Reach the North Cape

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

Click here for the podcasts!




Link to the current itinerary

(For more posts click on one of the flags in the map)

We park our Terra right next to the barrier fence, behind which the steep cliffs plunge about 300 meters into the wave-swept Arctic Ocean. “Now we’re almost at the northernmost point of mainland Europe,” I say. “You mean almost, because we’re not on the mainland here, but on the island of Magerøya?” “Among other things, but to the west of here is a headland that extends around 1,400 meters further north than this place here.” “Oh yes, I know. There’s a hiking trail there. If the weather holds out a little longer, we could walk there tomorrow. Do you fancy it?” “Definitely, but let’s get there first,” I say, pulling the ignition key out of the lock. Spellbound and imbued with a euphoric feeling, we gaze for a few moments at the Barents Sea below us. At this location, the sun does not rise at all from November 20 to January 22, while it always remains above the horizon line from May 14 to July 29. “From here to the North Pole there is only the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen, one of the northernmost inhabited areas in the world,” I murmur, lost in thought. “I can still remember what it looks like there,” says Tanja, also dreamily, as we visited Spitsbergen a few years ago. “How far is it from here to the North Pole?” Tanja wants to know. “2,110.85 km as the crow flies,” I reply, remembering that it was once a dream of mine to put together an expedition and reach it under my own steam with skin. You can’t have everything, it goes through my mind as I get out of the cab…