Getting off the Havila coastal ferry, we followed the polar bear tracks into town. The Royal & Ancient Polar Bear Society is dedicated to preserving the Hammerfest culture. Humm…don’t think there are polar bears nearby??

Hiked up to an overlook (no Sherpa steps!) above Hammerfest. Found reindeer wandering around the wide open plateau.

A 90 mile undersea pipeline from the huge natural gas fields in the Barents Sea runs to a processing plant on the small island of Melkøya near Hammerfest. The gas is liquefied and transported by tanker to Europe & the US.

Ok, this is a different method of transferring a vehicle on & off a ferry! They just set it down on the dock & the driver takes it away. Not sure I’d like that method…

The Alta Museum-World Heritage Center for Rock Carvings features an open air exhibit of petroglyphs dating from 6000 to 2000 years ago. A brochure explains the carvings. Some of the carvings are painted to make them easier to see. Along the 2 loop trails there are hundreds of carvings!

The trail at the Alta Museum was fabulous. They had boardwalks over most of the trail. The land here is very bog like so this makes the walk very appealing. Of course, spectacular scenery didn’t hurt.

Alta’s Northern Lights Cathedral is sheathed in titanium sheets which, when the light is right, creates a rippling effect. Interesting that BorealisAlta (a scientific exhibit showcasing the northern lights), is located in the building.

Throughout our travels all along the Norwegian coast we’ve seen salmon farming. In Alta we visited the House of Salmon, a knowledge center for aquaculture. We learned a lot about one of Norway’s important industries and the quality product that’s produced.

The Trondenes church was built around 1150. The original building was wood. Stone replaced the wood in 1250 and the church became a fortress against Russian aggression. The walls are extremely thick!

Harstad built a water park carved into the mountainside. When we found it, the outside really just looked like any door into a business. Entering however, we just kept walking down this hallway that truly is a tunnel. They have pools, slides, hot tubs & a wave pool. It’s the 2nd most visited attraction in Northern Norway. Started building in 1999 & completed in 2003.

We found this fun splash pad in a little park in Harstad. The water spouts had colored lights. The effect was lost, it doesn’t get dark this time of year. Water was a bit cool!

Our last bus ride in Northern Norway. The drivers have all been excellent! We are at the Evenes Airport, halfway between Harstad & Narvik. Oslo is our final destination today.