The vessel was scheduled to arrive in Tromsø shortly before midnight. We had to check out of our cabin around 8 pm so that housekeeping could have the chance to clean the cabin for the next guests. Mom and I stood outside as it didn’t get dark, taking in the views while approaching Tromsø.
The vessel was scheduled to arrive in Tromsø shortly before midnight. We had to check out of our cabin around 8 pm so that housekeeping could have the chance to clean the cabin for the next guests. Mom and I stood outside as it didn’t get dark, taking in the views while approaching Tromsø. With approx. 79,000 inhabitants, this is a significant city and is also known as the gateway to the Arctic.
In the afternoon, we said our farewells to Trond, and he thanked us for being his guests. I cannot thank him enough for enabling us to approach this natural, cultural, and historical landscape. After he dropped us off at our hotel in Vardø, Mom and I explored Vardø once more and went to the Tourist Information booth to organize the trip to Hornøya. This tiny island, situated in the rough sea a quick boat ride off Vardø, is a protected nature reserve and temporary home to 80,000 seabirds such as puffins, Common Guillemot, Kittiwake, and Razorbill.
The US-Americans and their Norwegian guide left the following day. Mom and I got ready because Trond offered to show us around Hamningberg. This is an abandoned fishing village at the end of the road along the shores of Varanger Peninsula.
However, I got some itchy feet and wanted to bring Mom to a place that was magical to me two years ago: Kiberg. This tiny town between Vardø and Vadsø on the Varanger Peninsula served as a convenient stop on my way to Vardø back then. I fell in love with the peaceful, magical, and soul-nurturing surroundings. I remember fondly how I was sitting at Trond’s massive wooden table in the cozy living room, working for my job in New Zealand but watching over the silver Barent Sea around midnight.
This trip was meant to be a relaxing trip to some fantastic places that I have come through on my cycling trip to the North (yes, back then, I kept it very vague where this ominous North actually is) a few years ago. This time, I wanted to travel together with my mom to enjoy a bit of mother-daughter-quality time after having lived on the other side of the world for almost two years. The idea was to hang out together, talk, read some books, and enjoy the incredibly rough nature of the North.