Havøysund, Ávanuorri in Sami, is a fishing village at the very end of a road at the top of Norway, in Måsøy municipality, where the land runs out into the Barents Sea. It is a working place, not a pretty one: a harbour with fishing boats, a fish processing plant, rows of houses painted in bright colours against the grey rock, and a sense that the people here have chosen to live with the weather rather than fight it. The Hurtigruten coastal ships call here on their way between Hammerfest and Honningsvåg.
The village has a hard history. Like almost every settlement in Finnmark, it was burned by the retreating German army in 1944, when the population was forcibly evacuated and the whole region was scorched to deny shelter to the advancing Soviet forces. After the war people came back and rebuilt, and the houses you see date from that time, plain and practical. Fishing, especially for cod and other whitefish, has always been the basis of life here.
Above the village, on the island of Havøya, the Havøygavlen wind farm stands on the ridge, and there is a hiking path up to the top that gives a fine view over the sea and the coast. In summer, the light never fades, and on clear evenings the sun hangs over the northern horizon. Seabirds nest along the cliffs, and if you are lucky you may see sea eagles, which are common along this coast.
The road here is the end of the Havøysund National Tourist Route, about seventy kilometres from the main road at Kokelv, and there is no way onward except by boat. That makes it a ride for its own sake: you come for the empty coast, the wind and the sense of reaching an edge. The road is open all year, but in winter storms can close it for periods.
Havøysund has a shop, fuel, a cafe and accommodation, which is fortunate, because there is little else for a long way. Fill up before starting back, and keep an eye out for reindeer on the way.