May 28 I arrived at Nordkapp, Norway (loosely claimed to be the northern point of Europe). After Nordkapp, I caught the boat from Honningsvåg to Hammerfest to take an alternative route back to Alta, but I didn’t get far. A few hours in Hammerfest led to a chain of encounters and ultimately an opportunity to stay. My time in Norway has been a mixed experience and a strange story in itself, but I must catchup on my blog before I get to it. Hammerfest claims to be the most northern city in the world (70 degrees north, 1,000 km inside the Arctic circle), so considering my penchant for the far and remote, I’m happy to end up here. I can’t say how long I will stay but I have a job and a visa, and for the next year or so I will focus on preparing for the next stage of the journey: the Atlantic crossing (more on that later).
It’s a unique experience spending time at this latitude. The summer midnight sun messes with your body clock, and you have to force yourself to sleep. Perhaps the locals are better at it than I am. Winter hit suddenly last week, earlier than I expected, and soon will be the inverse season of the polar night (2 months of darkness).
View to the centre of Hammerfest.
On the way to the office.
On Oct 18, I left northern Norway for the first time since arriving in may, flew to Oslo with my colleague, Maida, then travelled on to Amsterdam, Detroit, and as I write on board Delta Airlines flight DL0587, I’m heading to Mexico City. 5 flights, 25 hours travel, as direct as you get from the Arctic Circle.
Maida was accepted for the DocsDF challenge, an annual documentary competition at the Festival Internacional de Cine Documental de la Ciudad de México. The challenge: to shoot, edit, and submit a short documentary within 100 hours at Zócalo (plaza), Mexico City. We will be in Mexico from 20 Oct till 2 Nov, preparing for the shoot then making the film between 25-29, to be screened Oct 30 at the festival.
Five crews will be involved. We’ve been discussing the rules of the challenge but have more questions than answers. How the next two weeks are going to play out is anyone’s guess. Whatever the case, it’s going to be an interesting adventure. From a remote town of 10,000 in the Arctic Circle, in three hours I will have touched down in one of the most populous points on the planet.
Maida on the bus to Oslo centre.
Travelling light for a change. No 70 kg bike, just two bags.
clarkcarterlark Carter says
Thanks for the update mate! Looking forward to hearing about the Atlantic crossing. Clark.
Benji says
Thanks Clark! Yes, it’s a chat pending.
Takako says
Good news!