Two ferries to the sun

The UK is being blasted with freezing temperatures and howling winds, and we are preparing to head to the sun. This isn’t a tour, or a trip where we’ll discover a new country or new architecture, history, and people. This is about being warm, pure and simple!

When we first thought about moving to the island (having visited for a whole half a day!) we discussed spending summer in our fixed home and winters in our home on wheels.  We haven’t actually managed to achieve this until… now.

Braving the cold, we entertained our neighbours as we packed Agy up. It was so cold I needed to warm my frozen body with a hot bath in between attempts to fit all our belongings into the jigsaw puzzle of confined space that will be our home for the next few weeks. 

Agy had an extension to her rear this time as Lexi, our little scooter, is joining us for the trip. Lexi’s van rack is brilliant, but once she is aboard, the back doors are no longer accessible, so packing had to be completed before she could be rolled up the ramp onto her travel rack. She looks at home, don’t you think?

After a last night out with our fabulous friends and neighbours we headed to our first ferry. We had been planning to leave a few days earlier, make a special delivery to my brother and then heading to see dad and other family members, but given the weather forecast we chickened out. Icy roads and freezing nights are no fun in Agy, despite her upgraded and brilliant new heating system.

Luckily the winds died down and the next day we had a smooth crossing, boding well for our next step of the journey. With a stop at Port Solent in Portsmouth where vans are welcomed to park up, or even stay overnight for free while you shop, eat, or enjoy the cinema, we headed to the international ferry port at Portsmouth.

Now, this all seems sensible and doable until you realise you have several hours to wait at the port (I mean, you can turn up an hour before sailing, but we were not risking any issues or delays!)  On most occasions, this would be fine, but it was bitterly cold! We have a great heater, but we didn’t want to use it as you can’t just turn it off if the port authorities ask you to move, it needs to run a cool down cycle which takes a couple of minutes. So we sat, in the cold, bobble hat (me), scarf and cap (Ian) and waited… and waited. We were due to sail at 11.30pm, but it became clear that wasn’t going to happen. The ferry eventually arrived about 9.30pm and very slowly cars, campervans, motorhomes and lorries disembarked. At about 11pm the line started to move and we were boarded quickly as we were at the front of the queue. 

We were sailing with Brittany Ferries aboard their new ferry ‘Salamanca’. We’d booked a cabin and ‘C club’ access, so headed to our cabin, dropped off our bag and went straight to the C Club. The C Club is a lounge you pay an additional charge to access, which provides free food and free drinks (soft and alcoholic) as well as a lovely calm area to relax for the entire journey. Having done some research and added up the cost of food and drink in the bar and restaurant, it was clearly worth the additional cost.

Despite being very late on board, there was delicious hot vegetable soup waiting for us, crusty bread, cheeses, sliced meats, and fruit as well as wine, beer, tea and coffee. Just what we needed to warm up and relax.  Before we knew it we were chatting to fellow travellers and feeling warm, full and perhaps slightly tipsy!

Our cabin was a simple affair, but gave us all we needed, comfy beds, a bathroom, and was spotlessly clean. We chose an inside cabin (which we don’t mind at all). Ours had a Trompe-l'œil that lit up showing a shutter and beautiful view. I loved it - Ian didn't!

The journey passed fairly quickly with a hot breakfast, lunch and dinner in the C Club lounge, we chatted to others, read, braved the outside deck once (it was very cold!!) and had a wander about the onboard shop and remainder of the ship. Everywhere was very nice, but the noise levels and the costs of drinks and dinner, although reasonable, made us thankful for the quiet sanctuary in the C Club lounge. If you are wondering about doing this trip with a pet, they do have pet friendly cabins, but I understand they sell out quickly!

Arriving in Santander at 8 am, 2 days later - a very civilised way to travel.

Journey's end?

 

This was not the place to break down! We are as far north as it is possible to drive in Europe, miles from anywhere and we were in no position to fix the issue. Miraculously Ian managed to get us down that steep winding road without changing gear and to our campsite a few miles away, where we could get help. As I headed into the camp site office, Ian called our breakdown insurance. 

Remarkably, the phone signal was excellent, and we were parked by the only other visitors on site, an English couple from Broadstairs in Kent!

Our insurance company told us someone would be with us soon ( we couldn’t quite believe how, but they assured us they would), so we set about planning what we might need to do. I think we were both in shock. Agy hadn’t shown any signs of a problem, we were miles from anywhere and it was hard to imagine how this would work out. To say it was stressful was an understatement.

The lovely couple next  to us invited us in and kept us entertained while we anxiously waited for the recovery vehicle, and looked out to a great view of the Nordkapp horn again ( a bit closer this time!)

 It was clear we weren't going to be travelling far in Agy, but this campsite was basic, it had a loo, and showers, but no facilities for emptying vans of any waste, you know, the sort you wouldn’t want to sit around for a while. Luckily, it has a sister site close by with a bit more in terms of facilities, and our lovely new neighbour offered to take me, with our toilet cassette to get it emptied and cleaned in case  it was going to be a long time before it could be done again. It’s not many people who would offer to pop your full loo in their car!

Within an hour, our rescue truck  had arrived. Tommy ( who we eventually got to know quite well) hooked us up and drove us to Honningsvåg  where more facilities and civilisation could be found. Honningsvåg is a tiny town (more of a village in our thinking) with an arctic cruise terminal where thousands of visitors come to visit Nordkapp and in the winter, to see the northern lights. We were dropped outside a garage a little outside the tourist area where the local community lived. It was located behind an Esso station forecourt. At this point, we were told the garage will assess the situation in the morning, and decisions made from there, so we bedded down for the night in our cosy duvet and tried to sleep. 

In the morning it all sunk in, we are in the garage forecourt, no electric except the solar panel on the roof (we weren’t going to be driving anywhere to generate more anytime soon) and although we had gas for heating  it would run out very quickly, we are in the arctic, nights are cold and we had no idea how long we would be here. We didn’t want to use the loo because who knows when it could be emptied again. It all felt a bit unsettling.

Luckily, there was a supermarket nearby with toilets from 7am to 11pm, and a café in the petrol station, although we really didn’t feel like eating much. This wasn’t how we imagined our journey ending.

8am the next morning we headed into the garage. We knew what the issue was, Ian had the equipment to read the error codes. There was no way the garages up here would be able to fix this. After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing over 3 days with the AA recovery team by phone it was agreed that the best option was for Agy to be recovered back to Southampton and us repatriated somehow. 

Agy couldn’t stay where she was long term (ish) so needed to be moved, and we needed a way home. Fortunately Honningsvåg has a tiny arctic airport, so we had a way out and Tommy came to our rescue again. He was the local agent for the AA, so as long as we weren’t staying in her, Agy could be looked after at his garage until a transporter could be arranged. So back he came, towing us to his garage (one with probably the best view of any garage in the world!) and flights were booked for us, later that night. 

At this point we realised there are some essentials you need to take home with you considering many of your important belongings, clothes and all your prescription medicine is with you, as well as all our valuables. We had a lot of camera equipment, laptops, etc. and in a van, you don’t carry bags and suitcases. Luckily we were informed there was a shop in town near the cruise terminal that sold paper and suitcases… an odd combination, but they seemed sure, so we trotted off for the 45 min walk into town, and sure enough, a shop selling paper - A4 printer type paper ( not the gift wrap I imagined) and suitcases! I’m presuming it is for the cruise passengers who buy so many new Norwegian jumpers and socks they need extra storage to get them all home! Our walk back to Agy was accompanied by the sounds of a little green case wheeling beside us.

We finally felt we could eat something and headed to our local petrol station café where we had become part of the local community. We’d spent many an hour in there drinking their yummy hot chocolate and chatting with the locals, all of whom were huge English football fans (which was slightly tricky as we have no idea about football!). We learnt about their kids, their cars and bikes, winter sports, shooting, hunting, fishing. It was an amazing experience, and one we would never have had if this hadn’t happened. Ordering our first real meal in days we were amazed. This is not petrol station food as we know it!

Our first flight of our long journey home was booked for 11.30pm. I’d walked up to the airport earlier to see if it was OK to arrive with no boarding pass as we had no way of printing it, but found it empty. A beautiful view, but empty. 

Remember this sign I mentioned in a previous blog? The places named were taking on new meaning to us, and in fact, we were going to visit almost everywhere on the sign!

When we arrived that night we realised why. The airport had opened just for us. The staff who were incredibly friendly were fascinated by our story and having checked us in, printed our boarding passes, scanned our bags, and allowed us through security, then shut, or rather locked us in the airside lounge. They then went to turn on the landing lights, check the runway for debris and guide the plane in with their paddles as it landed.. Yep, the staff have multiple roles here! 

As we watched the plane land and the captain get off, do his checks and head to the loo, the waiting room door opened and we were ready to board. I stopped to take a photo and as I did the captain said , “shall I take one of you both?” Who wouldn’t say yes?

On board were a couple of other people, but not many. Our flight was taking us to Kirkenes on Norway's eastern boarder about 5 Km from the Russian border, but before we arrived we stopped to drop of most of the remaining passengers, about 10 minutes after we took off.

At this point the stewardess came to ask us to move to the back of the plane. We didn’t have any cargo and the plane needed to be balanced. As there was only one other passenger on board she asked us to move right to the back row and she came and joined us. A good friend who knew about our unexpected adventure had joked that they might weigh us before we got on, they didn’t, but it wasn’t far from the truth. As we talked the stewardess asked how we were getting to the hotel that night. We’d explained about our predicament and she know this had all been arranged by our insurance company.

The only bit they had been unable to book in advance for us was transport from the airport to the hotel here, so had asked us to get a cab and they would refund us. This took her a bit by surprise and she looked worried… after a moment she said, I’ll ask the Captain to call air traffic control and get them to book you a cab.“ it seems this was going to be another small airport. 

It really did feel like a private jet! As we came into land at Kirkenes I managed to snap these photos, as you can see it was stunning, and still light at 1.30am.

As promised the taxi was there waiting for us as we arrived. Our taxi driver told us a bit about the town and how it has been devastated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Being so close to the border, people crossed daily for shopping and social activities, the town had many people who worked across in Russia and vice versa. Families are split now as the border is closed. Many Ukrainians living in that area of  Russia crossed into Kirkenes for refuge and it had a huge impact. She was incredibly sad about it, not just because of the impact on Ukraine, but also on her small Norwegian town.

Luckily our next flight wasn’t until mid morning, so we had time to sleep, shower and get the airport shuttle back to the airport - the least enjoyable bit of the journey, but it did the job. We had a few moments to  have a wander in Kirkenes and learn about the  impact the war has had from the story boards in the town square. Leaving Kirkenes we were heading to Oslo.

Now, we thought we had plenty of time for our transfer in Oslo. In fact we did not! For some reason I had a strong feeling we needed to make haste, so I whizzed us through the airport, not stopping to browse the shops or find food ( however hungry we were), I felt we needed to get a wriggle on… and thank goodness I did. Transferring from in internal flight to an international one meant passport control within the terminal, as we reached the area we needed to be in, we could see hoards of people. And there it was. The line for Non EU passports… it was huge, I mean huge, chaotic and well, just awful. People were missing flights because they had waited so long, there was no system for calling people forward who’s flight was boarding. The deal was, you wait your turn and sort out your missed flight at the gate.. The stress was huge! We befriended a young  British couple who were on the same flight as us and were next to us in the queue, taking their first flight in years and feeling very anxious. We found ourselves defending their space for them when belligerent men and women tried to push in front of them. We were having none of that! Ian managed to grab us some food from a stall next to the queue and we waited, and waited for two and a half hours.. As we neared the passport booth, our flight was boarding so we told the young couple to come with us. We finally got through and ran to the gate! We made it, just, as did they (to be frank they ran a lot faster than us!). The joys of Brexit laid out before us. 

Landing at Heathrow felt odd, I had spent so many years flying most months as part of my job I never expected to be back again so soon, but it was a relief to be back in the UK.

From here, a cab took us to Working, the train trundled us to Portsmouth and with a long wait we made the last Catamaran of the night with the revellers of Victorious festival, several of whom looked worse than us and we’d been travelling for 24 hrs. A final cab from the end of the pier and we were home.

As I write this, Agy remains in Norway, she'll be home soon - we hope Can you spot her nestled between the recovery trucks?

Life is very odd without Agy and we miss her lots. It's stressful when your second  home is thousands of miles away, where the snow comes early and the winter is long,  but I have a feeling she knew I needed to be home. 

Dad became very unwell just days after we were home, so I  was able to go and be with him for several weeks, enabling him to stay at home while he recovered, which he has. Thank you Agy for finding a way to get me home, but please come back soon, we miss you!

This was the end of this journey, but they'll be another, where we complete the rest of the journey we had planned this time - you'll just have to wait a little longer to hear about that.....

PS, 1 October update.....Agy has now made it back to the UK, but isn't home yet, she's still on the mainland being investigated and awaiting repair, but it is good to know she should be home soon.

Nordkapp, the end of the road, the end of our journey?

  

This was not the day we expected it to be. It had started well, the weather as we exited the tunnel was perfect and the views dramatic, it really does feel as if you are driving to the top of the world. The road is steep and winding, the sky is huge and the reindeer well fed.

As the road twists and turns we spotted the Horn of Nordkapp, one of the places many walkers trek to and then there it was, in the distance, the white globe above visitors centre appears.

The steep cliff of the North Cape is located at 71°10′21″N 25°47′04″E, about 2,102.3 km (1,306.3 miles) from the North Pole. Nordkapp is often inaccurately referred to as the northernmost point of Europe. However, the neighbouring Knivskjellodden Cape actually extends 1,450 m (4,760 ft) further north. The northernmost point of Europe including islands, is hundreds of kilometers further north, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago.

E69 motorway has its northern terminus at Nordkapp (North Cape),it is the northernmost point in Europe that can be accessed by car and makes the E69 the northernmost public road in Europe. The cape includes a 307-metre-high cliff (1,007 ft) with a large flat plateau on top, where you can look out to the Barents Sea to the north. North Cape Hall, that houses the visitors centre, was built in 1988 on the plateau. It includes a  fabulous restaurant with a stunning view , a souvenir shop, chapel and a small video about the Cape.

We were so lucky, we had a glorious day, cold, windy, but as clear as it could be. Th Globe ( the monument anyone who visits needs a photo beside) was busy, but we took our turn. It felt like a big step on our journey, from here on, we would be heading south and home ( although our plan was to visit a lot of places on the way and take another 2 months).

Just along the plateau from the Globe is the  Children of the Earth monument, in fact it is seven monuments made by seven children from all parts of the world, symbolising cooperation, friendship, hope and joy across all boundaries. The project was initiated in 1989 and every year in the beginning of June, local children join to celebrate the very same values, and a humanitarian award is given in support of children around the world.

To warm up we headed inside for lunch at the restaurant, courtesy of my fabulous friends and colleagues at Versus Arthritis as  my leaving gift, the view was stunning! We took out time enjoyed all the exhibitions and films, made a small purchase in the shop and headed back to Agy. We had a campsite to get to.

This is where it all went a little bit (!) wrong. Getting in, the wind was so strong I struggled to hold the door and clamber in, but once in, Ian started her up…. A warning light came up on the dashboard and a terrible sound ensued.  Agy must have heard us saying “we are driving to Nordkapp” and decided I have got you here, so I’m going no further!