August 30, 1998 R100GS 37193 R80G/S 4xxxx We drove off the main road to Nesfjord. It's another traditional fishing town except this one is built in a fjord. Having just come from A, this village appeared to have lost a bit of it's charm with rusty water tanks placed in scenic views. Since it was such a nice day, Sharon wanted to continue on rather than stay here which was our original plan. We passed through a tunnel which went under the water connecting the island Flakstad0ya with Vestag0y island. As we descended into the tunnel, I could see the road was wet, and the walls seemed to be leaking. Knowing there was a sea above my head, made seeing these leaks a bit uncomfortable. We drove through the twisty mountain passes along the fjord waters which are often so calm as to create a glass surface doubling the scenery by reflection. Cute red or yellow solid painted wooden homes and boat houses are scattered throughout and add to the scenery. So often we encounter beautiful scenery such that we want to take a picture and hold on to the moment, however with such frequency that we would never get anywhere if we did. Instead it's a passing moment of enjoyment of which I rely on my neurons to retain the vision, knowing that it'll really never quite be the same. This is a good thing for if I didn't forget to some degree, I would remain spoiled and not appreciate as well future scenic vistas. In Borg, we visited the viking museum built next to where a former viking chieftain lived. The museum is a replica of what they thought the real one was like. About a mile hike from the house is a replica of a viking boat in the water. During their summer season which ended two weeks ago, they took guests out on a viking boat cruise, and also had actors working as viking craftsman all over. Sounds like a nice museum. Now, the boat sits empty and roped up in the water, and none of the craftsman actors are to be found, but they still charge the entrance fee of 70Kr ($9) per person. I couldn't help feeling ripped off. Our guide book said the fee was 80Kr, so obviously others have complained. August 31, 1998 Fosseng, Norway - {Fosseng Camping} R100GS 37264 R80G/S 487xx Since Sweden, I've noticed that the calm waters between the fjords are full of jellyfish with such density as I haven't seen in any other place. Some are moon jelly fish with the four rings in the center of their mantle, however most have a rusty maroon explosive looking mantle which changes into a clear dome. One time, during the ferry crosses, I could count close to 100 jellyfishes per minute within twenty feet of our ferry. Yesterday we passed some white sand beaches and saw some people crazy enough to go in to the water. At the time I was thinking of the cold, however now of greater concern would be the threat of being stung by the jellyfish. The landscape of Norway has been covered through with a long stalky purple wild flower that dominates the landscape far more that dandelions back home. In the North, they are starting to go to seed, which means the release of little puffy airy star like seeds that are carried on the wind like milk weed. They filled the air with such frequency that cruising these roads was like looking at a hyperspace screen saver. Sharon got hit in the eye with a meteor, which drifted past her blast shield on her helmet. She pulled over and took care of it. Despite my full faced helmet and closed visor, I was pulling them from the side of my mouth, and off of my nose which tickled and drove me crazy. At the grocery store, I found some vacuum packed Norwegian smoked salmon, and instantly started salivating. We've seen it in many grocery stores, however at the time, I didn't know the Norwegian word for smoked (r0kt or ro:kt), and so didn't recognize it as such. I wanted to walk out with half a fish, however I new we couldn't store it on the bike. I settled for a large chunk for lunch tomorrow. At Bjerkvik, near Narvik, we turned off of E10, the main road through the Lofoten islands, and onto E6 which runs from Southern Sweden all the way to Northern Norway. Since it was getting late, we started looking for a place to stay. Apparently many of the cabin camping places are closing down for the season. It wasn't until our fifth try did we find a place that was open. Note: Like what happened today when I bought gas, often in Sweden and Norway, visa credit cards are not accepted, but master card is. Gasoline prices have been climbing as we go further North. Around Oslo, it was around 8.19Kr per liter, near Narvik, we paid 8.89Kr per liter. September 1, 1998 Manndalen, Norway - {Manndalen Sea House} R100GS R80G/S Like yesterday, the only time when the sun wasn't shining on us was when it was obscured by a mountain. Beautiful blue skies. However it felt a bit colder. We were stopping every 30 minutes for a brief warm up. Not because we necessarily felt cold, but because we knew we were. If I can turn on the heated jacket to the point where it feels hot, however my body won't break out in a sweat, I figure my body temperature is below normal and I just don't realize it. While I'll feel comfortable, hypothermia is setting in, and it's been my experience that I'll be wiped out by evening regardless of how comfortable I felt during the day. Relative to other motorcyclist we've seen, we're pretty well equipped for the cold. We don't look very stylish, but we're comfortable. I've been wearing: T-shirt, long sleeve shirt, electric heated liner, fleece, leather jacket, PVC jacket. Normal socks, hiking boots, wool long underwear, cotton pants, cordura riding over pants. winter gloves and a helmet. Sharon is similarly dressed except without the fleece. She is wearing an additional pair of thick wool socks, a scarf, and a second T-shirt. We found some beautiful luxury cabins built on a wood pier with sod roofs. There are two bedrooms, one is a loft, both are complete with linen and down blanket with duve cover. Each cabin has it's own bathroom, shower, sauna room and kitchen. Our kitchen has a stove, oven, microwave and drip coffee maker. We have dining table, and a large coffee table with chairs around each. The walls and ceilings are panelled in knotty pine and the furniture is also built of the same. Our porch deck is built over the water with views of the wide fjord, and the fishing boat docks at the end. The cabins were built in '94 with a lot of taste, obviously intended for those seeking a luxury rental cabin. Sharon said, "wouldn't this be a nice place for our anniversary (which we celebrate on the 2nd)." For lunch I got out the smoked Salmon and ate it with some crackers. It was wonderful... I would have given a lot for a little champagne to go with it though. Sharon made some wonderful little pizzas using the Norviege (swiss style) cheese, grilled onions, mushrooms, and some spicy red sauce which she piled on flour-potato tortillas. They were wonderful. We splurged on some beer from the grocery store. They called it "light beer" not because of it's caloric content, but rather because it's only 2.5% alcohol. These sold for 11.5Kr ($1.50) per bottle. They were brewed in a brewery in Troms0. At 69d45' North latitude I wouldn't be surprised if it where the Northern most brewery in the world. We did have polar beer in Tiera del Fuego which was from the Southern most brewery in the world. While not bad beers, I'd take a Belgian or German beer any day over these. We hopped into our sauna. Perfect after a cold day of riding on the motorcycle. The thermometer got up to 58 degrees Celsius before we figured we had enough. Sharon jokingly suggested that if I put on my riding gear, I can pre-test it for riding in the Sahara which is known to get up to 50 degrees in the Summer. It was around 40 when we were in Morocco. September 2, 1998 On "god Morgen Norge" (Good Morning Norway), a show much like Good Morning America, I saw the weather forecast. The high pressure zone we have been experiencing is leaving us, and in comes the rain. I made French toast again for breakfast, and we drank some expensive Colombian coffee we bought this morning at the grocery store within walking distance. We've been having a hard time finding good coffee. We intentionally left one bag behind at a cabin, and our current coffee we were losing the taste for. Today, we paid 40Kr for 300grams ($7.87 per lbs) which is twice the price of the most expensive generally available coffee. It was alright... Note: The grocery store sells little flask size liquor bottles filled only 1/8 to a 1/4 full of flavorings. Apparently it's intended that one adds their own alcohol to it. Some flavors include peach schnapps, cognac, western bourbon, etc. Obviously this is a niche market item suited for Scandinavian liquor laws. Sharon commented on how she noticed the driving styles have changed further North. While in the South, and the rest of Scandinavia we found drivers to be safety conscience, laid back, and almost always obeying the low speed limits. In the North, we've been passed in stupid areas by truck drivers and delivery van drivers. People riding on other's tails seems more common. There seems to be a different kind of mentality up here, North of the Arctic circle. On the FM radio, I started to pick up a radio station playing industrial and acid rock, music I associate with individuals who need to relieve pent up frustrations. Typically cabin log books have comments like "Thank you for the wonderful stay...We had a great time... blah blah blah.". While this is mostly the case with ours, there are a few signings from disturbed individuals who write "Dethroned is Jehovah, son of God, R.I.P. Jehovah". There are other individuals drawing disturbing pictures signing Nazi-Heff, etc. In the past couple days I've seen a few teenage kids loitering looking entertainment starved. I would imagine that this far North brews a few disturbed individuals. The remoteness of the villages, only 1 TV channel starving for programming, the 24 hours of darkness during most of the 7 month long winter, can all contribute to a frustrated growing up. Seasonal acquired depression syndrome is probably endemic around here in the land of the midnight sun and winters of eternal darkness. ----- Since Trondheim, we've gone through a kilo (2.2 lbs) of butter and over 200ml of olive oil. Our fat intake seems to go up relative to the cold. In cold Southern Chile and Argentina, while we were hiking, we were eating a pound of chocolate a day, and consuming even more butter and olive oil. We don't seem to be gaining any weight. If anything loosing weight. ---- The only bargain in Norway are peanuts and fish. September 3, 1998 Alta, Norway R100GS 37593 R80G/S 49072 Each bike consumed just under a half liter of oil since Trondheim For a second day in a row we had french toast topped with butter and powder sugar, bacon and some of our new Colombian coffee which turned out to be better than the standard Norwegian. It was overcast and cool, but no rain. About 8 miles out from Alta, we came across some reindeer grazing by the side of the road. I counted 5, however there appeared to be more in the woods. We pulled over to the side and they seemed to not to be afraid of us. As soon as I turned off my engine to take a picture of them next to Sharon on her motorcycle, they took off into the woods. Two days ago when we had been driving, I noticed an unusual vibration in the bike. I had thought maybe the old front tire might need replacing. However inspecting the tires this morning showed that they were worn, but fine. Today, I noticed that the vibration only existed when a load was applied to the bike, that is when I used the gas. If I decelerated, or had the clutch in, then I didn't feel this new vibration. This eliminated tires and wheel bearings. The bike has almost 38,000 miles on it. A known failing of the R100GS is it's drive shaft. They almost always fail between 30,000 and 50,000 miles at the Universal joint closest to the transmission. I had been expecting this long before setting out on our trip. And went so far as to figure out the cost of shipping a new drive shaft by DHL to Zaire. I had hoped that this would fail in Europe. Fortunately it might be, unfortunately at 71 degrees North Latitude this is the most remote place in Europe, in a country with the most expensive sales tax 23%?. I had heard that the drive shaft could take over a 1000 miles (1000km ?) to fail, so I still had time. And in actuality, I'm not sure yet if it even is the drive shaft that's causing this. If it is, it will get worse. The little town of Alta houses a wonderful regional museum which won a European award for excellence in '93. The main attraction is the rock carvings. surrounding it. There are 6km? of boardwalk which take visitors by the carvings in the rocks. These carvings date back 5000-6000 years ago. They are all over the rocks, and ironically they were not discovered until 1973 despite being surrounded by homes, and even one telephone pole has an anchor driven into a rock covered with these carvings. The carvings are primarily of reindeer, bears, and birds. Men are depicted hunting the reindeer with bows, luring bears with fish. They had long boats with reindeer heads in the place of maiden heads. Situated next to the museum is the base of what is thought to be one of these stone age homes. Apparently there are thousands of these foundations found throughout Northern Norway. The museum houses other things, such as Lapplander (Sami) customary clothes with are colorful bright red and blue. The men often wear four cornered hats that remind me of a jester hat. The Sami people are considered the indigenous people of this Northern arctic region. Scandinavians are from further South. In the basement was the war memorial museum. Where they told the story of how the Germans invaded Northern Norway, and then burned down everything when they left taking with them the inhabitants. The presentation would make a German uncomfortable. The museum housed a some silver viking jewelry. Apparently there was a belief that you could take your possessions with you into the after world. And if you didn't, you would be penniless there. People would hide their jewelry under boulders such that they knew where they could retrieve it when they were dead. Back at our campground,.. We met a motorcycle traveller from Britain who had come down on his new FJ1200. We had a nice time talking to him about travels. While not on motorcycle, he had done a lot of travelling in SE Asia. As far as motorcycle touring, he likes to tour fast, very fast, like 110mph on these Norwegian highways. The speed limit is 55mph, and most everybody obeys them. He doesn't like any extra weight on his bike even so far as to leave his tiny tool bag at home. He had one accident on this trip. He went around a corner a bit fast leaning so horizontal to the road that his foot peg caught into the asphalt and sent him flying fortunately into a bog where he and his motorcycle had a soft landing. He was interested in motorcycle touring the Americas, and asked us about it. I suggested he get a big slow heavy bike and pack it down with lots of crap so as to slow him down from killing himself under Latin American driving conditions. He talked about travelling through Mongolia in 1990. He said the diet was almost exclusively tough stringy yak meat. Much of the population was still largely nomadic. The wine of the area was fermented yak milk we he likened to tasting like sour milk. This compares to the Sami population here which only a few decades ago was still nomadic and depended on reindeer meat, and reindeer milk for food. It makes sense that a nomadic population is going to be more likely to live off of food that can carry itself as they travel. We talked about how television is the great homogenizer of cultures. Poverty is relative. Someone around here may be content to herd his reindeer and feel like a rich man until he sees Dynasty or Dallas TV show glamorizing another life style. September 6, 1998 13km away from Nordkapp, Norway R100GS 37769 R80G/S 49258 NordKapp (or North Cape in English), is the Northern most point in Europe at 71 degrees, 10 minutes, 21 seconds North latitude, Being only 125 miles away, this was our destination for the day. Sharon was moving quickly packing our things. She was feeling very motivated to get on the road with the sun shining and almost no cloud in the sky. On overcast mornings in Norway, it's difficult to get her out of bed. After a breakfast of Musli with wild berry yogurt (skogbear) and coffee, we packed up our things, talked with Joe a little, and then bundled up for the cold. We drove into town (Alta) to replenish our cash at an ATM, and filled up the gas tanks. Gas up hear sells for 8.95Kr per liter compared to 8.19Kr per liter around Oslo. About 50km North East of Alta on E6, we crossed a large plain terminated by gently sloping mountains. In these plains no trees grew and a river flowed through. Wild reindeer numbered in the hundreds here. We pulled over to the side of the road, and got out the telephoto lens to take some pictures. The reindeer grazed on the grass, and shuttled away if humans left the road. They spotted the landscape. Most were of a grayish brown that faded into white. Some less common ones where all white in coat. The feet were wide more similar to a camel's than a deer, which I assume helps them walk over the snow. Most were well equipped with great antlers. Some antlers were furry, some appeared to be molting fur, and some appeared to be blood red where the fur had molted off. The reindeer were quite common to see the rest of the way. While often these wild reindeer didn't seem to mind humans, the wild one's always preferred a little distance. In some places we found a few in highway rest stops. In these places we stopped, there were swarms of black midges (a type of gnat) and flies which I assume follow the reindeer. It certainly made getting close to them uncomfortable. As we approached the Porsangen fjord which opens into the arctic ocean, the air became significantly cooler. I had been driving without electric vest on relying solely on the sun to warm me. After the temperature drop, I had both heating devices on maximum. There was a cold polar fog rolling in from the sea blanketing the shoreline which is the route the road took us. We took the Kafjord-Honningsvag ferry for 57Kr each which took us to the island of Mager0ya which is where Nordkapp is situated. When we arrived, we could see the ferry pulling away as we had just missed it. The next one was in an hour and forty five minutes. Joe, our neighbor last night at the campground arrived, and we had lunch together at the picnic tables and had some very interesting conversations. The waiting time passed by very quickly. The ferry crossed in 45 minutes, during which we met a German traveller from Stutgart who had come up through Eastern Finland on his Honda XT600 and was going back again along the Western side. On the island of Mager0y From Honningsvag to Nordkapp, the distance is 33km (20 miles) We had been told by several that Nordkapp is boring. there is nothing to see. It's just a landmark where tourists drive to. I assumed this was the case, and both Sharon and I were pleasantly surprised to find this a very unappreciative description. The island is situated on a high plateau with sharp cliffs, and deep fjords cutting into the islands making for spectacular scenery. The high plateau is mostly of scrub, grass and slate. The high plateau offered incredible views of the clouds, sea and landscape off in the distance. It was beautiful. It really felt remote. I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. Similar to San Sebatian in Tierra del Fuego. visiting Nordkapp.... At Nordkapp, they have built a nice large visitor center with souvenir shop, restaurant, post office, etc. There is a monument landmark of a globe built at Nordkapp which is ideal for taking a photo. The entrance fee into this park area, is 175Kr ($23) per person. An outrageous sum if all you want to do is take a picture, go to the bathroom, and warm up. Since people drive all the way up to Nordkapp just to be at the top of the world. $23 at the end isn't going to stop them, just irritate them. Sharon was hesitant, but I was willing to pay the 350Kr fee rationalizing that we came all this way, we had to go the rest of the way. This I know the Norwegians count on. Since we planned to stay the night and now being about 6:30pm the lighting would be better in the morning for a photo, I decided to pay in the morning, however before we turned back to our selected cabin which was 6 miles back, I wanted to ask the clerk a question. I drove up, and there was nobody there, but the light was green indicating it was Ok to pass. I signalled to Sharon who was waiting off in the distance, and we went in. I later found out that during off season, the manned toll both which charges for entrance fees is only open between noon and 5:00pm. Excellent, this information made us $46 richer. Inside, we met a Japanese world motorcycle traveller. He had started back in 1995 in the US, touring Alaska, the East coast of the US, Central America. He crossed the Darien gap while the Crucero express ferry was still in operation. He went down the West coast of South America all the way to Tierra del Fuego, back up to Buenos Aires and into Bolivia then back to Southern Brazil where he crossed from Rio to Italy and then drove up to Norway. He had driven a similar route to ours, however had spent twice as long doing so stopping off along the way for several months to earn money. He was travelling on a 400cc Yamaha. While the engine was made in '94, the rest of the bike was from the '60s, making for a vintage looking motorcycle with a clean engine. I asked him if he had any problems and he said that his engine is losing compression, and needs a new piston, however he needs money first, of which he was considering a hotel job in Narvik, Norway. I asked him if he planned to continue to Africa. He said that he had found such a special place in South West Bolivia in the Andes, that he wanted to find another like this and that he hoped it might be in Africa. He had arrived during off hours yesterday, so didn't have to pay. He had his tent set up and had camped in the parking lot over night, however officials had told him that he couldn't spend a second night. He looked very cold, and was having a difficult time becoming motivated to move. We took some photos with our motorcycles parked in front of the monument despite it being dark, and then headed back to our cabin 6 miles back. That night, we celebrated making it to the top of the world by opening up our Chilean bottle of wine we had brought with us from Denmark, and also sipping on our 40 year port we had brought with us from Portugal. Sharon made a spicy red sauce to go over our pasta which would go with the red wine. It wasn't much of a celebration since we were both tired from fighting the cold all day. About the vibrations... Before we had left Alta, I got the address of the campground should I need to call up one of the four BMW dealers in Norway and have one delivered by the postal system which is suppose to take two days. The vibration continued, but didn't seem to get noticeably worse in the 125 miles to Nordkapp. I was remembering that I had first noticed a barely perceptible unusual vibration near Trondheim at certain revolutions (around 3000rpm?), and wondering if it was the same source. ---- Since Alta, our bodies haven't been agreeing with the water, we started boiling the water we get out of the taps. Previous to this we haven't had any problems drinking tap water since we left Morocco. Although we usually bought water on the Iberian peninsula. ---- The Norwegian style of doing big civil projects seems to be: Get a short term loan to pay for the project, and then charge people who use it as much as possible without starting a revolt. As soon as it's paid for, drop the price or eliminate the toll. This was the case while crossing a 2-3 bridges and or tunnels, the viking museum in borg, Nordkapp visitor center. One average size bridge and relatively small tunnel cost us 60Kr ($7.80) to use, while many other larger tunnels and bridges were free. When we entered the Nordkapp visitor center, we were asked to pay 175Kr ($23) per person. We already had taken our photos... I gently told the receptionist that was too much. We were only interested in visiting the souvenir shop and dropping off some postcards. As if repeating by rote he said, this was because the visitor center is very large, and cost a lot of money to build. With that kind of thinking, they can build the next one out of gold and charge a 1000Kr per person. There are plenty of other souvenir shops and post offices on the island that are free, We left the visitor center $46 richer. Actually, of everyone we had talked to, (five other motorcyclists), no one else had paid. ---- Dave Thompson thompson@pdnt.com www - http://sdg.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~mag/Thompson Net-Tamer V 1.09 Palm Top - Registered