Beyond Alta

Tues. June 9, 2015 Beyond Alta.

So its been a while since we last wrote anything and since it’s cold and wet today seemed like a good time to catch up.

We left Alta on May 31/15 after Sally went up the mast to attach our spinnaker, flag and radar reflector halyards. It was a nice sunny day with a nice breeze and we sailed North to Hammerfest a distance of about 55 miles.The weather turned vile We arrived in Hammerfest  and found a spot on the town pontoon which was right down town!

Monday June 1/15. We were up bright and early went to the Tourist office made arrangements to rent a car. The weather was still nasty so not a bad day to do a road trip. The rental (VW Golf) was delivered to us at the Tourist Office and away we went on a trip to North Kap.

We decided to drive to the Kap so that we could see the top as well as the bottom. It was a wet windy foggy day but what else would we do? Never mind don’t answer that the cost of booze is too high. And if your thinking of something else too bad not telling. A nice drive 3 hours 1 way with the added attraction of reindeer also using the highway! Went through a bunch of tunnels one 7 kilometers long! That we had to use the wipers in. this was the one under the Barents Sea! Think it leaked a little! We stopped in Honningsvag to check it out and had lunch. I had a bowl of seafood chowder and Sally had a Portuguese  Baccalou dish.

We continued up to the kap  and the fog just got thicker. You could cut it and put a slice on a piece of bread for a sandwich. (Sandwiches by the way are named after the Lord Sandwich who during the battle at Waterloo needed something to eat and put a chunk of beef between a couple of pieces of bread and viola sandwich)

 Arrived at the toll booth. Toll booth you might ask at the top of Europe. Yup there is a toll to enter the sacred grounds of North Kap.  570 Kroner for the two of us and the car with no discount  for lack of visibility! The fog was so thick we couldn’t see the parking lot!  Once we felt our way in we couldn’t see the path to the building! Drove back to the toll booth and were told to just follow the stones! “What” stones says Sally? “The” stones says the Toll booth girl! We tried again and if it wasn’t for a group of drowned tourist campers walking towards us we’d still be looking for the right stones! Geeze the whole North part of the country is stones, Great big ones, Bigger ones, Mountainous ones , medium size ones, little ones, throwing ones, skipping ones, Beach stones and “The” stones which we never did see. Saw a Bus instead and then magically the North Kap Official Touristy Trap extraordinaire loomed up out of the Mist. “Wow” says I. “It’s” about time says Sally.”Behave” says I. SMACK. “Ouch” says I and we entered.

“The building had the usual souvenir stuff a Restaurant or two and a coffee shop and a theater showing a movie about (insert drum roll) North Kap through the seasons. It was actually worth it. Some dioramas (display cases with plaster of paris figures and scenery depicting all, well some of the famous people who came here over the ages. North Kap was actually name by an English man looking for the N/E passage. Think he got frozen in and died. Then the King of Denmark and Norway Frederick the something or other came up just so he could say he had been from one end of his kingdom to the other. Then we watched a sound and light show that just left us confused. So we went outside and walked to the edge of the world. Couldn’t see down, or out over the sea but we could hear it at least. Had our picture taken under the globe and took some other peoples pictures under the globe. Found a Geo Cache not under the globe but close to the escape door from the tunnel under the shop.

Have I told you about the tunnels here? Gazillions of them all dug by trolls. No machinery needed! Every one has a double blast door and decam  showers. I know the Trolls don’t shower Wheeeuuuuuwwww. Had a coffee and sticky bun and hit the road for the drive back. Of course an hour after we left the sun came out! Drove back to Hammerfest parked the bil had something to eat. Next morning we drove up to the lookout. Looked out ooohhed and ahhed and returned the bil. Returned to the good ship Kalinka1 Fueled up did Laundry us and the clothes and bedding. Good . nights sleep