ANC1901 The way to the North Cape
The last riding day of the tour has arrived, again with blue skies and pleasant temperatures! We were very lucky with the weather during the whole tour! Simply amazing! So, we left our hotel and rode mostly westwards (for a long part along the border between Finland and Sweden) until we reached the coast again. From there, it was not a long stretch before we finally reached the beautiful town of Tromso. Have a safe flight back home, folks, it was a great tour and it was a pleasure to see that people coming from many different places of the world can gat along so well!!! Safe rides!!!
After spending many days by the coast, it's time to explore a little bit the inland of this country! Some kilometres of tundra, through the Sami (the "natives") region until we reached Karasjok, their capital, where we could learn more about their culture. Next stop was in Kautokeinö (also the names sound different here!), where after lunch we visited the famous local silver store. Finland was getting closer, and after crossing the border we quickly reached the hotel where Michaela was awaiting us with a well deserved boot-beer!
Today it was the day everybody was waiting for, we reached the northernmost point of Europe, the Mecca of every motorcyclist of this continent: North Cape! Latitude 71°10'21", above us only the Artic Ocean! A long ride, but also another day of fantastic sceneries, where we had to pay attention to the many raindeers that could cross the road at any moment! Now we are happy and satisfied in Lakselv, but the tour is not yet over: keep on following us!
Another step completed on the way to North Cape, today it was quite a short ride so we can have some rest for tomorrow! We left our hotel and just stopped for a Picture&Cafe along the way. Before reaching the beautiful town of Alta, we visited the Alta museum, famous for its ancient rock carvings. Some of them are around 6000 years old!!! How could people survive the winter in this region so many years ago??? Amazing. We also had lunch in the museum and then reached the hotel in time to have some tyres changed, the asphalt here really eats the rubber!!! And now, after a good dinner, we are ready for tomorrow!
Tovay we left the Vesteralen islands and went back to the mainland, even if here it is difficult to know when you are on an island! So many great bridges and tunnels make it very easy to move around. Our first stop was at the Polar Park, where we could also have a coffee break, and then we moved on to the Malselw waterfalls, where every year during the winter thousands of salmons swim upstream... and where we simply had lunch. :) From there, we continued along the coast and could admire the majestic Lyngen Alps before finally reaching our hotel, located up high and overlooking the coastline!
The temperatures have cooled down a lot, but the weather is still veey good! After leaving Svolvaer, we had to use a ferry to the Vesteralen islands but, as we reached the pear one hour earlier, we went for a Little extra loop on the Lofoten! :) Reaching the other side, we visited the Hurtigruten (known as the Norwegian Coastal Express) Museum and then, after lunch, we started cruising to Harstad.
The Lofoten islands are a real paradise and we can't miss.them! There are many ways to reach these islands, but of course we chose the most scenic one: a three ours ferry ride from.Bodø to Moskenes! Lunch break was on the ferry, and in the afternoon we had a lot of time to explore the islands... since the sun never goes down!!!
Today we finally crossed the Arctic Circle, so we are officially in the "deep north", where the sun never goes down during the summer and never appears during the winter! Why is that? Well, it was perfectly explained during the briefing! :) It was a long riding day, we reached the Arctic Circle around lunchtime and then, before reaching the beautiful town of Bodø, twisty backroads took us to Maelstrom, where we could admire the power of Nature at the strongest tidal current in the World!
Impossible to get lost today, just follow the road 17! So let's go! But that is not just a (beautiful!) road, it includes three ferry rides! This remote area of Norway, with its forest (beware of mooses!) and beautiful coastline, really amazed our senses!
A great change today! After leaving Trondheim and taking the ferry from Flakk to Rørvik we reached a more remote area of the country, full of small villages and little farms, how beautiful and picturesque! We reached the Atlantic coast in Vingsand and could enjoy a delicious Fish Soup at a local restaurant. Only fresh local fish is served there! After lunch, time for some pictures and then we slowly reached Overhalla, another small village, where we will spend the night. Stay tuned
Today's ride was shorter and more relaxed than the one of yesterday, but not less beautiful! After around 70 Km of untouched landscapes, we reached Oppdal where we had our first coffee break. From there, we starded heading northward and reached Meldal, a former copper mine (now there is also a museum) where we had a great lunch. After that, nice winding roads along the coast slowly took us to the beautiful city of Trondheim, the former capital of Norway!
Let's go! What a perfect weather to start the tour, blue sky and pleasant temperature! After leaving the hotel, we stopped at the famous Aksla viewpoint just above Alesund, ant then continued until we reached the Rose Church. Riging along the beginning of the Geiranger fjord, we soon reached Valldal where we could start smelling strawberries! A late coffee break to try the famous strawberry cake and then we were ready to face the most famous mountain road of Norway, the Trollstigen! After a lot of highlights concentrated in the morning, the afternoon ride was less intense!
Everything is ready for the Adventure North Cape! This epic destination is the northernmost point of Europe where it is possible to reach by road and it's a "must" for many motorcyclists especially in Europe! And, before reaching it, some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world are awaiting us! Follow us!!!