The place where sky and sea meet
N 69°27'24.4'' E 017°20'50.7''
Date:
18.10.2020 to 20.10.2020
Day: 077 – 079
Country:
Norway
Location:
Senja Steinfjord
Daily kilometers:
75 km
Total kilometers:
7422 km
Soil condition:
Asphalt / unpaved road
Bridge crossings:
10
Tunnel passages:
2
Sunrise:
08:05 to 08:13
Sunset:
17:10 to 16:57
Temperature day max:
4°
Night temperature min:
-3°
Time of departure:
12:00 p.m.
Arrival time:
2:30 pm
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
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“And this is the place where the sky meets the sea,” I chat, pointing to the famous viewing platform above the village of Bergsbotn. “We were there last year and took some great photos,” Tanja remembers. “Shall we stop to take some more photos? The landscape looks completely different at this time of year?” “Definitely,” I hear. On the viewing platform hovering above the valley, we enjoy the indescribably beautiful view. The water of the fjord lies below us like a polished mirror. The inlet is framed by mountains to the left and right, their peaks covered in a delicate white dress. Clouds of cirrostratus, consisting of ice crystals and heralding further snowfall, hang over our heads. Light blue stripes run between the veils of cloud. The sun takes the opportunity to send a few of its rays through. As if a superior power had directed a spotlight onto a mountain flank, a group of trees that have not yet shed their golden autumn leaves glow in a warm, life-promising light. It’s strange that the weather is much better on the north side of the tunnel than on the south side and that there is much less snow here. It should actually be the other way around, shouldn’t it?” Tanja ponders, “That’s surely due to the Gulf Stream. The sea borders the island here in the north, but its water is warmer than the outside air due to the Gulf Stream,” I ponder. “And the mountain range separates the northern sea from the interior,” Tanja concludes, “Exactly. So it’s warmer here than on the other side.” We leave the viewing platform and wind our way down two hairpin bends to sea level. Following the beautiful coastal and mountain road, which winds like a snake, we drive through the 1290-metre-long Steinfjord Tunnel, where another dragon seems to live, just 10 kilometers further on. Here, too, the road on the south side of the tunnel driven into the mountain is covered in snow and ice, while on the north side we have exactly the same experience as before in the Skaland Tunnel…
