Day 275 Tuesday 17 Jul 2007 Tromso to Andenes, Norway

Leaving Tromso with some initial trepidation given the state of the car, as we’re still 500kms north of the Arctic Circle and have 2000km to go to Bergen, we soon grow accustomed to the comforting creaking from the suspension and, throwing caution to the wind (which here is gale force) we head westwards into the North Atlantic. Island hopping via bridges and ferries we reach Gryllefjord on Senja Island along some spectacular coastline and through remote fishing hamlets. Unfortunately the next ferry has mechanical problems which entails a 4hr wait until 7pm before we embark on a 2hr crossing to Andenes on Andoy Island. However the weather clears and we see whales off the starboard bow, trying to forget that they are actually on the menu.