Honningsvag

June 15th
Honningsvag Norway (North Cape)

Today I got as close to the north pole as I’m ever likely to get (not including flying over it). The ship stopped in the port of Honningvag which is way at the north end of Norway, look it up on a map if you get a chance. I had a good deal of time in port, and unlike Tromso, didn’t sleep through it. I got off the ship just after lunch at 11 and began walking through this small seaside village. The cities are really charming in Norway, and the landscape is certainly beautiful, but I still can’t believe people actually live up there all year round. The temperature was around 40 and I can’t imagine it getting much warmer than that, ever. Anyways, I started walking through the city looking for something to do. The city is wedged between the water and a decent mountain, and in keeping with tradition, I just had to climb it. After walking around the base for a while I found a nice route up and started my ascent. This mountain was higher and steeper than others I’ve climbed, but I felt fairly comfortable on the terrain, consisting primarily of a strange moss (similar to the swamp I walked through yesterday) and fallen rocks. Maybe it’s that I’m losing my endurance or that this climb was especially steep, but I had to stop multiple times to catch my breath, so that’s at least some indication of the physical demands of this climb. But anyways, I made it to the top of the first peak which overlooked the city and the ship, only to find someone else up there. The guy up there works on the ship as a pianist in a lounge, and considering he was someone I hadn’t yet met, it was slightly odd meeting him on top of the mountain, but kind of cool. I’m just glad I’m not the only one crazy enough to climb a barren mountain for no reason other than for the view.
After our brief introduction, he headed back down the hill and I continued on to the next peak. This next point of interest wasn’t much higher than the first, but I had nowhere to go and no reason to climb back down, so I made my way over to it. When I got there I noticed a green mailbox, labeled velcommen, attached to a large wooden post indicating the summit. So, like any curious hiker, I opened up the box to see who was welcoming me to the top of the hill. Inside was a plastic container, like a water bottle, which housed a numbered list and a pen, apparently someone had made a guest book at the top of this mountain. Well, I had to sign it, but the paper was really wet and the pen included in the bottle wasn’t working properly, so I took out my Roosevelt alumni pen and signed my name to the list. After some deliberation about the intrinsic value of my pen, I decided to leave it with the list of names for future climbers to use, and then took a seat to enjoy the view and contemplate the possibility of my Roosevelt pen being further north than all other Roosevelt pens (no, I’m not kidding). But here’s where it gets good.
Soon after I took my seat, I noticed another climber who had reached the first peak, gave him a wave to say hi, and waited as he approached my lookout. As he got closer, I greeted and welcomed him to what I was convinced was my point. First thing he does is go for the box, but not to sign his name. Turns out he’s actually the “keeper of the list” (my own term) and had climbed the mountain to replace the wet list with a dryer book and some new pens. I was proud to point out to this mysterious keeper that I had donated my pen to the cause, to which he seemed thrilled. He even gave me the old pen as a souvenir, which was nice of him, I didn’t have the heart to tell him I thought it was broken. So we started chatting and I got some interesting information from my new friend. First of all, after finding out the list was his own creation, the next thing learned about was his age – 76. Yeah, remember how I said I struggled climbing to where I was, and that there were lose rocks and moss everywhere, well this 76 year old retiree totally kicked my butt in climbing, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The best part is that he said he does this all the time, and this was a shorter walk for him cause his wife, who usually comes with, had some back pain in the morning and decided not to go with. So with a lost sense of pride in my fitness level, we continued talking and learning about each other. Norwegians have very good English, in general, so communication wasn’t a problem. I let him know I played music on the ship, and found out he had lived in this city all his life and how much he loves it. He cites the fresh air as the reason for his enjoyment of the location, of which I can certainly understand. He said he used to work there as an insurance agent and now just enjoys his time walking the mountains and enjoying the fresh air. We discussed his son in Houston, his trips to the US, and he even called up his wife to tell her about the American he met signing his list. Before he left, he asked if I’d be returning to the city and invited me to his house for tea when I do, so I wrote down his name and address with the intent of taking him up on that offer. He then showed me what he thought was the best route down from my position, we said goodbye, and he continued on what I thought was and otherwise impossible walking route for a 76 year old man. Before he passed behind the third and furthest peak, he gave a wave and disappeared behind the rocks.
By the way, he said the temperature in the winter doesn’t drop below -3C, or around 20F, my guess is due to the water. Inland, he said, the temp drops below -25C – a conversion I can’t quite guess for you.
I sat for another 20 minutes or so just laughing at the unbelievable coincidence of the meeting and replaying it in my mind. It’s experiences like that that I work on ships for, that is, unplanned and entirely spontaneous relationships with people I’d have never been able to meet otherwise. Then, when my euphoria was pushed aside by the near freezing temperature, I began my decent towards the city. I took some pictures on the way down, and eventually made it back to the roads with out a problem. I find climbing and descending so much fun, it’s an opportunity to get outside and just jump around enjoying the world for what it is, I really find it wonderful. From there, I was too excited to go back to the ship, so I meandered about until I found some friends to walk with for little more than the sake of having someone to talk to and tell my new story too. I retraced some of my steps as I walked with my friends, not really accomplishing anything, just spending time not in our cabins.
We all returned to the ship, and after a rehearsal and show that night, that was about it for the day. Just one more day on the ship, one more interesting port I’d otherwise never see, and one more really cool experience for which there is no substitute. Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!