Målselv

The weather today was again bright and sunny and ideal for driving to Sommarøy. In a straight line the distance between Skaland and Sommarøy isn't all that great but by road it's a long drive because you can only go where the roads, bridges and tunnels take you - and that means a 4hr drive. I could save 30 minutes by retracing my route back to Tromsø then driving west, but I fancied the shorter route on more minor roads as I guessed the views on the way would be much prettier. It was the right choice and it turned out to be an amazing drive.

What a landscape! It was truly stunning at times and the photos here are just a few taken on the way and where I felt it safe to pull over to take them. There were a couple of moments, one in particular, where I turned right onto a very narrow road, completely snow covered and wondering if all this was such a good idea in what seemed the middle of nowhere on my own. But of course it was fine: I had a very winter-capable car (even if it was a Skoda!), a constant phone signal and 4G Internet access and it's not like Britain because here the roads are ploughed and drivable even in these conditions. Okay, you often can't see tarmac, just a thick layer of ice, and the roads may be lined in snow 4ft high, but if you drive sensibly there's no problem.

The journey took way more than 4 hours because I drove to the conditions but also because at times I stopped to take photos with the Canon and tripod. It's funny that - at one time I thought a tripod was an inconvenience but now I use it most of the time with landscape photography. In fact these days I feel a bit lost without it.

Eventually I made it to Sommarøy. I arrived in time to catch any evening light and though I took a couple of images the light wasn't with me. When I got to the hotel I was really tired and after checking-in I found my room, showered and then chilled with a G&T in the bar. As I went to dinner I checked through the window to see if I might be lucky with a clear sky and get the Aurora tonight but the weather had suddenly changed and it was now a raging blizzard outside.

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