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Tromsø to Finnsnes – by bike!

Tromsø to Finnsnes – by bike!

Paul came back from a work trip to Boston last week, and when I picked him up from the airport he asked me to help carry his luggage. I wondered what the problem was – he only took one bag. Then I noticed a big cardboard box on the luggage band, clearly containing a bike… 😀 It’s a hybrid between a road bike and a touring bike, a model he tried to order in Tromsø but none of the shops was willing to get it. Well, I guess it’s easier to import it yourself then 😉

I also finally installed a carrier on my mountain bike, and I bought a set of panniers. The weather looked ok for the weekend, so a plan was quickly made: we were going to cycle to Finnsnes! We left on Saturday morning, and cycled towards Sommarøy. Here is a map, with our route for day 1 in red, and for day 2 in blue.

Paul and his new bike near the top of Kattfjordeidet

The part I dreaded most was crossing Kattfjordeidet, where the road climbs up to nearly 200 m – a loooonggg climb. But by going slowly in the lowest gear you eventually make it to the top – and of course the best bit is the downhill reward 🙂

We cycled to Brensholmen, and took the ferry across to Botnhamn on Senja. Guess what happens when two people who’ve been cycling all day in grey/windy/rainy/cold weather get inside a warm ferry that makes gentle rocking movements?? ZzZzzZzzz….

From Botnhamn it was about an hour to our destination for the day: Fjordbotn Camping. A great location, and a fantastic view from our cabin – but we did think the campsite was messy and that our cabin was really expensive for what it was (we paid 800 kr for a very worn cabin with a kitchenette and bathroom, without bedding or towels!).

Total distance for the day: 57 km from Tromsø to the ferry, 12 from the ferry to the campsite, making a total of 69.

The cabin we rented at Fjordbotn camping We couldn't complain about the view from our cabin! Around midnight the light and clouds were very pretty

We were really hoping to wake up to a sunny day, but unfortunately it was even worse than the day before. The weather forecast called for “mainly dry” but the first part of our day was “mainly wet” 😉 Still, it was a pretty ride along quiet roads, with nice views of the coast.

Up and down along the quiet roads on Senja Very pleased with my new bike setup (carrier + panniers + handlebar bag)

We only had 45 km to cycle that day, so we had more time to take photos 🙂

Some pretty views along the coast Wow, so fast! ;)

From Finnsnes we took the fast ferry back to Tromsø, it only takes 1 hour and 15 minutes! We had never been on one of those, but it was very comfortable, with scenic views. A great way to come home 🙂

Middagsfjellet

Middagsfjellet

Last week the weather was stunning, so when Hannah asked me whether I was up for a trip, the answer was yes :). I did have to be at work by 15:15 though, so we needed to start early. We picked one of the mountains from Turboka: Middagsfjellet (678 m high) on Kvaløya, near Grøtfjord.

The first part was steep, but we quickly made it to the ridge – with very festive markings and a fantastic view towards Nordtinden, Skulsfjord and Bellvika.

Festive marking on the ridge, with a great view towards Nordtinden, Skulsfjord and Bellvika

We had about 5 hours to make it to the top and back, which was definitely doable but it did mean I couldn’t stop as often as I normally do. Which in turn meant that I didn’t take that many photos 😉 But luckily Hannah is a lot faster than me, so I could leave the photo-taking to her: the results are here.

We were slightly disappointed when we got to the top, as it’s a plateau where the ridge actually blocks a lot of the views – we couldn’t see Grøtfjord for example, nor the valley between us and Orvasstinden. But hey, the view towards the open ocean was still impressive 🙂

View from the top

On the way up we avoided the snow, but on the way down we actually followed the last remains of snow – it’s much better for your knees than loose rocks. The snow didn’t always hold us though, and I even managed to scrape my leg open by falling through the icey snow – who knew that was possible?!

View towards Store Blåmann and Orvasstinden, and above Hannah you can see the top of Middagsfjellet

On the way down we went down a steep valley instead of following the ridge all the way. This was an attempt to save time, but it was a bit of an overgrown jungle which slowed us down. Still, we made it back to the car with about 10 minutes to spare 😀 It was a great hike, in fantastic weather – which left me quite severely sunburnt though (in spite of applying sunscreen several times). I can never decide if hikes before work are a good idea – on the one hand I am very happy I went for a nice trip while the weather was good, on the other hand it makes for a very tired person on duty 😉

Here’s a map and a height profile of our trip…

Map of our hike to Middagsfjellet Height profile of our hike to Middagsfjellet

Sandøya

Sandøya

More than a month without any blog posts, what happened?! Did life turn boring, with nothing to write about? Nope, we have the opposite problem: we’ve been on so many trips lately that there was not enough time in between to edit any photos, let alone write a blog entry 😀 I’m really behind now, but I’ll try to catch up as much as I can. First of all: a weekend trip to Sandøya (an island near Tromsø) two weeks ago. You can get there by ferry 3 times a week, but we went with our own boat from Ringvassøya. It took about an hour, you can see our route on the map below…

Map of our route to Sandøya, the place we camped indicated with a blue star, and in green our route to the top of the island

We left late, as Saturday was a rainy day and we had some things to do at home. We arrived at the beach shortly after midnight, and by then it had cleared up almost completely. The beach looked straight towards the midnight sun – beautiful 🙂

Setting up camp in the midnight sun The sun set briefly behind the layer of clouds, then came back again :)

It’s been unusually warm in Northern Norway since Mid May, and we are weeks ahead of schedule – everything is green already, and even the cloudsberries are flowering! They were beautiful, backlit by the midnight sun. With views like this, who wants to sleep??

Summer is several weeks ahead of schedule here, the cloudberries are already flowering! Panorama of the beach we camped on, you can see our orange tent and red boat on the far left

But finally at two in the morning we went to bed. It was so beautiful to fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves and singing birds, and we slept soundly until 11! We enjoyed a lazy breakfast on the beach 🙂 and afterwards we decided to climb to the top of the island, at 427 m. The views down to “our” beach were amazing…

A lazy morning and breakfast on the beach Starting our hike to the top of the island, looking down on our camp

We followed a ridge that also gave us views to the east side of Sandøya (where there’s a small village, but only 2 permanent inhabitants I believe!) and towards Rebbenensøya, with some very pretty clouds…

View towards Rebbenesøya - lovely clouds! Paul on the way up, in the background you can see one of the houses on Sandøya

We then went straight up to the top of the island, on a very steep slope. It wouldn’t have been doable on a rocky slope, but it was covered in small bushes which give more grip. We first reached the (radio?) mast on top of the island, and from there you can look straight down to the beach we camped on – it made me dizzy! From the mast to the actual top is a huge almost-flat plateau which is great fun to walk on 🙂 and the views are incredible, here towards Sørfugløya (Southern Bird Island).

View from the top straight down to our camp - it made me dizzy! Paul poses in front of Sørfugløya (Southern Bird Island) - I took a similar photo of him in front of Nordfugløya (Northern Bird Island) just a few weeks ago :D

We didn’t meet a single person all day, the only signs of life we saw were some boats passing by. In the cairn on top we found the usual “guestbook” where people write about their experiences – and here we found out that 5 people had been to the top earlier that day 😀 Such a small island, but we never saw them.

Posing with the cairn on top. We didn't a see a soul all day, but according to the book 5 people had been to the top that day! Sørfugløya and some impressive clouds

There are some really steep drops near the top, with views to more sandy beaches. I think you can guess where the name Sandøya comes from 😉 We could see all the way from Rebbenesøya to Ringvassøya, Kvaløya, Senja and even Andenes!

Paul looking down at another beach Panorama from the top, with views of Rebbenesøya, Ringvassøya, Kvaløya, Senja and even all the way to Andenes (though that is impossible to see in this photo)

We were getting hungry so we were keen to get back to our camp – there was a bbq waiting for us 😀

Amazing colours near one of the beaches On the way back to our camp

Coming down the steep slope was hard on our knees, but we made it back safely and we enjoyed a well-deserved bbq on the beach 🙂

One last break to enjoy the views After a nice BBQ, we made our way back. The patterns on the beach at low tide were very pretty

It was getting late so we decided to make our way back home. We had originally planned to have a look around the small village, and I have also heard there is an impressive remains of a church on the south side – but this has to wait for another visit. I wouldn’t mind coming back, it’s such a beautiful place 🙂