Day 15:  Alta  15C
Today we had a drive of 230 km to the North Cape. The day dawned bright and clear again and off we set ( in the very front seats of the coach) to the tip of Norway. There are 20,000 people resident in the county of Finmark

In 1987 the Samis got their own parliament and flag and were recognized as a culture of their own . They have always been nomadic but the Norwegian Government imposed all sorts of restrictions on them and imprisoned them for not being law-abiding. Now, in the period of enlightenment, the government is more relaxed and so the culture of the indigenous people is recognised. It is a world-wide movement isn't it.

The trip was comparable to our trip to Cape Reinga except it gets colder the further north we travel. The drive to Honningsvage ran alongside a fiord very different to yesterday's in that it was obviously weathered. The Nazis had destroyed all the necesessities  of life right through this area which was where people were rescued and shipped to safety further south. So little housing remains. A few summer houses have been built but otherwise reindeer are all that can be seen. Dried fish is the main export from here. They are extremely valuable and the huge trucks require police escort to protect them from highway robbers. Eider ducks live up here on just one island.

For the first time in the trip we were hampered by the sea fog so photos were limited. I tried many a time to photograph the herds of deer on the sides of the highway but by the time my camera had got itself in focus the fog had eclipsed the deer. The last part of the trip took as through the 7km of tunnels built under the floor of the ocean. Until recently, all transport was on ferry to cross the two islands. We had a warning that fog had entered the tunnel, but we got through alright.

We reached the handsome North Cape Visitor Centre soon after midday.  The North Cape was discovered in 1553 but access has been extremely limited until the turn of this century. This is built on a sheer cliff rising 1,000 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. All our group donned their full Arctic weather gear, but I was wearing so much that I gave my puffer jacket a miss. Mind you, Peter went out on the furthest point for the ultimate photo and mentioned something about freezing the hair off a golf ball. I preferred hot chocolate indoors. There was strict surveillance on visitors eating food not bought from either of the restaurants in the Centre, so we had to hide the food we had pinched from last night's Hotel. There is huge mark-up on everything available at the Centre.

We had been advised to watch the 3D video of the four seasons of the Arctic and we sure enjoyed that. I then stayed on in the vast souvenir shop determined to buy little things from the North Pole, but my income does not extend that far.

On our return trip our tour guide told us about the Norwegian blond woman who boarded her plane in Oslo and sat herself in business class. Absolutely no strategies succeeded in shifting her to economy. In the end the pilot came and sat with her to explain that the seat she was in went to San Francisco. If she really did want to go to Los Angeles she needed to sit further back in the plane. Aha! That was meaningful and off she trotted to her assigned seat.

Towards the end of our return trip we detoured into the Bird Safari where we were taken on a boating adventure to explore the nature reserve. Only half the group had paid for this optional excursion which was just as well as it was certainly not for everyone. When on board we had to don the oozie suits provided in order to survive the Arctic conditions on this midsummer trip. Surprisingly only one woman was seasick. I chatted to the guide afterwards to ascertain his rating of the conditions.  He was thrilled that it was all so calm and fine and assured me they hardly ever get such good conditions.  Really? I was OK but certainly couln't contemplate taking photos as well. Yes it was worth it. I have never seen so many thousands of Puffins in full operation. There were 4 or 5 other types of bird out there but we do shags and gannets at home. It was the puffins that were the main attraction for me.

We arrived at the Scandic Honningsvag Hotel and headed straight for the bar. The whole day had been so far beyond any comparable experiences. There isn't any sunshine to keep us awake tonight.