Honningsvaag ~ Swimming Reindeer and Family Gravestones

 November 10, 2022

Wispy clouds over the horizon allowed the sun to weakly rise over the sea.  The temperature hovered around freezing as I took a short stroll around the deck after breakfast.

Late morning, as we came near to our stop in Honningsvag, the excursion team called us outside under gathering clouds, for a "point of interest" talk.  Honningsvag is a town located on the southeastern shore of the island of Mageroya.  In the summertime, the hills of the island are populated with thousands of reindeer.  They aren't wild, but rather owned by the Sami people.  In fact, one cannot own a reindeer if they are not of the Sami race.  

We looked across the Mageroya Strait as Svena explained the migration of the reindeer herds.  In the summertime, they grow fat and strong on their favorite food, a lichen that grows prolifically on the island ground. 

When winter is approaching, the reindeer are herded to the shore by their owners, using four-wheelers.  At the shore they plunge in and swim across the strait to their winter home on the mainland.  The reindeer is equipped for this swim in cold water in two main ways.  First, his hair shafts are hollow, which are insulating.  Second, the reindeer has three toes, or more like a cloven hoof in front, and another toe on the side.  This allows the foot to fan out a bit, creating more propulsion.  Svena here is demonstrating using a stuffed reindeer from the ship's little gift shop.

Island of Mageroya

In the spring the reindeer return to the island.  However, they are weakened after the winter and are unable to swim the channel.  In previous years, the Norwegian navy helped to ferry them across on boats.  In 1999, however, the construction of a more than four mile, undersea tunnel was completed, so they are able to be herded across through that.  

The Island of Mageroya is home to the iconic landmark, The North Cape.  Referred to as the northernmost point in Europe, one can visit by driving north from Honningsvag.  In 1996, despite its small population, Honningvag received the designation of a city, thus making it the northernmost city on mainland Europe.  On my previous trip I took a bus tour to this location.  It is an other-worldly, edge-of-the-earth experience.  The two photos below are from that visit.  The iconic metal globe would be off to the right in the first picture.  There is a straight drop from the cliff edge, more than a thousand feet to the Arctic Ocean below.

Nordkapp, or North Cape

Iconic globe, Nordkapp, Norway

On this trip I would forgo the tour, and instead walk about the town.  The town that was a nothing but a tiny fishing village when Grandfather Einar was a little boy.  The town has grown, but is still primarily a fishing village.  Often when our ship is approaching a city, a paper map is made available.  There wasn't one for this town however, so I found this one on the side of a building.  As you can see, everything is uphill from the harbor.  A sliver of the church I was seeking can be seen on the far right edge of the photo.

The day that I visited Honningsvag, there was a little more than four hours of daylight.  Today, Novemmber 21, it has entered the Polar Night period, meaning that the sun will not rise above the horizon.  This period will continue until January 22, so for two whole months it is quite dark outside.  Thus it was not surprising to see a store displaying what I call "happy lights", or lights to provide needed vitamin D. 

One thing that occurred to me as I walked the main street of Honningsvag, up the hill towards the church, is that everything seemed very utilitarian, and about survival.  No fancy architecture or trimmings.  They had, however, put up a few Christmas decorations in an attempt to brighten things up.

Honningsvag, Norway

I followed the winding road through town, and then up a hill.  Along the way I found this charming phone booth.  It still has a working phone, but also is full of bookshelves.  

Back in the 1500s there were a total of six churches on the island.  But in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the population moved more towards Honningsvag, which had the best harbor.  This church was consecrated in 1885.  In 1945, when occupying German forces retreated, they burned the whole Finnmark area.  This whitewashed church, however, stood undamaged, giving the returning population hope and encouragement.  It was initially used to house and feed people until the town could rebuild.  Perched on the hill, and next to an elementary school, the church was lit from within, and very welcoming looking.  However, when I tried the door, I was disappointed to find it locked.  

Honningsvag Church

The cemetery was fenced, but accessible.  There were several graves of my grandfather's family name but it's hard to know if they are related in any way.  There were many other familiar names, as I've grown up around many Norwegians.  

Note that there are multiple names on the tombstones.  My understanding is that after a certain period of time, more people are buried in the same place.  I don't understand how this all works, but I believe the families are responsible for ensuring the names of the deceased are inscribed for posterity.

There was no snow on the ground, but bright orange, meter-high stakes were marking the sides of the road through the cemetery, indicating that they would have plenty of snow in the months to come.  When I visited in May of 2019, they still had a lot on the ground.

I neglected to take note of our ship's departure time, so I didn't dare dally at the cemetery too long.  As I made my way back down the hill, I had nice views of the harbor.  The photos below are taken just after the sun had set, shortly after 12:00 noon.  

On my way, there was a store with these cute reindeer stools.  The hides on them were soaking wet so I hadn't planned to try them out, but a couple walked by and the lady pantomimed that she'd take my photo.  I was wearing some weatherproof pants over my regular ones, so I took her up on it. 

Down near the harbor was a charming, though large, Christmas shop.  It was two cozy floors of everything Christmas, with Bing Crosby was crooning away through the sound system.  Since I was pretty close to the ship, I took a chance and went in.  The shopkeeper assured me that I had plenty of time, so I was able to browse.  From upstairs I could look out the window and see the ship at dock. 

After I had my bag of goodies, I climbed back on the ship to continue our journey north.  As I looked towards the harbor and the town, I could imagine away the many buildings, and see instead, the small, wooden boats of the Karlsen family, anchored here and there in the cold, steel gray water.

 And as we pushed away, I could see the tiny tip of the church steeple, pushing up into the clouds, as seen on the far right in this final photo.