The journey starts

Two days with my parents in Havøysund passed quickly. We couldn't leave the harbour due to some engine malfunction, and when we had it finally under control, strong headwind and heavy rain came. Anyway, there was much to talk about after few months of not seeing each other, and of course mom's food!

It's not ballet, but fight for food

Finally we left to Gjesvær. The light wind died off quickly and allowed us to fish a bit. Few rod casts brought huge dinner for three people, in the form of cods and haddocks. The abundance of fish in Norwegian waters is unbelievable, but these two species give up quickly and don't fight too much for their lives. It turns angling into rather mundane, agricultural-like work, which gives lots of food but not much of hunter's satisfaction. Feeding seagulls with the remains was much more fun. The angler's eldorado with strong, fightings trouts and pikes — namely Finland — is still before me.

Talking about Finland, I'm doubtful about the weather there. Here, in the north of Norway, all lakes are frozen and 200m above the sea level the amount of snow is significant. But Norway's coast is quite warm even in winter, and the sea here never freezes, due to huge warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Going into the interior means more influence of continental climate and lower temperatures. Lapland might be quite a challenge, but there is the magic Finnish word known all around the world, which describes perfect remedy for cold: sauna.

The next morning we sailed to Skarsvåg, which lies on the coast of Barents Sea. We went around both capes – Knivskjelodden and the North Cape. While the former is considered to be the northernmost point of continental Europe, the latter, thanks to it's dramatic cliffs and easy road access, is being advertised as one. The dispute is even more complex, given the fact that both these capes are parts of island Magerøya. The northernmost point of continental Europe lies a little bit eastwards, on Cape Nordkinn.

The northernmost cape of Europe

The touristmost cape of Europe

Straight from the boat, I rode my bike again. This time without all the baggage, I cycled uphill to an empty parking place where the hiking trail to Knivskjelodden leaves the main Nordkapp road. I hadn't expected so much snow, which quickly made my shoes soaking wet. The bike was useless there, so I had to drop it behind the first hill. After three hours of walk I finally reached Knivskjelodden and made entry to the guestbook hidden in a small box, just next to the marking point. There was also Frank, a Dutchman I met on the route, but surprisingly the previous book entry had been dated five days before.

By bike and on foot across the white land

A good sign for the journey's start

My journey starts here. I turned back to face the continent and tried to imagine 25 thousand kilometers which lay before me. It's a hard task, and I guess it would be easier to just ride them.