Goodbye Finland! Hello Norway...

The results of yesterday’s panning for gold are truly realised this morning. Despite owning a wide range of anti-mosquito sprays and devices, I was eaten to death yesterday, as I was too stupid to use any of them. My back and arms look like a map of the stars, if the stars were small, red and bloody itchy!!

Shortly after departing Ivalo, I see a sign promising wonderful panoramic views of Lake Inari. So once again, I head off-road. I reach the top of the short steep hill and dishearteningly find a fence around the viewpoint. The charge is €10 for entry. Now I know locals needs to make a living, but I strongly believe that a viewpoint should be free. I therefore take the moral high ground by heading downwards :)

As I descend the steep loose track back to the main highway, a splendid view of Lake Inari opens up in front of me. I whip my camera out and fire off a few shots. I feel somewhat smug as I continue North…

Inari is not a particularly attractive village, but it is my final fuel stop in Finland and marks the beginning of the real wilderness.

For the next sixty miles there was no sign of any civilisation, except for a few random buildings. The road undulates wonderfully through this barren landscape. As I am driving along I recall a game my Dad used to play with us when we were kids. He would accelerate as we climbed the hill just enough so that as we hit the apex of the hill our stomachs would feel like they were going to pop out. This is how I entertain myself along this stretch of road, until at one point my bottom leaves the seat for a little too long and the landing is a little scary to say the least. I stop playing after this.

I reach the Finnish-Norwegian at Karigasniemi and sail through to Norway. As soon as cross the Karasjok River, I notice a distinct difference in the scenery. How does it know to do that?!

It takes me a while to recognise what the difference actually is and then – ding! – it comes to me. Mountains. I love riding my bike along the Karasjok River through this more mountainous terrain.

At Karasjok, which claims to be the capital of Lapland, I meet Norway’s Arctic Highway. The Arctic Highway takes me across the 70°N latitude as it climbs gently through a more rugged terrain. I pass by warning signs not to stop as I reach Porsangermoen, which is home to a Military Arctic Training Camp. I have never seen so many skidoos parked in one place in my life!

At Lakselv, I descend out of the mountains and begin to snake along the edge of a huge fjord. The views are breath taking, as are some of the corners – now is not the time to be distracted!

Before heading out towards Nordkapp, there is time for one last fuel stop at Olderfjord.

The route northwards follows the edge of the Porsangerfjord. The scenery once again is incredibly beautiful. Must. Not. Get. Distracted! Occasionally there is a short tunnel to rob me of the splendid vista and refocus me on the job in hand.

The Nordkapptunnelen is the undersea link to the island of Magerøy. Upon first entering the tunnel, a cold blast of air hits me like a slap in the face. As I descend deeper, fog fills the tunnel reducing my visibility. I feel the change in gradient as I begin to climb to the surface. Emerging from the tunnel into the warm Arctic sun was pleasant feeling, especially when I read the sign on the toll station:

From the 29.06.2012 the tunnel is free.

Result! Apparently the costs of building the tunnel have been recouped and therefore the charges are no longer necessary. All very civilised :)

I arrive in Honningsvåg, my base for the next two days, and discover that the best weather for the midnight sun will be tonight. I make a quick pit stop and continue North largely through wilderness…

Europe's northernmost point, Nordkapp, rises to a majestic 307 meters above the Barents Sea. Nordkapp is a coastal plateau at N71°10´21˝ latitude; here the sun never drops below the horizon from mid-May to the end of July.

Sadly there is a touristy complex with the usual tat. That said, the tourists do provide some amusement from the German couple barking orders at everyone in a futile attempt to clear the monument for their photo to the mad group of Dutch people who, dressed all in orange, were on their own crazy journey.

Luckily I do not have to walk far long the cliffs to really appreciate Nordkapp and, away from all the hullabaloo, I perch myself on the edge of the continent and watch the sun skim across the sky…

Distance: 264.0 miles

Milestones

Packing your bike in the rain never gives you an overwhelming desire to saddle up, but saddle up I do. I turn off the major route North as soon as possible to take the more scenic path along Route 81 and the minor Route 945.

Route 81 headed westward through pretty wooded Lakeland scenery. It was on this road that the first milestone of the day was reached – I have now covered 1000 miles since starting my journey home.

I make the right turn onto Route 945 and Tom-Squared is not happy. For the next fifty miles Tom-Squared tells me to turn around. After the first few miles, I wish I had listened…

The fifty-mile journey along Route 945 is one of sheer fear. What begins as a lovely meandering paved road soon changes into a narrow strip of sand and gravel. The rain combines with the sand and gravel to produce a sludge that insists on guiding my motorbike towards potholes, verges, reindeer or oncoming traffic. The sludge can also catch the front wheel and the bike begins to squirm and wriggle underneath me. I have no idea what to do…

Naïvely I begin by trying to wrestle the 300kg beast; unsurprisingly I lose and bump into some vicious potholes. I change tack. I simply try to coerce the machine through the ever-changing consistency of the road. I have no idea if what I am doing will work, but I do not have many choices! I hop up onto the pegs and put pressure on them to steer the rear of the bike. I do not fight that front end. I also try to balance the throttle. Too little and I feel the bike dragging. Too much and I begin to lose control of the bike. After what seems like an eternity I hit tarmac and in contrast to yesterday I am delighted to return to a paved road. 

Now you may ask why I did not just turn around and head back the way I came. Two reasons: (1) If I had stopped to complete a U-turn on the narrow road, I was not convinced that I would I could get my motorbike moving again. (2) I am a man, therefore we stubbornly do not ask for directions or turn around :D

The joy of returning to solid ground is amplified by the fact that I cross the Arctic Circle within moments of hitting the tarmac – another milestone :)

Drained by my experience on Route 945, my mood seems to be reflected in the greys skies above. So I stop to fill my belly in Sodankylä and try to find the oldest church in Finland (I now know it was hidden in the forest behind the new church!) to lighten my mood.

I hop back on my motorbike and resume my journey northwards. Reinvigorated I choose to leave the main road again and travel through Petkula where there is an impressive 1900m-long dam which provides hydroelectric power.

At Tankavarra, I indulge my need for a bit of holiday tat by panning for gold! I do not know who was more impressed with my results, me or the cowboy that taught me!? That said, I will have to work for a little longer if I want to make any jewellery :)

I was told not to miss Purnumukka as it is a genuine Finnish Sami settlement. When I arrive there, I am told these are all holiday homes. Progress? I will let you decide…

One final diversion before I park up for the night. I ride to the top of Kaunispää for views of where I have been and where I am going.

I am spending the night in Ivalo, which is the largest ‘village’ in Finnish Lapland. My humble abode is Hotel Kultahippu. Food is good and the pub and club are the main local nightspots… Good night! ;-)

Distance: 287.6 miles

Quiet People

Things often happen in threes, so when my eyes open at 5:00am I simply leave the eye mask off and doze in a semi-conscious state. I am determined to avoid a third morning of stress!

Breakfast is sumptuous. I do not recognise half of the things on the table and am only brave enough to try the friendlier looking options. Well, call me small-minded, but pickled fish bits just do not seem too appealing at 8:00am!

To allow my experimental breakfast to settle, I wander into Kajaani to explore… I find a beautifully ornate wooden church, a castle in the middle of a river and a tar-boat channel with a lock to enable the boats laden with tar barrels to pass Ämmäkoski rapids.

Time to hit the road! First stop, Paltaniemi to see another church. This enchantingly weathered wooden church has some really interesting church paintings. My favourite is above the entrance: a representation of the dangers of life outside of the church’s protection, essentially a vivid scene of hell.

After the let down of yesterday, the time finally arrived… A few minutes after leaving the church Tom-Squared tells me to turn left. I do not see a left turn. I am at the turn when a small gap, barely a car width of amber coloured gravel appears. Honestly, I think twice – then I just go for it! The next three miles are the most exhilarating miles that I have ridden on my motorbike. The highlight is my first crossing of a huge expanse of water by motorbike (OK – it is a really big puddle, but it is BIG!).

I am disappointed to return to the main road after such excitement, but I do need to use gears four, five and six if I am to get to Kuusamo today.

Besides the main road is not that predictable. En-route I find several herds of reindeer on the road. I approach very slowly (as recommended) and I can tell that the animals are beginning to get spooked, so they start to run in the most uncoordinated fashion. I know it is cruel laugh, but I could not help it :)

I continue to head North parallel to the Russian border which lies approximately twenty miles to the east.  I am tempted to turn right, but the signs strongly advise against it.

The strangest site of the day occurs shortly before my arrival in Kuusamo. I find, completely by chance, a piece of installation art called Hiljainen Kansa by artist and dancer Reijo Kela. What do you make of them?

I roll on into Kuusamo for a quiet night in a sterile business hotel that lines the main route.

Distance: 163.7 miles

Heading North!

5:30am the sun blasts through the curtains of my room; wearily I reach for my eye mask and think to myself: just a few more hours…

10:00am I lift my eye mask, casually check my clock and spring out of bed! Bugger. I miss breakfast and am now running late. How did this happen?

By 11:00am I am driving North out of town, unfortunately my route out is blocked at every turn by road works. I soon find the right road out and in no time suburban Helsinki is replaced by more picturesque farmland.

After 60 miles, the scenery changes as I reach the Lake Region. Finland claims to have 187 888 lakes – who counts them? I wonder if they have counted all the trees as well!?

For the rest of the day lakes large and small, and, increasingly, forest dominate the scenery. Whilst petrol stations or small hamlets occasionally punctuate the forest, I am protected from the strong winds that I hear howling. The shelter of the forest is lost when crossing the larger lakes along exposed narrow spits of land. It is all a little unnerving.

My first petrol stop is in Jyväskylä where Tom-Squared asks me a question that I have never been asked before:

What do you think the answer is!?

With the distraction of a major road re-routing across the lake near Kuopio, I miss my only planned touristy stop of the day. I am a little gutted, but not enough to retrace the twenty miles I travelled before stopping to check the map.

As I have said in previous posts, the journey is the destination and I just had one of the most extraordinary days on my motorbike. It was like having my own private roller coaster. I breezed past the heavy traffic without a problem. I love the feel and the exposure to the elements: the weather, the people, the road and the smells!

So I roll into Kajaani with a big smile on my face and hole up for the night in Kartanohotelli Karolineburg. This intriguing place to stay is a refreshing change from the sterile business hotels that line the main route. A family-run converted manor house which, despite being a little rough around the edges, has buckets of charm. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to test my own private sauna…

Distance: 375.9 miles

Daylight Robbery

An early morning arrival of the ferry means that I have all day to explore the serene harbor city that is the National capital until disaster strikes!

Confronted with the paradoxical problem of everything I had taken out of my panniers (minus several magazines) no longer fitting back in the very place they were removed from twenty-seven hours earlier... Confused? Me too. I try for half an hour to fit everything back into the panniers, as one by one my new, well meaning, acquaintances ask if everything is alright… I bite my tongue  :)

Much to the relief of the crew, I solve the problem and get a personal escort to the exit of the port – as if they did not trust me to not get lost!?!  ;-)

I head to the hostel for a quick pit stop and then off into Helsinki to explore the sights and sounds. I kick off my tour by grabbing a Fish Burger in the Kauppahalli and stretch my legs by wandering around the Kauppatori (Fish Market). Here I witness the most perfect seagull stealing scenario that I have ever seen :D

Next I take the short ferry ride to the Fortress of Finland (or Sweden – depending on which story you believe). Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a tight cluster of islands with the old fortifications still well preserved.

Back on the mainland and with ice cream in hand, I wander around the town taking in the Tuomiokirkko, Uspenski Cathedral, Esplanad Park, Stockmann’s Department Store, Vanha Kirkko and Temppeliaukio Church.

Weary from the all the wandering, I stop for food at the odd Zetor.  My menu choices include a main course of reindeer and chocolate beetroot cake for pudding. I finish the day off with a high-altitude drink at Ateljeer Bar, the easiest way to see the whole city :)

Distance: 5.9 miles

P.S.  Happy Birthday Pops!!

Fifty Shades of Grey...

Before you get all excited ladies, this is not one of Miss Anna Steele's lurid escapades.  There is not a bitten lip or an inner goddess in sight :)

It is more a description of the view.  Hardly what I had envisaged when imagining a ferry journey across the Baltic Sea.  So time to bury my nose in the guidebooks…

By late afternoon, the sun has burned away the fog, so I venture on deck to sample the views.  By my calculations, Sweden is on the left and Russia is on the right.  Not that there was much difference :)

Over the evening meal I am given a friendly warning by one of the locals about the fines for speeding in Finland.  Apparently you are fined in proportion to your monthly wage, which resulted in his colleague receiving a €860 fine!  It seems a bit unrealistic, but I am not willing to find out for myself.

With the sun setting over Sweden (or is it Russia!?) I head to my surprisingly comfy chair-bed and try to ignore the room rattling snoring from the BIG Russian fella in the corner.

Distance: 611 nautical miles