 430km. An early start out of Alta brings us on the road before the tour busses and as soon as we leave the town the E6 is nearly all for us. The Senna plateau is just incredible: nothing else but tundra, a lane of paved road and some reindeer playing besides us. The call from the North is imminent. A quick stop is Olderfjord by a cafe with heaps of other bikers - either on the way back or on the way towards the Cape - set the mood for the last leg. Still 120km to go, cruising along the dramatic Porsangerfjord. Al almost unreal scenario is waiting for us once we get there, to the mythical globe that set the edge of Europe: no rain, no crowd and even no wind. After the ritual group picture there is still plenty of time for the panoramic movie about North Cape across the seasons, some lunch and postcards rigorously Nordkapp-stamped. The ride back surprises us once more: now the sky is blue and the sun rays lit the fields and are reflected into the ocean. Passing by one the bays we notice a big herd of reindeer calmly enjoying themselves on the beach, what can we ask more from such a day? As the first traveler that reached North Cape, the Italian priest Francesco Negri, we can say "Here I am at the North Cape, at the edge of Finnmark, and I dare say the very edge of the world since there are no other places further north inhabited by man. This affirmation has now been fulfilled to my satisfaction, and I will return to the land of my birth." Still two days left for this nordic adventure... Riding day 9: It was a short day from Storslett to Alta. The riding was nice, on the way we went by four gorgeous Fjords. We stopped for coffee at a little Sami market and bought some souvenirs directly form the Sami. Exploring more history, we headed to the Tirpitz museum, where we spend about an hour. After another short little ride some of us ended the day at the hotel and a only a small group decided to go and see the rock painting museum in Alta. Riding day 8:  From Vesterålen to Nordreisa, a great ride 460km long! Blue sky for most of the day has been accompanying us through this leg of our travel towards North. Remote coastal villages, twisty roads along the slopes of the mountains, river rapids rich of salmon and towards the end of the day the vision of the snowcapped Lyngen Alpen: the quintessence of Northern Norway. Here the sense of remoteness is palpable and from tomorrow onwards the tundra will be a constant in our landscape. Riding day 7:  Leaving Henningsvaer on the very nice and little road right up to Rørvika, we were heading straight for our 6th and final ferry ride for this Edelweiss Bike Travel motorcycle tour. After a short little ride we went to see the Hurtigruten Museum in Stokmarknes, with one of its first costal cruisers the M. S. Finmarken. Then we went back on the main highway E10 to end our day in Harstad. Truly a beautiful motorcycling touring experience!!! Riding day 6:  Sunday morning, the whole town of Bodø is sleeping after a typically wild Norwegian Saturday night, but we are on our bikes, eager to reach Lofoten islands. It's a late start, though, as the ferry leaves only around 11am. The weather tries to scare us, showing a grey and wet sky. The sailing across the Vestfjorden lasts a bit more than three hours, and on the coast of Lofoten the weather is already much better. The so-called "Lofoten wall" is stunning: five (out of the seven main ones of this magnificent archipelago) islands sit closely together and are now connected by bridges and tunnels. We first go towards Å, the last village of Lofoten: picturesque red rorbu (fishermen cabins) everywhere, and a stretch of road that winds between the granite cliffs and the deep blue water. Some white sandy beaches like Rambergstrand, Haukland and Utakleiv are like pearls along our journey. Time flies and it's already late afternoon when we reach the idyllic Henningsvær, once upon a time the biggest fishing village of Lofoten, that still preserves its unique atmosphere. The sunlit pier, seen from our dining room, is a special touch that wishes us a very good sleep, where the only sounds that can be heard are the young seagulls learning to fly and the quiet waves gently caressing the pier of the hotel. Riding day 5:  This riding day turned out to be one of the best so far.  We were heading for the arctic circle at 66°33`` northern latitude. The very best thing about this day though was the temperature. We had mild 17°C/62°F and the sun came out just after we hit the road. It was really impressive to see the beautiful scenery on our way to BodØ. Riding day 4:  What a great good morning, blessed once again by a shining sun and a fairly spotless blue sky. Are we really in Norway? Yes indeed! Today we ride on the scenic coastal road 17, direction north of course. Three ferries will mark the pace today, letting us to cruise around fjords, inlets and rocks, admiring the mountain range called "Seven sisters". During the lunch break we can enjoy the greenery of Hildurs Urterarium, an herbal garden colored by some spectacular flowers. The hotel is only two ferries away, and a few more curves on a road that despite of its beauty does not bare any traffic. Riding day 3: Today was again a great day of riding. After leaving Trondheim on a very nice little twisty road, we went straight to the ferry, which took us to Rorvika. We had to do a little detour around a road construction. The workers told us to go over this one lane bridge, which was only allowed for motorcycles. Truly an Edelweiss Bike Travel motorcycle touring experience! Here is a little video of the bridge --> mov.001 We had lunch at a town called Vingsand, which is well known for its superb fish soup. Riding day 2: Today we had perfect weather! On our way from Sundalsora to Trondheim we were enjoying the beautiful scenery and the typical Norwegian architecture.  One of our highlights was a coffee stop at Oppdalsporten. Riding day 1: Our first stop was along a very scenic fjord called Stolfjorden. The weather was not the best but it was still a very nice ride and the majority of the roads have been dry. One stop had to be made at the well known Jordbaerstova, where they served us the best strawbarry cake in the country! Finally the tour is about to start! We got all the paper work done and everybody is looking forward to a great adventure.