As we stayed up late reading, we woke up late and were already in port in the small (2,500 people) town of Honnigsvår. Our only excursion for the day was the drive to Nordkapp, the northernmost point in Norway where the Barents and Norwegian Seas meet, so we decided to spen the day in the town. It was a sweet place, very walkable along the Storgata Main Street, almost always in view of the waterfront. A major fishing town, it built its reputation on easy access to the Arctic cod fields which were some of the most productive anywhere, as well as other fish in abundance.
Our first stop was the Nordkapp Museet, which was a really well-done place with signage in Norwegian and English, and well-presented exhibits. In addition to the prehistoric migration to this area and very early remains of houses, we learned about the impact of WWII in this area, which was devastating. Because the Germans were using a “scorched earth” approach as they retreated in 1945, the entire town was burned down except for the Lutheran Church, I guess even the Nazis were afraid to burn a church. They had given people 48 hours to evacuate by boat with what they could carry. As soon as the war was over, they came back, and photos from 1947 show a town rebuilt with temporary barracks to house the residents and the rebuilt fish factory … they were incredibly dedicated and industrious. The musuem also described the fishing life of the area, as it was really the only industry here, and some history of the Sami people in this area and their reindeer herds, and there was an incredible photo of the reindeer swimming across a small fjord. We then walked up to the tiny Lutheran church, the one spared by the Nazis, and two teenage girls were having a piano lesson, one playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star over and over. We saw a red telephone booth which now also serves as a little free library with multiple bookshelves inside. Getting a bit hungry, we went to a tiny cafe called Arctic Sans and split a club sandwich on white bread, simple but enough. On our way back to the ship we also stopped at a Christmas store, filled with holiday ornaments and more.
We then went to join our group for the drive to Nordkapp. The 45-minute drive took us through the tundra - the whole area is above tree line - and we saw many reindeer, most with their white winter coats still hanging to brown. The guide told us that there were more reindeer in Magerøya, the island we were on, than there were people. We arrived at Nordkapp, with its dramatic 1,000 foot drop to the sea and metal globe sculpture. A good bit colder than where we had been, we nevertheless pulled on our ski jackets and enjoyed the incredible view. At one point we saw a lot of white spots on the calm sans, which seems odd as there were not whitecaps. It turned out that they were whales feeding on some smaller fish, surfacing and then going down into the water again, at least 20 of them. What a sight! Truly a special experience. We walked through the gift shop at the end (of course) and I finally found a lovely green blanket of the type I had been looking for, green not being a common color in Norwegian design. On our ride back to the ship we saw even more reindeer including the young ones, all just wandering and eating - the speed limit is low as there are no fences and drivers must watch for the reindeer. Back to the ship, a turn in the thermal suite (I spent 5 minutes in the snow grotto), and then to dinner and time to catch up on the blog and email. Now at 10:00pm, it is as bright out as midday, and we are sailing on the open ocean, with a bit of rocking and rolling already, headed for the Shetland Islands. We say farewell to Norway, and I hope we will be back.
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