Day 2: from Neiden to Tana Bru
100 km and 860 m climbing
Neiden fjellstue Aksjeselskap (camping)
Sunrise is today at 2:40 in the morning and at 5:30 the temperature in the tent motivates me to make an early bird move. At 7:00 I am ready to go!
The road has one big hill in the morning and one steep finish climb at km 100 in the planning. As temperature is around 24 c in the morning, i make quite good progress.
Two kestrels showing air acrobatics.
A couple bikers who are making the same trip in the other direction waving at me like we are good friends at home.
An ice cold lake in the hills gives refreshment after a climb of 300 m.
Gandvik (Alddagarggu)
Halfway the route, I enter the Bay Area of Gandvik.
There is a beach, with crystal clear water which persuades me to make a dive in the Artic sea. A special experience swimming above the pole circle with 31 c on the thermometer.
The road follows the coastline of the Fjord, and the view of the rocks and Azur blue sea water reminds of Bretagne. However without people or buildings.
In the rare occasions you see people, they are mowing the grass. In this wilderness, every house has a lawn cut near perfection. A seldom spot of order and organization. The Norwegian people clearly love mowing the grass.
Tana Familiecamping AS
Just before the very last steep climb of the day, i stumble into an unexpected supermarket. Which will save me time and kilometers when I arrive in Tana Bru. After a day of dry energy bars, some fresh vegetables end up in my bag as compensation.
The advantage of the early bird move, is an arrival rather early on the afternoon. So, I have plenty of time to recuperate and prepare for the next days.
Tomorrow will be one of the hardest parts of the journey. 25% longer and higher compared to today. In a desolate part of finmark. This first week, there is not much wiggling room in the schedule. There are very few campings in this area, all divided by at least 100 km of wild nature. As of this weekend, the options to play with the distance on a day will significantly increase as the number of campsite will do as well.
