Vardø
Latitude: 70⁰ 22’ 00”.
Today’s temperatures (May 11): High 5⁰ C, low 2⁰ C.
MAY 11 - Head east from our guesthouse for 1.5 hours along the southern coast. The weather is low clouds with some fog, but no rain yet so we need to make the best of it. Pass through a few small towns along the way, all neat with houses painted shades of red, blue, beige, cream, or brown. Since visiting the stone age site, I am attuned to the position of previous coastlines, and can see a succession of them, stepping down to the shoreline today. Shortly after Vadsø the stunted deciduous trees we’ve seen since northern Finland give way to bushes, and soon all that is left is tundra. Near our destination we hit thick fog, and visibility plummets, before breaking out of it as we reach the tunnel.
Vardø is actually on an island, and is quite a large town. Perhaps a bridge would have been risky in this extreme arctic environment, so they opted to go under the ocean instead. The tunnel is 2,890 meters long, passing underneath the Bussesundet.
Visit Vardøhus Fortress. This is the northernmost fortress in the world, build between 1734-38 to act as a defense of Norwegian sovereignty in the Arctic. It was designed as an eight-pointed star, with relatively low outer walls. It was maintained as a facility of military significance until the 1750’s. There were two previous fortresses in the area, the first built in 1300 by King Haakon V Magnusson.
Our main goal in Vardø was to visit Hornøya Island, one of the best sea bird sanctuaries in the arctic. It is about 10 minutes by boat from main harbor.
