Raw beauty, extreme seasons, luminous summer night skies, dancing northern lights, and snow-capped mountains has, for centuries, drawn explorers, adventurers, royalty, and the curious to the northernmost tip of Europe. Standing atop the mysterious North Cape, the gusty winds, lingering fog and rain, and icy water are all that lie between this 1,000 foot-high steep barren cliff and the North Pole, some 1,300 miles away…about the distance from Kansas City to Los Angeles. The North Cape itself, at 71 degrees north latitude, is in the municipality of Nordkapp on the island of Mageroya, where the Norwegian Sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, meets the Barents Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean. The wilderness in this area is sparse, marred only with 200 days of snow and frost, and the occasional herd of reindeer, though the Gulf Stream usually provides enough warm currents to prevent a hard freeze.
Today the North Cape, 22 miles from the town of Honninsgvag, is a major tourist attraction with an expansive modern visitors center featuring awe-inspiring films of the landscape, exhibits, an attractive cafe, and a busy gift shop. And, beyond that lies the edge of the world, marked by a steel spherical monument to withstand the polar weather. We visited on a cold, foggy day and could see no further into the fierce wind than the abyss of the cliff walls below. A perceptible power is felt here that compels visitors to leave their mark with scribbled words and stacked-rock cairns.
On the drive to the Cape, we passed haunting scenery of rolling mountains and lakes shrouded in fog as the bus slowed for crossing reindeer. We stopped at a roadside souvenir shop for a kitschy photo opportunity with a native Sami resident in traditional dress, posing for the tourists with his own reindeer on lead.
The hometown hero of Honningsvag is a St. Bernard named Bamse, an official crew member and heroic mascot of the minesweeper Thorodd, during the Second World War. He lifted the morale of the ship’s crew and was known for his unconditional acts of heroism and loyalty. Bamse died of heart failure in 1945, with the Thorodd moored dockside in Montrose, Scotland, and was awarded full military honors and a gold medal for gallantry and devotion to duty, the only WWII animal to have received this honor. It was there that a larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of him was erected in 2006. Later, in 2009, a matching statue was unveiled on the waterfront in his hometown of Honningsvag. The book “Sea Dog Bamse”, published in 2008, charted his life from prewar days and became a Scottish best-seller.
I took a hurried hike through town, past the church, the downtown frozen Ice Bar attraction, built anew each year, and up the steep hill behind to a peaceful cemetery where I could overlook the village and harbor, and silently reflect on it’s history, unique geography, and feel the rush of the northernmost wind.
Just looking at your great pictures makes me feel cooler!