vivek sekar

we pull over next to a cruise ship and head to the info center. outside i eye the window for the various activities and i find a poster with a puffin, i am confused and bewildered by seeing it. Gjesvaer a port village 21 kms deviation on the way to Nordkapp, had a ferry running to a near by island housing the puffin’s and other sea bird colonies. After a quick dash lunch, we head towards Gjesvaer. driving on i am a little apprehensive of the gravel littered road and take it slow and easy, thanks to a car that over took us on the way, i gain some confidence and slowly push my comfort boundaries. some distance into the drive the turns are handled with typical ease but then the back gives away, i correct it and the realize that the tires are not meant for this road.

the light of god is shining over the fjords across the sea, a short trip towards the island and we get the first glimpse of the sea birds. a dull cloudy day does not help my and camera’s cause - set to full ISO and armed with a 300mm zoom lense, i get only blurred out images of the birds as they fly past. the ferry encircles the island as we head into the open seas, we are caught up in a swell between the calm and violent waters and the ferry goes on a roller coaster ride. we spotted puffins, cormorants, seals, white tailed eagle, black razorbills, kittiwakes, storm petrels and head back to shore.

on the way after some time in the arctic tundra, we head to Nordkapp. the road gets wider, but the side railing vanishes and the gap between road and the edge reduce. a small detour before Nordkapp by foot we head to the top of a mountain adjoining Nordkapp and get a view without much of the crowd and then get into Nordkapp, a nice touristic and consumer friendly spot. the whole of Europe is behind my ass at the supposedly northern most point of Europe. standing at the northern most point does not make an impact as much as the cliffs and the sea make an impact on me.

to help get my perspective right, i over hear a guy talking in Italian (thanks to the Italian movies and some long ago learning my brother had in Italian ) . the tone makes it clear for me, he is talking to his loved ones (his wife i am guessing).

I am in Nordkapp! we have reached the northern most point! i love you!

then one by one each biker takes a photo of himself standing in front of the globe, drinking scotch and a victory cigar. barely able to conceal their excitement of having successfully made a trip. Arun offers to help out with taking the photos but they decline and then as the talk continues. ‘They’ are from Florence (if i remember it right) and have driven on their bike’s all the.

i am all but a inconsequential spec, holding onto my dreams to guide me thourgh all things present and unpresent.

seeing the mid night sun seemed very unrealistic and so we headed out back.

a short refreshing nap at Porsangermoen in the early hours, its destination Rovaniemi. a slow and gradual transistion from the undualting plains to the flat plains, from the snaking roads to straight roads. witnessing the natural beauty by the lake sides as we are way ahead of schedule in reaching Rovaniemi, we make forceful stops just to appreciate and photogrpah.

another journey comes to an end, another addition to one of the innumerable journeys spent inside a little metal shell.