Honnisvag Adventure

Arriving at Honningsvag last night was quite an adventure
A propeller plane as thin as a pencil, with no allocated seats and multiple stops at different destinations ,basically the post /milk plane. Despite it setting off from Tromso at 9.15pm, it was full
There were 4seats that faced each other and seats all the way across the back like a minibus!
It was such a small plane ,it was possible to see in the cockpit. There was only one air hostess
We bounced on the clouds with turbulence and nearly had to abandon landing at the 1st stop, Hammerfest because of the wind
I was sitting an English guy who regularly does the trip ,and said this was all quite normal
On arrival,Honningsvag airport was sooo small, virtually a portacabin..
Thankfully my hotel did collect me ,as it was 11pm.,pitch black and no obvious place to bunk down if my lift didn't arrive
The morning Arrived and I was suprised to see so many people at breakfast.
Breakfast was really lovely but no English breakfast tea!
I had the challenge of getting to the town centre with no transport...suggestions that I walk, worried me in terms of getting lost or being late to meet the day trip to Nordkapp that I 'd come for and had once chance of completing
Fortunately, a guy in reception who used to work at the hotel offered to take me ..this evolved into a tour of the very small town
However, when he decided to go slightly off road up a hill/ dirt track i did get bit concerned...All was well and he dropped me at the tourist information centre
Nearby was a monument to a local dog ,folklore says he used to guide the drunk sailors back to the boat..In fact the dog was really brave and involved in world war 2 ...When he died 800 people attended a funeral with full military honours
The tour to Nordkapp was in a minibus with a guy called Marcus,just me and a Spanish couple, so much nicer than a big coach trip
The scenery was stunning! And the roads much better than the Uk
We stopped at a viewpoint that is a recognised place for seeing the northern lights and onwards via a Sami house with Reindeer
We passed several wild Reindeer. I was suprised to see the antlers on young Reindeer are furry. I also saw a number of albino Reindeer
Finally arrived at Nordkapp, the most northern tip of Europe. Beyond is just miles of ocean, all around, as far as the eye can see, reaching the North Pole 2000km later...its vast, raw ,peaceful despite the tourists and starkly beautiful
My aim, to get a picture of myself with the Globe 🌎 monument without other people in it ...almost impossible as the German people did tend to hog the spot and were quite rude if anyone else tried to hv a turn....Several tries later I managed it....job done, i went to investigate the Wedding chapel and museum in the basement.
I then meandered around the site taking pictures...Its certainly somewhere I could have spent longer and will return to ,especially when the midnight sun is present, in may to July...even so, it was beautiful surroundings today .
The guide told me that when it is permanent darkness for 2 months there is a real issue with increasing drinking and mental health issues...He is from Finland so not used to it and says its hard to cope with .He also said the nearest hospital is 2.5hrs away and an elderly guy who had a stroke ,had to wait 2 days to go to hospital because the weather prevented him getting there
Another issue he highlighted is the children of divorced parents having to fly between locations and sometimes the weather gets in the way. Snow can be 7metres deep
The lady in the tourist information, who was Italian! from Rome, Said Honningsvag is not a standard kind of place . I can appreciate what she means
The whole of Honningsvag is much more built up than id expected Its also really multi cultural, Finnish ,Spanish, Italian and Japanese people drawn for work...surprisingly
The areas is dependent on fishing but also the cruise ships which apparently take over the place in high season with as many as 4000 people. Knowing that I was glad id arrived when I did
On our return to Honningsvag the guide showed us some King crabs caught in the area
Fortunately the tour guide took me back to my hotel and although he asked if I wanted to buy anything from the shops, I declined as Id seen a menu on the reception, for dinner. However, its end of season and they were not doing dinner .I'd no way of getting back to town centre,and delivery wasn't an option either, so fasting was the order of the day ,hopefully shedding some of the weight undoubtedly gained on the cruise 😳 . I could have asked for some toast i guess but fortunately wasn't particularly hungry.
During the evening 3 wild Reindeer were grazing outside my room
A really enjoyable and interesting day out.Læs mere