From Finland to Norway: The Journey to Tromsø
Nature on the go
View from a cafe
This morning, we were up at 7:00 sharp. After a quick breakfast and packing up the bikes, we were ready to hit the road. It was an early start for the 150 km ride back along the same route, heading towards the Norwegian border. We passed through Enontekio, crossed the border, and set our sights on Tromsø.
Route a north side to Tromso
We approached the Tromsø peninsula from the north, and soon enough, we were lined up for our first Norwegian ferry. Or so we thought—we arrived just 10 minutes too late and watched the ferry sail off without us. Great. That meant a 50-minute wait for the next one.
While we waited, we struck up a conversation with some fellow travelers, and one offered to take a photo of us with our bikes, looking all windswept and rugged by the water. Not a bad way to pass the time!
Waiting for the ferry
Leaking front suspension
It also gave me a chance to check over the bikes. I noticed a puddle beneath mine, but thankfully it wasn’t from the engine. However, the front fork looked greasy, and upon closer inspection, I saw the front suspension was leaking—quite a lot, actually. It wasn’t ideal, but I could still ride, so the plan was to push on to Tromsø and look for a BMW dealer. Being a decent-sized city, there had to be one, right?
After a bit of searching online, we found a dealer called Arctic Motor Tromsø AS through the bmwmotorrad.no website—only to realize they were already closed. Damn. Guess we’ll be knocking on their door first thing tomorrow morning, fingers crossed they can help out a couple of traveling bikers without charging us a fortune. We’ll see how that goes!
On the ferry
On the ferry
Next on the agenda: finding a campsite. According to our research, two were supposed to be perched atop a hill in Tromsø, so we wound our way through narrow, steep streets to the supposed location. Spoiler alert: no campgrounds to be found. I swear, stuff like this only happens to us! After a quick call, we discovered another campsite Skittenelv Camping 22 km away that was actually open, so we headed there instead.
When we finally arrived, we were the only ones pitching tents—everyone else had comfy campers. The weather was still pleasant when we set up camp, but the temperature quickly dropped. Not surprising, considering there’s snow still hanging out on the peaks just 100 meters above us. Out came the down jackets and woolly hats, and soon we were warm and cozy again. 😁🤗
Campsite keeping warm
Dinner tonight was a simple, hearty bowl of pasta with tomato sauce and mackerel, followed by a nice hot cup of coffee. The perfect way to wrap up the day. We’ve now switched back to Dutch summer time, so we’re on the same clock as home again.
Now it’s time to hit the showers and get some sleep. Eye masks are essential if we want to pretend it’s dark enough to sleep! Goodnight, everyone. 💤💤
Skittenelv Camping
Skittenelv Camping
Skittenelv Camping
Midnight sun
Midnight sun
Comments
This post currently has no responses.