The North

It has been yet another day of what my mate Dave refers to as "Lucky Man Moments", those times when you really appreciate the many and varied circumstances that have come together to allow us to be here. We are very, very lucky blokes.

First night in the "insurance" tent worked well. It's big enough for us to sleep in and has enough extra space for boots, helmets etc.

This morning we did the Alta Museum, built on and around a 6,000 year old rock art site and thus an important place from Og's itinerary. It was a fumbling start. We woke after 8, ambled off at 9, but nothing opens until 10; that's no thing at all, not even the tourist info. One exception is the museum. It opens at 7, which is no use at all if you can't find it. Eventually a smiling parking inspector told us how to get there.

The rock art is impressive, thousands of characters etched into the rock face in shallow relief. Most have been in-filled with red crayon. Whilst the purists, experts, and academics are rightly mortified by this sacrilege, duffers like me appreciate it because without that the markings are so subtle as to be invisible to mere mortals.

After several hours conjecturing on whether the carvings were rich symbols of an organised culture now gone, or doodlings on a sunny day after a big feed of reindeer, we headed North again. The day was quite pleasant, but it was damned cold riding. Climbing out from Alta we rolled onto vast plains, treeless, a moonscape of scrub little more than 18" high, dotted about with grazing reindeer. This is all Sami country, traditional custodians of all things reindeer.

Norwegian roads are all really great, and the ride from Alta via Honnigsvag to Nordkapp is a stunner. A glorious road that follows metres from the sea, sweeping, swooping between stunning ocean views. Cold, see your breath easily. Two long tunnels, one of which runs 6km and under sea to connect with the island of which Nordkapp is the attraction. Yes, I realise that this then makes a lie of the whole Nordkapp as the Northermost point of continental Europe thing, but I don't undertsand either. It does cost 68 kronor toll each way.

We've found a cabin in a camping ground, naturally the Northernmost camping ground in the world, with en suite, heater etc. 550 kronor = $110, but it's very cold outside....

Og has just called me outside. A herd of grazing reindeer have just wandered around the cabin. Quite surreal, until Og pointed out that it's simply the Northern equivalent of roaming kangaroos. Took the edge off it, that did.

Having booked our cabin and dumped some gear, we went to Nordkapp, one of the benchmarks (or waypoints if you're a surveyor) of our journey. Nordkapp is quite brilliant; I have never encountered a ripoff that comes close to it. The ride in is great, more swoops and sweeps, with spectacularly rugged wild coastal scenery until you draw up to the toll booth before Nordkapp proper. 195 kroner ($39) per person, just to get in to park! Outrage, but having come this far we paid it and we're going to recover the value in whinging about it. There's the obligatory cafes, souvenir shop, theatrette etc, but also a huge bar/restaurant/cinema set up facing the viewing window set into the cliff face; for watching the aurora borealis. We hung about in the warmth, stuck a "Moto Guzzi Club of Victoria" sticker on the globe sculpture pedestal, with all of the other bike club stickers, then left.

We also encountered the only other serious touring Guzzi thus far, an Italian couple from Lecco, also on a Cali.

Reindeer steak for tea tonight, sorry Santa.

Tomorrow is all downhill, with the sun in our faces.... to Finland.