Honningsvag

We had an early lunch since many would miss the meal with the planned excursions. We met the tour bus and our guide on the quay and proceeded to the North Cape, a tundra area of steep hills, no trees and mostly very small villages. Trees can’t grow because it is too cold and too windy.

A little history from our tour guide: 13 per cent of the North Cape people are fishermen. The North Cape is the same latitude as Barrow, AK and also Siberia. The Gulf Stream keeps it warmer, though. The sea does not freeze, so there is year round fishing. Lots of cod and king crab. Most is exported to South Korea. The water temperature is 50 in summer and 35 in winter. There are lots of berries to pick in the fall.Mostly blueberries and cloudberries which are orange.

There are more reindeer than people. They migrate from the hills and into the town to eat lichen and grass. Only Sami people can own reindeer. In the winter, they get over six feet of snow. The fishing village we visited was the northernmost one in the world. 40 residents and an ice-free harbor for year round fishing.

King crab is kept alive for freshness. Herring is used as bait. They often have an extra boat with them (sort of like an extra suitcase for souvenirs...) so they can catch more. They have a 60,000 quota. A quota depends on the size of the boat. They get 25 NOK per kilo. (About $3.00.)

They eat every bit of the fish - included the tongue which is fried in oil.