A Trip To Norway (2007)

From August 28 to September 11, 2007, I have done a 10,500 kilometers trip with my Honda Civic, from Italy to North Cape, the extreme north of Norway. It has been a great experience - the Norway is one of the most beautiful countries of Europe, and during the trip I have seen some truly unique landscapes. This page is a diary of my travel, that includes some info about the equipment, what I used and how it worked. Have a good read! 

Day 01, August 28, 2007 - Destination Kassel

In the early morning of 28 August, I begin my long trip. I've planned only an approximative route - I'm going to choose every day the exact destination. Today, I want to reach the center of Germany; it is a long drive, but the german highways are fast (actually, many highways don't even have a speed limits in Germany...it is impressive to see some cars that drive well faster than 200 km/h!). I drive for more than nine hours through the northern Italy, Austria and Germany, and in late afternoon I reach Kassel, where I take a place for my tent in a nice camping close to the city. Here I meet an italian family, that is coming back from a trip in the Scandinavian countries - they told me that in this period the days are still pretty long in the northern countries. They are enthusiast of their trip!

Day 02, August 29, 2007 - The Great Bridges

I was very proud of my Ferrino Monster Lite 2 tent - until this morning. It has rained during the night and the tent is pretty wet; I did not expected this from an high-end tent. I decide to leave it on the back seats of my car to let it dry before putting it back into its bag. At 7:45 a.m. I leave Kassel and I head up to Denmark. I drive all the morning on the fast germen highways and I enter in Denmark in early afternoon. It is 4 p.m. when I reach the first big bridge, right after Nyborg. It is an amazing view; how can I describe it? Big, large, immense; it makes you feel so small!

The second bridge, between Copenaghen (Denmark) and Malmo (Sweden) is even more spectacular; it is 12 kilometers long and more than two hundreds meters high. I don't stop in Malmo, I go on until Helsingborg. It is a relatively large, modern city, but the southern quarters are really nice - every road offers postcard-like views, and the clouds are painted of yellow by the sunset light. I make a long walk on the sandy seashore, where I admire a beautiful sunset on the sea. In late evening, I visit the center of the city where I buy a little of food and I call home from a phone cabin - for some unknow reason, I can not make international calls from Sweden with my mobile phone, while I won't have any problem in all other countries.

Day 03, August 30, 2007 - A Marathon

It is 6 a.m. and the temperature is quite cold; the sky is cloudy, and the plan for today is going towards north until norwegian border. I drive until 10:30, when I arrive at Marstrand, a nice village on the sea. I am a bit tempted to stop, but I'm also very curios to see Norway...I check the route on my GPS: there are more than 800 kilometers and 13 hours of drive to reach the Preikestolen, the first place that I want to visit in Norway. Preikestolen - that means "pulpit" - is a spectacular panoramic point on one of the most beautiful fjords...I've seen it countless times in photos on the web, and I can't wait to see it by person!

I decide to try this driving marathon - after all, if I get tired I can always stop and find a place to sleep even if I've not reached yet my destination. I drive towards north; in early afternoon I arrive at Moss, where I take for the first time a ferry, to reach Horten, on the opposite side of the Oslofjord. After Horten, the road becomes smaller and crosses the mountains, directed towards the west coast. In late evening, I drive through a spectacular, other worldly landscape...mountains covered by grassfields and shrubs, and countless lakes. I have decided that I'm going to reach the Preikestolen, no matter how late - but at 22, it is night and I begin to get worried - in particular when the GPS loses signal and I no longer know when I am. But I go on, and at last the GPS come back to work; I arrive at the bottom of the Lysefjorden, where I take another ferry (wow! I am surprised that there are still ferries at this hour) to reach Jorpeland, the closest village to the Preikestolen. I park my car along the road and after few minutes I am already sleeping.

Day 04, August 31, 2007 - An Unlucky Day

When I wake up at 6:30 I am greeted by the sound of the rain on the roof of my car. It has rained all the night and it is still raining; the soil is wet an muddy, and there is a thick fog. There is no point to visit the Preikestolen in these conditions - I'd see about nothing, so I decide to go on, towards Bergen. I drive on a small road between the mountains and the sea. The luxuriant vegetation and the rain give a kind of "Jurassic Park" look to the scene. The fjords are spectacular; you are at the mountain and at the sea at the same time; imagine to be in the Appennines, with the difference that in the valley there are not rivers and grassfields, but the sea. Many times the road ends in front of the sea and I have to take a ferry; for 40-70 Nkr these boats brings you from one village to the village on the opposite side of the fjord. Ferries really give life to the coast of Norway, where otherwise the villages would be pretty isolate, and you would have to spend hours to follow the borders of every fjord.

At 4:30 p.m. I arrive at Bergen. The distance between Bergen and Jorpeland (where I slept) is not that great, but it takes a while, due to the ridiculously slow speed limits of Norway. Even on the main roads, you can go no faster than 80 km/h, that often goes down to 60 km/h if there is a village nearby (even when the road does not cross the village). Sometimes there are kilometers of straight road in the wilderness, there is zero human presence and you need the Hubble Space Telescope to see another car, and still, you can go no faster than 80 km/h! 
As if it was not enough, sometimes you will have hard time understanding the meaning of some signs. Two times, along the road to Bergen, and another time just before the city, I've seen a sign "Toll Road - Do not stop - Pay Later". Later when?! And where the heck should I pay?! The criptic sign does not explain anything... Now, after having searched on internet I've discovered that the camera near the sing always record your car plate, and you receive the invoice at home. That's fine, but for all the trip I have wondered if I've done something illegal by not paying the fee, and I had the fear to receive an high fine...would it be do difficult to place few words of explaination near this sign?! No comment; after having driven in Noway, I think that nobody could complain again of Italian roads!

Bergen itself has been a disappointement - it is just a big, chaotic city; I've spent one hour in the traffic to reach Bryggen, the famous colorful houses in front of the sea. The houses are nice to see, but in my opinion they are not worth the visit - they looks almost out of place, surrounded by the chaos of civilization. It must have been a fantastic place one hundred of years ago, when it truly was a fishermen village, but now, it does not transmit me any mood.

I take few record shots and after half an hour I am driving again, this time towards Voss, where I sleep in a nice, clean hostel. Today has been a pretty bad day. I decide that I'll avoid the other big cities - I really prefer the authenticity and the peace of the small villages and the harsh landscape.

Day 05, September 01, 2007 - Trollstigen

After having slept three nights in tent or car, i feel really relaxed when I wake up in my comfortable bed! I take a quick breackfast then I begin the drive towards Trollstigen. The steep road leds me between the mountains - everywhere around me, there are woods and wet areas, that looks like the perfect environment for the sundew (a beautiful carnivorous plant that I hopen to find in this trip) so, even though it is raining, I often stop to give a look to the flora. I don't find any sundew, but I'm thrilled to find many butterworts (Pinguicola sp.), another carnivorous plant. I place a transparent plastic bag on the camera to protect it from the rain, and I mount the Sigma 180 macro on the tripod. This is the only time that I'll use the 180 - honestly, I think that I could have left it at home, even though it may have been useful if I had found small subjects as the sundew. The rain never ceases and often there is a thick fog, nevertheless, I have many opportunities to photograph the landscape and other subjects. There are large pink bells-like flowers, that I have never seen in any other place. (Note: thanks to many e-mails I have discovered that it is Digitalis purpurea)

It is 5:30 p.m. and the road become steeper and steeper; I drive between mountains covered by snow. I am in awe of the landscape, but at the same time I am a bit worried by the snow along the road - I hope that the road will remain free of snow, even though I have snow chains, I'd be glad to avoid the hassle of mounting them. Luckly, the conditions of the road remains good, and at 6 p.m. I reach the famous "Trollstigen" (that means "Stairs of Trolls"), a steep road opened in 1946, after eight years of work. The road has a incline of 10% and eleven hairpin; it takes its name from the troll, a classic figure of norwegian myths. The trolls are often depicted as ugly creatures that live in the shadows of the woods, that sometimes have a positive attitude towards humans, in spite of their nastly look. I come down from the Trollstigen and at 7 p.m. I reach Andalsenes, where I take a bed in the local vandrerhjem (that means youth hostel) for 240 Nkr.

Day 06, September 02, 2007 - Roros and E6

Yesterday evening while I was reading the guide to Norway I have seen a place that has attracted my attention: a small village called Roros, described as a fascinating, middle-ages place and an Unesco World Heritage site. I leave Andesnes at 8:20 a.m. - Roros is 280 km away and, according to the GPS, it takes 4 hours 30 minutes. The sky sometimes is cloudy, sometimes is sunny; I drive along a pleasant road, the landscape alternates wetlands with grassfields, and there is a great feeling of open spaces. I don't meet many other cars during the four hours drive - Norway is one of the european countries with the lowest people density, and sometimes it gives a feeling of loneliness.

I arrive at Roros at 1 p.m. - after a pause for fuel, I visit the village (by the way, here I have found the cheapest fuel of Norway - "just" 10.30 Nkr for Blyfy 95). Roros is nothing of spectacular, but it is a nice and relaxing place, with many colorful wooden houses and a pleasing white church. In the afternoon, I am again on the road, destination Bodo. There are so many great landscapes! I often stop to take photos and to check if there are sundews in the many wet areas along the road. I don't find any, but anyway it is interesting to observe the flora of these environments.

At 8:40 p.m. I am still driving. I hoped to find an hostel along the road, but I haven't seen any, and I don't want to stay in hotels (way too expensive!). I'm almost sure that I'll have to sleep in my car when I see a small camping. I am a bit hesitant - there are only some large cabins and they look expensive: instead, I am pleasantly surprised that they costs just 250 Nkr. The owner of the camping is an old gal that speads only norwegian - our tentatives of communication are pretty funny ;-)

The cabin is just wonderful - it is a small red house with a peat roof as I often see here in Norway. There is room for five persons; shower, WC, cooking angle, dining room and even television! If you will ever come in this area of Norway, I highly recommend this camping (Saeterhaugen Overnatting, 7873 Harran).

Day 07, September 03, 2007 - Into The Wilderness

I wake up at 8 a.m. It is raining and I set out again along the E6: there are still 480 km to Bodo. There are few degrees above zero, but in the sea there are some ducks that are quietly swimming in the cold water - they are used to these temperatures. After some hours of drive along the coast, the road crosses the inland. It is 1:30 p.m. when I reach the arctic circle - there is a large parking and a red building. But what really amazes me is the landscape...an infinite tundra, with just few houses here and there, and no roads other than the E6. Everywhere there are wet areas; the green and orange color of the bushes is broken only by the white of the peaks covered by snow. The landscape truly transmits a feeling of wilderness; a place where the nature still rules, and man is only a guest.

After some kilometers, I see something close to the road...I slow down and I am amazed to see an herd of reindeers. I park the car as soon as possible, I take with me just the camera and the 100-400 and I try to get as close as possible. These beautiful animals are more shy than what I thought: I am still at more than 100 meters, but as soon as they see me, they move away. I've taken some photos of the reindeers into their environment, but I hope to see them again and to be able to get closer - I'd really like to take some portraits.

At 4:50 p.m. I arrive at Bodo, just to discover that the ferry to Lofoten islands has sailed twenty minutes ago, and the next ferry is at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow. During the summer (until August 26) there are many more ferries, but September is no longer a turistic month, so there are much less facilities. I take a small cabin in the Bodosjoen Camping. The camping is a couple of kilometers from the city and it is placed in a beautiful spot on the sea. I buy some food at the "Kiwi Market" and after dinner I take some time to clean the car and to put back the tent (that now has dried) into its pack.

Day 08, September 04, 2007 - A Day In Bodo

When I wake up, at 6 a.m., I am greeted by few rays of sun. The sky is fantastic, there are some clouds painted of yellow and red by the sunrise light, and a short walk to to rocks on the seashore gives me many great photo opportunities - the sky, the reflections and the rocks into foreground are a joy for the eyes. A couple of hours later, when I'm leaving the camping, I see a couple of small birds on the bushes. I stop the car and I am surprised to see that they don't fly away, even though I am just few meters from them - the car is an excellent hide. With the Canon 100-400 + Sigma 1.4x teleconverter, I'm able to take some frame-filling photos, and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that they comes out quite sharp. In the past I have not been very happy with this combo; you lose AF so it is easy to get blurred photos, but if there is good light and you focus carefully you can get good results. The 100-400 is a nice, light and versatile lens!

Today it is a relax day, both for me and for the car. The ferry sails at 4:30 p.m. so I have a lot of time to visit the city and the surrounding areas. Bodo is know as the "Sea Eagle Capital", but it is unlikely that you will ever see one of the beautiful birds while you wander around the Sjogata or the Storgata, the main roads of Bodo: actually, large colonies of sea eagles live in the small, inhabited rocky islands at few kilometers for the coast. But the tour fo the city is not worthless: you can stop in the info point, where you have internet access (I paid 50 Nkr for a couple of hours), and I recommend a walk on the promenade. From the pier have been luckly to see a very large jellyfish that had caught a smaller jellyfish...a fascinating view that make me wish to explore the depth of the sea...

Since I have still some spare hours, I make a short trip to the top of Mt. Rovik. From here, there is a beautiful view on the city of Bodo: when I have reached the top it was 1 p.m. so the light was not great, but if you come here at sunrise or sunset you may have good photo opportunities (the coordinates are: N 67.30162 E 14.44426).
At 4:30 I take the ferry to Moskenes. During the trip (it takes nearly four hours) I searched on the lonely planet guide a place to sleep, and I've choosen the A-Hamna Rorbuer. What has hit my attention is the price - just 100 Nkr for a single room?! I even call to book the room and to be sure that it is not a typo, but it is correct - wow, this is really cheap!
At 8:20p.m., the ferry reaches Moskenes. I'm surprised to met a guy from Czech Republic that has seen me few days ago along the E6. He is going to North Cape so maybe we will meet again...We all know that there is nothing at North Cape, just water and rocks; nevertheless, this place has a kind of "mystic" fashion, that attracts people from all aorund the world.

A is the latest letter of the norwegian alphabet and it is also the minimalist name of the last villag of Lofoten Islands. When I arrive it is already getting dark so I plan to visit it tomorrow. The owner of A-Hamna Rorbuer shows to me and other guys the hostel; everyone has his room, while there is only one shower and WC. My room is what you can expect from a 100 Nkr room; it is small and it has an old, "poor man" look. Nevertheless, I like that place; it is quite clean, and it fits well the simple, out of time mood of this old fishermen village.   

Day 09, September 05, 2007 - The Magnificent Lofoten

I wake up at 5:30 a.m., but when I look out of the window I immediately realize that there are no chances to photograph the sunrise: it is a cloudy, windy day. I come back to sleep another couple of hours, then at 7:30 I decide to visit the village. A has a kind of ancient look - there are many stockfish drying flakes, the red "robuer" (the old fishermen's houses) and the "Torrkfisk Museum"; in front of the museum it is hanging a big dried deep-sea fish, with its impressive mouth wide open. This village has nearly 100 inhabitants and at this hour of the morning there is nobody around. It has started to rain but actually I like the "bad weather", it adds a lot of mood to the scene.

After one hour, I leave the village and I take the E10, towards north. I often stop to take photos of the landscape in  stormy weather; the Lofoten are marvelous! Well, actually, every day the landscape seems even more beautiful than the day before; this is a trip into beauty. The rain and the wind are impressive, as soon as I come out from the car I have to face an extremely strong wind and rain drops that feels like bullets. But the view is worth it. Big waves hits the rocks and the sea has an intense blue/gray color.

Two hors later, it has ceases to rain and the wind has slowed down. I stop the car near a sandy beach and I make a short walk on the seashore. In front of me there is the Atlantic Ocean.

It is 11 a.m. and it is raining again. I have set the GPS on destination: North Cape; of course I know that I can not make the more than 1000 kilometers in a single day, the idea is to drive at least until 5-6 o' clock. Suddenly, the road stops. The GPS tells me to go on, but in front of me there is just a "work in progress" sign. I try to follow a small dirt road that seems to go in the same direction shown by the GPS, but after one hour I realize that I am way off road and I come back. The GPS continues to tell me to go on, but the road that it shows exists only into its electronic dreams...I'm not able to fly so I can no go on through steep mountains and deep sea ;-) For the first time, the TomTom 720 has failed. I ask to a couple of workers and they show me how to reach Fiskebol, where I take the ferry to Melbu. The sea is pretty rough and the ferry rolls noticeably.

I drive until 5 p.m., when I decide to stop at Loding, a small, relaxing village on the sea. I stay in the "Centrum Overnatting" guesthouse. The only free room is the smallest one, but it is still much bigger than yesterday's room; it is nice and clean. The owner of the guesthouse is a friendly guy that tell me that just two days ago he has had another italian guest - a certain Giulia. Was she another lonely traveler like me, directed towards North Cape? Or a bussinesswoman that has come here for work? I'll never know, but it is cool to know that some other Italian has stayed in this remote village of Norway in this rainy month.

Day 10, September 06, 2007 - Another World

Today it is not just raining - it seems the Flood! For three hours I drive under intense rain, and i realize how bad the Norwegian roads are when it rains. There are often big, deep puddles,  and when I am behind a truck the visibility is close to zero. In late morning, at last the rain ceases. I stop in front of a small lake that looks like a painting: there are some of the most beautiful reflections that I've ever seen! Once again, I am in awe of Norway; every day in this country reveals new beauties, often few meters from the road.

I'm heading to North Cape, even though I'm going to stop somewhere before, 840 kilometers are too much for a single day, in particular with the wet road. After yesterday experience, I no longer thrust blindly the GPS, and sometimes I check the road on the map, but this time the TomTom 720 is spot on. 40 kilometers from Alta, there are works in progress and for long stretches of road I have to drive at extremely slow speed on the dirt road to avoid damaging the car. When I arrive at Alta it is already late afternoon and I'm tempted to stop. Luckly, I dedice to go on - it has proven to be the right choice, because the landscape along the road after Alta is simply Gorgeous, and the warm light that sometimes appears through the blue of the dark clouds makes it even more spectacular.

At 7 p.m., I stop in a large camping that has also an hostel. The room is a bit more expensive than what I like (290Nkr), but I am tired and I want a warm place to sleep, so I take the room. Tomorrow I'll reach North Cape: there are just 140 km between me and the symbolic destination of my long trip. I wonder what does one feel when he reaches that mythical place, what one thinks while looking at the inifity of the Atlantic Ocean...

Day 11, September 07, 2007 - Noth Cape

It is early morning and I am already on the road to North Cape. I'm glad that today it is not raining; there are some clouds in the sky, but here and there I see few sunrays; the air is fresh and clear. The more I go towards north, the more the landscape has a stark, other world look!

It is 8 a.m. when I see an herd of reindeers close to the road. This time I'm determined to take some good shots! I park the car and I begin to get close, crawling in the grass with my 20D and the Canon 100-400. These animals are truly nice! Reindeers ranges in height from 80 to 120-130 centimeters at the shoulder and they weights 70-140 kgs (even though some big males can reach up to 250kg); usually they have a brown fur, but I've seen even some almost black and some white specimens. The shape of the horns varies from specimen to specimen; some ones have magnificent, large and ramified horns. This time I manage to get pretty close, and I take many frame filling shots with the 100-400 (I really like this lens - the zoom has helped me a lot to frame the photos as I want, and the IS allowed to shoot handheld with shutter speeds around 1/400). I'm so close that I can even take some portrait, and I'm lucky to see a short fight between two specimens...fantastic! What a great day :-)

One hour later, I goes on towards North Cape, and at 9.15 p.m. I reach the 6 kilometers long underwater tunnel that connects the Nordkapp island to Norway (145 Nkr). In the past, the Nordkapp islands was considered a sacred place by Sami people, that thought divinities live there. Nowadays, all the sacrality of this place has gone; instead, you have to sacrifice 280 Nkr for the tunnel fees and an original "North Cape fee" (195 Nrk). Luckly, in this month there are very few tourists, and the place still transmit some of its natural fashion - an harsh landscape with few road and just some small villages; I drive between the red of the grass and the blue of the sky.

It is 10:20 a.m. when I reach the North Cape (71°10′21″N, 25°47′40″E). It has really and "end of the world" look - there is a globe monument placed on a wide tableland, then, a 300 meters drop on the sea. In front of me, there is the Atlantic Ocean! There is a cold wind and, when I arrive, nobody else around. I wonder what's next, Svalbard and Russia come to my mind, or maybe an even more exotic destination, as South America, but who knows...honestly I have no idead of where and how will be my next trip; I'm going to follow my dreams!

Day 12, September 08, 2007 - Lulea By Night

Yesterday, after having reached North Cape, I have come back towards Norway, Finland and I stopped at Karesuando, a small city few kilometers after the Sweden border. I've slept in a nice camping, where I have taken a cabin - the precised are a bit lower than Norway. In the morning, there is a little of fog, and the grass is covered by frost - the temperature is cold!

The plan is going towards south, but I decide to make a 280 kilometers diversion to Abisko - a small national park in the north of Sweden. I arrive at 12.30 a.m. and I buy a map in the tourist office; I decide to make a short walk in the woods. The soil is soft and it is covered by moss; there are many mushrooms, and the walk is easy and relaxing. Sweden is a nice country, but I've found it a bit monotonous, the landscape is not as spectacular as the raw, harsh scenes of Norway. There are infinite woods and sometimes you drive for hours, and you feel as you were not moving - nothing changes, always the same road surruounded by woods, and few villages here and there.

I'm curious to see the landscape on the coast, so I decide to drive until Lulea, a nice city on the Baltic Sea. I arrive a bit later than expected, so I don't find any place to sleep - I'll stay in my car, hopefully it won't be too cold. Since the Sun has already set and there are noth many chances for landscape photography, I decided to visit the city. I stay in the library (that offers free internet access) until 10:30 p.m. When I come out, I'm glad to see that there is a team of jugglers that is preparing a show. I join the crowd and for a couple of hourse I enjoy photographig the jugglers; the spitfire juggler does some of the most spectacular (and dangerous) stunts of the show. By the way, while I was photographing I've met also another guy that was taking photos with a 30D and the 17-40, and we talk a bit about the new Canon and photography in general - it is always nice to meet someone that shares your passion!

Day 13/14/15, September 09/10/11, 2007 - Coming Back!

Tonight I have not slept a lot - I've come back to my car in late night, and when I wake up at 5 a.m. I'm more tired than when I've gone to sleep - it has been a really cold night, I wish I had found a place to sleep. I have some headache and I don't want to drive a lot; the destination for today will be Sundsvall, a city in the center of Sweden. It is "just" a 530 km drive, nearly five hours, but I have to stop often to take some rest. When I arrive at Sundsvall I make a brief visit to the city, and I take a bed in the local hostel. At 7 p.m. I'm already sleeping ;-)

The last two days I've been in excellent phisical shape and, since I had not much interest to visit Sweden, Denmark and Germany, I've made two "driving" marathons - about 2700 kilometers in two days. My Honda Civic has not give me a single problem, even after 16 hours of drive with just few minutes of pause for fuel, as I did on the 14th September!

Overall, this trip has been a positive experience. I've made about 10,500 kilometers in fiveteen days and I've spent about 2300 US$ (but the price is much lower if you do the trip with one or two travelmates and you divide the costs of fuel). There only thing that has really bothered me are the absurd speed limits of Norway, and sometimes the impossible to understand signs. But the spectacular, wild landscape is really worth the hassle of norwegian roads; this is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen! And I'm a really happy to have seen the reindeers, it has been a fantastic experience :-)

The equipment that I've brought with me has worked well; I had almost all I needed, and actually even more, next time I'm going to be a little more minimalist in the equipment choice. The next paragraphs describe my equipement, with some considerations about what I've found useful and what I didn't use.

Photo Equimpent

Canon EOS 20D camera body (with Manfrotto 200PL-14 plate)
I've used the 20D camera body - it offers good image quality and built quality. I've been really happy - I've taken more than 1800 shots and it worked flawlessy, even in harsh consitions (cold and rain).

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM wide-angle lens
The 10-22 is a very nice wide-angle, it has excellent image quality, and it is very small and light. I have used this lens for the 25-30% of my photos in this trip! Overall I am very satisfied, even though I'd have really liked to have IS.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM all-around lens
The 24-105 is a fantastic travel lens - it is very versatile, it has superb image quality, 3rd generation IS and weather sealing. I have used this lens for the vast majority of the photos taken in this trip.

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM tele lens (with Manfrotto 200PL-14 plate)
The 100-400 is a great tele-zoom for nature and details of the landscape. It is relatively small and easy to handhold. I've used this lens for the reindeer photos, and I've appreciated a lot its versatility.

Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX APO Macro HSM macro lens (with Manfrotto 410PL plate)
Even though macro photography is not the main purpose of this trip, I've choosen to carry with me the Sigma 180. I could have left it at home: I've used it just for three photos.

Sigma 1.4x EX DG and Sigma 2.0x EX DG teleconverters
I often use the Sigma 2.0x TC on the 180 Macro, while the 1.4x TC may be useful on the Canon 100-400 to get a 560mm f/8, when I absolutely need extra reach (even though the image quality of 100-400 + 1.4x is not that great). Another thing that I could have left at home: I almost never used them.

Manfrotto 190MF4 tripod, with Manfrotto 486 RC2 ball head
This combe weight just 2 kg and it is very small, but it offers a stable support, and it can get very low on the ground for macro photography. I've used it just for few photos, but I'm glad that I had it with me :-)

Manfrotto 410 gear head
I've carried this head exclusively for macro photography with the Sigma 180 macro. I could have left it at home.

Accessories: Sandisk 4GB Extreme III CF cards (tot. 24 GB, used 18 GB), blower brush (useful), camera bag (useful), Canon Angle-Finder C (useless in this trip), Canon RS-80N3 cable release (useless in this trip), transparent plastic bags (useful).

Other Equimpent

TomTom GO 720 car gps I've choosen the TomTom 720 as my car GPS. Currently it is one of the most advanced models produced by TomTom, and it offers a wide range of features. Overall, I am satisfied, but it is not flawless. I've been lost a couple of times because it tried to led me on road that were not completed yet; other times it led me nowhere when I tried to reach hostels or campings - but these are exceptions, and overall it worked well. The other major problem that I've had is that the safety cameras feature did not work for some unknow reason...when I've come back, I've installed a small update of the safety cameras database, and now it works as it should have done...maybe the previous database was not installed correctly? I'm glad that now it works, but it would be extremely useful to be able to use this feature during the trip. Moreover, TomTom does not supply the user manual! You have just a very limited "quick manual", while the full manual is supplied only on CD. How the heck can I read a user manual on CD when I'm away from home and my PC?! Considering the price of this GPS, I think that TomTom should have supplied a paper manual. Other than that, I've appreciated its features, in particular I really like the possibility to play mp3 files - it is great to have music when you drive! (my car does not have stereo). Instead, I felt the lack of any statistic feature (there is no way to record the route and to download it on your PC). Overall, I recommend it, even though it is not flawless. Garmin Etrex outdoor gps The Etrex is a basic outdoor unit. I carried it with me for hiking, but I have never used it. Seven pack Since I don't plan to carry a lot of equipment with me, I've choosed this small backpack. I've used it a lot! Ferrino Monster Lite 2 tent The Monster Lite 2 is an high end tent - small and light, but very well built and (in teory) resistant to the elements. In practice, I've been quite disappointed - after a wet night under the rain, it got very wet inside. I really did not expected it from an expensive, hi-end tent :-/

The 10,500 kilometers route of my trip to Norway.

Ferrino Diable 700 sleeping bag
A fine sleeping bag. It has a comfort rating of -1 Celsius degrees and an extreme rating of -22 Celsius degrees. I've used it a lot, even when I slept in hostels, and I've been very happy.

Nokia 1100 mobile phone
This is the cheapest mobile produced by Nokia, but it does all that I need from a mobile phone :-) Nothing to nit, it worked flawlessy.

Recta DO 350 compass
Even though I have two GPS, a fully manual compass can always be useful. (but I've never used it in this trip)

Other stuff: torch (useful), snow chains (I did not use them, but I'd never leave them at home in a similar trip), toiletries, Lonely Planet guides (very useful, see www.lonelyplanet.com).

Clotes: I've carried with be way too much clotes! In cold climates, you don't sweat a lot, so there is no need to carry a lot of spare clotes; moreover, in hostels and campings you can wash your clotes. Instead, the anorack has proven to be essential, even in early September the temperature is pretty cold in the northern areas.

Storage and energy

When you plan to stay for weeks away from home, storage and enery become very important. I already have three 4GB CF cards (one Ultra II, one Extreme III and one Extreme IV), and I've choosen to buy three other Extreme III 4GB CFs. I've bought the Extreme III instead of the Extreme IV because the latter does not give any advantage on my camera (Canon 20D), as shown in my Compact Flash cards write speeds tests. I use 4GB cards because it is the maximum CF card size usable on the 20D, otherwise I won't hesitate to buy 16 GB cards.

I carried with me two spare batteries for the 20D, and car battery chargers for all the electronic devices, except the torch and the outdoor GPS, that uses AA alcaline batteries.

The car - Honda Civic

This is the car that I've used for the 10,500 kilometers of this trip, sometimes driving even 14-15 hours per day (1200-1300 kilometers). I have been extremely happy - I never had a problem, it has a relatively good fuel economy, and it has been a quite comfortable shelter for some nights :-)

Do you have comments or questions?

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