1st of October, 2022.
Hitchhiking in Norway.
I wasn’t expecting to encounter any other foot-passengers. Even less was I expecting for them to be so rude. Perhaps people up here don’t know the concept of a queue: who arrives first, enter first. But no, they were all crossing in front of me, even though I was like one metre from the gate. How rude!
But I am quite surprise with the number of people. At first, I thought they were not so many, but actually they are. And so many motorhomes and campervans.
You cannot bring your backpack to the passenger’s deck. They say something about not having space for luggage. No ferries have space for luggage, everybody just bring their backpacks along. That’s is also ridiculous!
I found some seats where I can lie down and I think I manage to sleep a bit.
When we arrive in Værøy, there is a map of possible trails and hiking around the island but later on I would find a better one on the wall of the tourist info centre. I try to make a plan but it is tricky. If at least I had someone to talk about it and ask… I walk towards the church and the centre of the island, hoping to find someone to ask about the hiking.
It is funny how things work and I ended up stopping this particular car to ask for info. I am in front of the tourist info but it is closed. The nice man in the car explains to me all he knows about the trails. He is so nice! He tells me what I could or shouldn’t do.
There are many trails available. The highest pick is Nordlandsnupen and the views from there are amazing! You can get here by following the road and then a trail. There is a small village down the beach, which it seems super cute and I would’ve loved to be there. From here you can hike all around the North part of the island to the other end, another fascinating point view called Mahornet, where you will be able to find a diverse and beautiful fauna. But it is steep and you will be hiking right at the edge of the cliffs. If you take this path, you can also visit another beautiful beach, Punn Sanden. And you can come back actually through the most popular view point: Heia. But it is a hell of a climbing! Although I don’t think it take much time because while I was in Heia, I saw a group of people coming all the way from down there in a short period of time.
A shorter way to get to Mahornet is by skiping Nordlandsnupen and the North-East part of the island. You can hike from the parking lot going around Horner view point and coming back by climbing up through Heia.
The shortest trail and most popular one is to Heia viewpoint. And I take this one. It is very steep almost all the way, but I am sure that, if you are not carrying more than 25 Kg like me, you will be fine. I have decided to camp in the top of the mountain because I thought it would be a better place to see the Northern Lights, plus I could stay there until sunset and for sure it would be a great view, at least better than from the beach down there, Sørlandshagen. From the parking lot you will have two options: either take the outside trail or going through a tunnel. If you decide for taking the tunnel, you will need a flash-light with you because it is pitch dark the whole way. Kind of creepy but fun!
At first, I thought I would go all around the island. Luckily, the man I talked to made me change my mind. It is totally possible and doable, but not with 25 Kg. And by the way, he drove me all the way to the parking lot. Yay!
If you have the whole day for hiking, you can go all around the island. And if you are staying more than one day, you can visit all the beaches and other areas. All these places are extremely beautiful and totally worth it! So, if you have the time take it and go everywhere!
The views of my hiking to Heia are spectacular! Really breath taking! It is a sunny day with blue sky so it looks fantastic! I just want to sit here, admiring it forever and not go anywhere! But it is also quite exhausting for me and it takes much more time than I expected. At the top, there is a NATO installation, which is kind of annoying. But you can just go around to reach the view point. I stay here for a long time, enjoying the view and waiting for the sunset. There were two other guys waiting for the Northern Lights and I left before them. I wouldn’t mind to make my camping around here but I couldn’t find a flat area. Plus, I don’t think NATO mates would be very happy about it.
I make my camping in a plateau called Tverrberget. It is beautiful here but a bit moisty. Because it is quite windy, I couldn’t prepare my tent in the best way possible and I would pay for that during the night. It would move a lot and reduce my inside space to almost nothing. When I look at in the morning, I laughed. I manage to sleep and didn’t feel cold at all but I couldn’t see the Northern Lights at all. I did wake up at some point but there was nothing outside. Perhaps this is one good thing a smartphone can help you with it: apps for Northern Lights. They tell you the probability of them happening and lively can give you the time to look for them. Or you can just make a camping fire, brew some coffee and stay awake until 2 a.m., waiting for them. I am sure you will catch them! I just couldn’t do that.
I have a pretty view when I wake up that’s for sure! I take a little walk around the plateau before packing and go back to the port. I have no idea what time it is but I cannot miss the ferry so better waiting down there.
When I get to the port there is already a huge queue of motorhomes. I guess they also don’t want to take the chance of the ferry running out of space. I eat my breakfast while waiting.
I made the wise decision of asking people here, now, about a lift to the peninsula, instead of hitchhiking in Moskenes. Luckily for me, Tony comes out of his motorhome to stretch his legs. He looks very friendly so I introduce myself and ask for a lift. He immediately accepts and tells me we can meet outside the ferry in Moskenes. Yay! The ferry to Moskenes it takes only about one hour.
10 Years Around the World 