My journey northward continues as my internal compass needle continues to point north. I'm on my way to visit my friend Monica who lives outside of Narvik but I still had a lot of ground to cover as it's a long way from Ålesund to Narvik. Norway is such a magical place but my only complaint is that the weather is so erratic. More than 1200 kilometres I had to traverse; Norway is a big country and winding roads combined with low speed limits mean travel times are often long. Thankfully, the myriad of tunnels, bridges, and vehicle ferries alleviate that a bit. Not long into my journey I was picked up by a couple of guys on their way to Kristiansund, and we'd drive along Atlanterhavsvegen (the Atlantic Road). An interesting bridge connects the various islets.
Scenery, marvels, geocaching, and photo ops are all in abundance in Norway. On the ferry I was picked up by a guy named Kristoffer who was on his way to Trondheim, which is where I'd call it a day. Right of access camping combined with a weak Norwegian krone and bottomless coffee at Circle K means that Norway isn't overly expensive these days. After finding a good spot to pitch my tent, Kristoffer would shout me a pizza and give me 300 krone (about US$30) toward my journey. Years ago I hosted a CouchSurfer named Alex and for the past several years he's been living in Trondheim building parts for things like racecars and aeroplanes, so he and I caught up for the first time in many years (and we've both lost a bit of hair since then). Trondheim is lovely, and it's definitely worthy of a few days.
Alex suggested taking the bus to Stjørdal, and in doing so I passed through Hell. Many people stop there for the bragging rights of saying "I've been to Hell, and it's not all that bad." I was picked up by a man from Azerbaijan and he offered to buy me some stuff from the supermarket. Since I want to go healthy I got some fruits and fruit juice. He wanted to shout me a train ticket all the way up to Fauske, which is past the Arctic Circle, but I couldn't allow him to do that as it would have cost more than €100, so he got me a train ticket from Asen to Steinkjer, the next town north, and decided I'd continue to hitchhike from there. Before long I was picked up by a truckie named Peter on his way to Bostad in the Lofoten Islands, meaning he would get me almost all the way to Narvik. The weather was absolutely foul last night but thankfully in the truck, Peter had an extra bed, meaning I didn't have to unpack my tent in the rain. Even better he got out some Norwegian vodka, which I mixed with some Coca-Cola. I'm not Russian, therefore I can't drink vodka straight; I have to mix it with something. Over these past few days I've had the most wonderful dose of Norwegian hospitality.
The journey continued this morning with typical Norwegian weather. Peter had to have a 30 minute break so he agreed that we could have it at the Arctic Circle. This is my first time visiting either of the polar circles on land, although I flew over the Arctic Circle when I went to Tromso in 2018. As it's on a plateau, it had a polar feel as it was windy and very cold, and I was only wearing flip flops.
One of these days I hope to cross the Antarctic Circle, or even reach the South Pole. We stopped for lunch and I had my first true restaurant meal in Norway. Locals complain that going out to eat is still extraordinarily expensive, even with a weak krone.
After my longest lift in Norway, Peter and I would part ways as he'd get on one ferry and I'd get on another, and one more lift by a lovely couple would place me in Hakvik. North of the Arctic Circle I am after receiving an extreme dose of hospitality in a place where people are normally reserved. It's now hugs and chatter as I'm now visiting Monica, just in time for summer solstice.
