Latitude: 70.86 Berlesvag

Today got off to a slow start. We made good use of the free Wi-Fi at the library to get another video edited and uploaded. It was well past lunch by the time we finally left town. Vadsø had been a lovely little stop, complete with a dump point, a supermarket to restock supplies (chocolate), and a quiet vibe.

Mike proudly picked up some brownies… which turned out to be a brownie mix. Our grasp of the Norwegian language is not as good as we thought. Considering we don’t have an oven in the van, it’s going to be an interesting experiment. But we’ll figure something out. Brownies are a powerful motivator.

We were planning to start heading south through Finland, but I realised there was still one more place to reach on the Arctic Ocean, and I wasn’t quite ready to leave. It was only a four-hour detour (two hours each way), and I’m so glad we took it.

The drive started alongside a fjord, as they all do. Then took us over the mountains, still plenty of snow around. Then the last part of the drive was on a rugged coastal road which was wild and remote.

We drove until about 6 p.m., eventually reaching the little town at the end of the road. We found a perfectly decent camping spot overlooking the Arctic Ocean, but… it just didn’t have the vibe. Neither of us could quite explain why. It wasn’t a bad vibe, just not the vibe. Maybe it was the wind, the cold, or how exposed it felt. So we had dinner there, enjoyed the view for a while, and then decided to drive back, since the road didn’t go any further anyway.

I remembered noticing a spot on the way that looked promising, so we decided to check it out. When we arrived, a narrow gravel road branched off from the main one, and we followed it down, and instantly knew this was the place for the night. I was surprised no one else was camped there; it was stunning. A calm, sheltered bay with barely a breeze, and gentle waves lapping softly at the shore. We even saw a couple of sea otters frolicking about.

Mike went to bed at 10 pm., but I stayed up, eager for another midnight stroll. There’s something magical about the light at that hour;, soft, surreal, and full of intrigue. I read my book until midnight, then set off on my little adventure. Though the sun was tucked behind the mountain, the world remained bathed in an eerie brightness. I walked along the sandy, stony shore to the far end, and when I turned to look back, I saw sunlight shining on the other end of the beach, and snow was glistening on the mountain. Crazy!

So I wandered to the other end of the beach, all the while marvelling at the beauty around me. The hush of gentle waves, the mountains surrounding me and the soft glow of the midnight sun. When I reached the sunlit stretch, I felt the warmth almost instantly. Who would have thought the sun could carry heat after midnight? It feels strange even to say it. I settled on a rock and let the rays warm me as I admired the sun reflecting on the water. It was still cold, just… less so.

It would have been nice to have shared the moment with Mike, but I think the midnight sun is more my thing than his. I just wanted to stay up all night, afraid I might miss something. But I knew I’d pay for it in the morning if I didn’t sleep. So, at 1 a.m., I crawled back into our warm little van (I’d left the heater running) and drifted off to the sound of waves gently lapping at the shore.