02-Jul-2007 -- As I was in the North of the country I took the opportunity to check a couple of cp-s.

From Alta I went to Skaidi. The bus to Hammerfest (the northernmost city in the world) would leave five hours later. I got a lift with an asphalt truck (56 tons of boiling asphalt), and then with a lady who came out from a garbage site where she had delivered rubbish and garden refuse.

Hammerfest turned out not to be the easiest place to reach the nearby cps. Havøysund was better. A bus ride took me there, back through Skaidi. Havøysund is a village (1100 inhabitants) based on fisheries and recently, a windmill park. A charming little place near the big Barents Sea.

Next morning, after a good night's sleep, a catamaran brought me to Måsøya, 15 minutes away. A small community of 40 - 50 people live on the island. We were two people leaving the boat at Måsøya. The confluence point was about 800 meters from the jetty, but the direct approach was a bit too steep for comfort. I had plenty of time and took the long tour, through the village and the hill to the west. Arriving at the confluence point I enjoyed the unusual weather: sunny and temperatures of around 20 centigrades. And then the Coastal Steamer, Hurtigruten passed just below the rocks. Marvelous!

Trekking through the hills the ground was covered with heather and moss. It was like walking on a soft mattrass. I found some fresh droppings from reindeer, but saw none. There were lots of sea gulls which turned into bombers if you got too close to their nests.

The island has an unexpected history: people lived here 12.000 years ago, before the last ice age. Then again about 4 - 5000 years ago. Towards the end of World War II German troops retreating from the advancing Soviet troops burnt all the buildings (as they did all over Finnmark). They only left one small building next to the church where a small girl, who had just died, was awaiting burial.

The island has a great variety of flowers, some marvelous beaches (but very cold water) and in the amazing weather was a most welcoming place. So were the handful of people I met.