No fear of heights on the rocky spire

(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).

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Because we have spent more time than planned in the south-east, south and south-west of Norway, we now have to hurry. Our destination is the North Cape, above all we want to see the Northern Lights. This is the reason for us not to visit the famous Trolltunga, or Troll Tongue, a spectacular horizontal rocky outcrop. We read online about the small Troll Tongue, which is also said to be impressive, but can be reached in an afternoon. “Shall we plan that as an alternative?” I ask Tanja. “Absolutely,” she replies full of anticipation.

We leave the birthday camp, stock up on water and diesel at a petrol station and drive to the small village of Hindaråvåg. In the center of the village we find the described parking lot in front of a supermarket. Because the small Trolltunga is not well known or there are fewer travelers on the road due to the pandemic, our Terra is the only vehicle. “There’s another one of those machines over there. Do they charge for parking here too?” I wonder. “Short-term parking from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. costs €14 and €25 if we want to stay overnight,” Tanja reads out the information on the display. “They’re crazy. Let’s find somewhere else to park,” I decide. Just 300 meters further on, next to a sports facility, there is a large gravelled area where buses and a few trucks are parked. “A good place,” I say happily. We shoulder our rucksacks. I’ve now loaded our drone into mine and hope to finally be able to take a few shots from above. “Which way to Himakånå?” we ask a couple of hikers who come towards us and have obviously already been to the small troll’s tongue. “Always follow the road. Then there’s a signpost to the left into the mountains,” they answer and wish us a good tour.

A wide gravel path leads us steeply uphill. After just 10 or 15 minutes, the beautiful coastal landscape spreads out below us. Compared to Kjeragbolten and Preikestolen, the hiking trail is super easy and initially as wide as a highway. We pass a few animal fences and cross an enclosure where there are warnings about bulls. However, we only encounter peaceful sheep. Then the now narrower path leads into a wooded area. We make good progress and reach the summit after about 50 minutes. “Wow, what a view,” I exclaim in surprise, even though we are already a little spoiled by now. “Norway really does offer wonderful natural treasures everywhere and some of them can be reached without too much effort,” says Tanja. “Over there is the little troll tongue I’ve read about. Let’s go there right away,” I say. We carefully step onto the rocky spur, which goes horizontally for a few meters into nothingness and then drops vertically for a few hundred meters at the end. If you fell down here, you would land on the shore of the lake directly below us. We carefully feel our way forward. A head for heights is also required here. Because of the strong gusts of wind, we have to be careful not to sway. We stand there fascinated by the fabulous view. “Which sea is that?” asks Tanja, pointing to the endless blue expanse in the west. “I think that’s where the North Sea and the European North Sea meet, with the North Sea being a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean.” “I’m really glad to have my knowledgeable tour guide with me.” “Ha, ha. I read that last night. It would be great if I could memorize it all,” I reply. We take a few photos and because we want to marvel at this extraordinary rock needle at sunset, we lie down on the bare rock, warmed by the sun, to wait. “The drone flying won’t happen again because of the strong gusts of wind, will it?” Tanja breaks the silence after a while. “Too risky. She’d probably be wrecked somewhere out there in the Atlantic,” I say with regret in my voice. “You’ll get the chance to do that. We’re still here for a good two months.”

As it starts to get cool on the rock, we sit down on a bench that someone has set up right on the precipice. We sit there for four hours, talking about God and the world, enjoying the deserted nature, occasionally hearing the sounds of civilization carried up to us by the wind from the valley, as the sun leans towards the upper eastern rocky ridge and turns the sky into a spectacle of color. “It’s now or never”, I say, jump up, grab the camera, while Tanja climbs the rock needle with Ajaci and I can take a few unforgettable shots of her in the magical evening light…