Day 270 Thurs 12 Jul 2007 Inari, Finland to Hammerfest, Norway

The day progresses well, travelling north and west through forest and past reindeer until about 50kms from the Norweigan border we get a flat rear tyre. All our plaudits about Mr Coopers tyres are cancelled as we unload everything out of the car and eventually get it changed. We are surprised to find it’s very badly worn on the inside, like down to the wire and beyond, perhaps we should have looked underneath at least once since the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan. The other rear tyre is in a similar state, as we notice that the rear wheels are leaning outwards a bit – well quite a lot actually. Anyway we press on and stop for coffee at the border, where there are no formalities.

Norway is a bit more populated and developed than northern Finland, the weather clears as we reach the coast, journeying around broad fjords with a blue late evening arctic sky and low cloud on the mountains. It’s starting to get quite cold and that’s the sign for the other tyre to blow. This time it’s not an easy change as we have to remove the old tyre and try to fit the other spare we are carrying to the rim. Tyre leavers, luggage and various bags are scattered all over the road but at least it’s not raining or dark. Eventually, assisted by our best Italian extra virgin olive oil as a lubricant we get the old tyre off. Soon a man stops and takes us to his mate’s tyre place down the road where the new one is quickly put on with a machine. Then it’s back to put the wheel on the car and eventually off to Hammerfest, the most northerly town in the world, or so it claims. We check into a hotel which was a former fish-wives dormitory on the edge of town for which they want $200/night. The sun’s still shining brightly so we venture to the top of a hill overlooking the port for some late night/early morning pix and then back to the hotel where reindeer are eating the garden and we try to sleep with the sun shining through the thin curtains.