Day 11: Narvik (Norway) -> Mosjøen (Norway)

Today, we start the long 2,500+ km return journey back to Ireland. Outside, the car park is much busier this morning than when we left our car last night.

After breakfast and checking out of the hotel, we load up our car with the familiar routine.

And start our long journey south along the E6.

Stopping off at one of the many memorial sites for the Battle of Narvik in 1940.

The driving is quite challenging in this section, with slippery conditions. Though our tyres were very effective, we'd have benefited from the spiked tyres that all locals use in the arctic.

With a light snow falling as we travel south.

We arrive at the last remaining "road ferry" on the E6 – as the boat was about to start boarding.

It is quiet today with only two cars ahead of us in the queue. The ferry is charged like a toll road with our Skyttelpass handling it with ease.

We can see the effect of the recent snow on our car. With the number plate covered, nobody can tell that we're a foreign car with the steering wheel on the "wrong side".

We head into the cozy passenger area to grab a hot drink.

It isn't long before we've crossed the fjord and head back out to our car.

The ferry is electric – and both very fast and very silent. It aligns up with a charger on each side of the fjord when it docks to top-up its batteries.

Once off the ferry we continue south on the E6.

Eventually reaching Storjord, where we stop for a quick bite to eat before we climb the Saltfjellet and cross back over the arctic circle.

Afterwards, with calm weather and fading light, we pass through the barriers onto the Saltfjellet. In poor weather, traffic can get stopped here for a day at a time.

Fortunately, there's no chance of that happening today due to the extremely calm conditions.

Before seeing the signs that we are approaching the arctic circle.

We arrived at the closed Arctic Circle center, where we had the place to ourselves. We launched our drone to take a closer look across the deep snow.

We have been here every year since 2022, first visiting in our Porsche Taycan 4S.

The video very much capturing the mood and feeling of this unique place and landscape, especially as nightfall – which arrives early in this part of the world – approaches.

We continue on our route, with our night vision assist camera scanning the road ahead for wildlife dangers.

Stopping for fuel at the Circle K in Mo i Rana. This is our first refueling in Norway and only 95 octane fuel is available here.

After another hour of driving in great weather – we finally reach our destination.

And check into our hotel – Fru Haugans Hotel – the oldest hotel in Northern Norway.

Stats

Today we did 504 km over 8:31 hours, with an average speed of 60 km/h, consuming 8.8 litres/100 km.