Day 44 – to Lebesby

The first trip I did in the Crafter was just a day after the Scottish lockdown was lifted in April last year. I ended up on a section of the North Coast 500. The route was launched as a pan encouragement to tourists, but the infrastructure in some of the smaller communities cannot cope.

I wonder if a Norwegian North Coast 2500 would work?

Though there were a few motorhomes and campervans in Varanger I have seen none since leaving Tana Bru. It’s much more of a wilderness feel here, simply because its off the tourist track, which seems either to be Varanger, or North Cape.

I hadn’t quite realised the historical significance of the place I’d stopped at last night, Mortensnes. The have been communities on this piece of land for ten thousand years, and a six kilometre walk serves as a very scenic history lesson. I don’t think I’ve ever visited a place that has so many of the periods of history represented.

The earliest settlers here were in the Stone Age, 8000BC and there are remnants of 25 tent rings. They were close to the sea, but after the Ice Age the land rose, so now they are 50 metres from the shore.

In Cumbria we have our own stone circles, as vague as many of them are. It’s similar here, also from the Stone Age, but more like 4000BC. This one has a sacrificial stone with 13 rings around it, a bit more to see than ours..

There is a reconstruction of a hut of the ‘stave’ type from 1000BC, in which the animal had one room and the humans lived in the other.

There is a Sami Burial Site from pre-Christian times, 16 or 1700 (AD), and a sacrificial circle from a similar time upon which reindeer and fish were sacrificed.

The rain of the previous day had given way to a bright sunny morning with the odd shower, and frequent rainbows.

I wanted to drive for a couple of hours after lunch and a supermarket at Tana Bru. The scenery changes dramatically here, to the fjords and steep-sided mountains that are a feature of the country’s west coast. It was a spectacular journey, and would be tremendous on a bike. It’s slow going as the road is seriously potholed, but very little other traffic on the road.

My plan is to head up to Slettnes Lighthouse, almost the same latitude as North Cale, 71.12 degrees as opposed to 71.17 degrees. I don’t expect as many tourists there.. and besides, I’ve been to North Cape before. I’ve stopped tonight at just off the road above Lebesby town, with quite magnificent views all around. During the afternoon the showers have become heavier and more frequent. We got out for 30 minutes late evening, but the rain drove me back inside in the end.