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Up early this morning to be out on deck as we crossed the Arctic Circle at 66°33’N. It was barely light when we first stepped out on the deck. The scenery was just stunning, especially with the light as the sun tries to rise above the hills and mountains. Before we reached the Arctic Circle, we passed MS Trollfjord heading back to Oslo.
We beat the rush so managed to get a spot on the right side of the rails as we pass the Arctic Circle. We had all entered a competition to guess the exact time Nordnorge would cross the line. Jon guessed 7.33am and I guessed 7.55am – the actual time was 7.4? and 33 seconds.
The Arctic Circle marker was globe on Vikingen Island in Rødøy. The sun was only just rising, so were lucky with the light for photos. The Horseman Mountain made a stunning backdrop.
The scenery all around was amazing. Being further north, the lower grounds were covered in snow as well as the mountains. Water running down the mountains had frozen into icicles. No sight yet of any frozen waterfalls – fingers crossed we’ll see one at some point on our voyage.
We let the rush die down before heading down for breakfast. Next stop was Ørnes – and the expedition team said this was a very picturesque sail in. It did not disappoint. Hurtigruten ships were a bit like buses today – we passed a second ship, Nordlys, on her way back to Bergen.
The best part was spotting a fish boat with loads of bird circling, waiting for any scraps thrown overboard. A couple were bigger than the rest and thanks to Jon and his trusty binoculars, he confirmed these were white tailed Eagles. A little too far away for decent photos but so glad we got see them.
Ørnes was a small port but one of the more pretty ports. Surrounded by mountains and hills. House spread out from the town but further away, there was the odd isolated cabin seemingly miles from anywhere else. We were here for just 10 minutes. No people or cars boarding, just some pallets being taken off. Lines were cast off and we were heading towards Bodø.
At 10.30am everyone gathered on Deck 7 for the Arctic Circle Celebration. It was packed and until the ceremony started, we took in the scenery as we passed by.
The winner of the competition for guessing the correct time we’d cross the arctic circle was announced – they were 7 seconds out. The prize was the Hurtigruten flag that had been flying on the ship for the last 11 days, signed by the captain. The second part of the prize was being the first to be “baptised” with the Arctic Water! The wife of the winner was on deck to receive the prize, so she was the first to get the ladle of water and ice down the back of their neck!
Nordnorge sailed past more stunning scenery and a Norwegian Coastal Patrol Boat.
At 11am, the postman stopped by the reception area to handstamp postcards with the special postmark for crossing the Arctic Circle. Mum / Callum – your cards are on their way.
First they needed to summon King Neptune to preside over the ceremony. Neptune and the crew seemed to be enjoying subjecting us all to this torture! The restaurant manager was on hand with a glass of plum brandy to take the edge off the cold.
Yes, we got the water treatment (really cold). Jon kept complaining he was cold for the next hour … when he got back to the cabin and took his jacket off, half a dozen ice cubes fell out onto the floor! It took us a couple of hours to warm up … and we tried to figure out how to dry our clothes!
Time for lunch and a little more scenery spotting on deck before we arrived in Bodø.
Bodø (pronounced Boo-da) had recently put itself on the map as they’d qualified for European Play-offs and had beaten Manchester City! We were docking in town for just 2 hours. The entire town had been flattened during World War 2 and rebuilt in a modern style afterwards.
The centre of town was a 15 minutes walk away. It had snowed overnight so the paths were a combination of snow-topped icy. Mostly OK to walk on without spikes/Yaktrax.
We had one main mission – to find a Bodø football shirt for Callum. The town is pretty small, but we tried the souvenir shop and the sports shop and no luck with any. Both said you need to go to the stadium and buy in the shop there.
There was little to see in the town so we headed back to the ship. It was trying hard to snow again and the clouds were clinging to the tops of the mountains so we wondered if we would get a coating of snow on the ship this evening.
Bodø was probably the most industrial of all the ports we stopped at so far – and one with little to see.
It really clouded over as we left Bodø – we were heading across open sea as we made our way to the Lofoten Islands. Jon’s fingers were crossed that it would get a little lumpy. The seas had been as flat as a pancake so far – not even a gentle rocking movement.
Dinner: Jon had Pickled Herring followed by Beef Culotte (sirloin) and I had the Lamb Tartare followed by the B***afish. Mine was the wrong option – should have gone for beef. We both had cheese for dessert.
A busy night ahead! The forecast for Aurora spotting was looking promising. Clear skies. We also had a couple of port stops. Then as long as the weather played ball, we’d be stopping at the mouth of Trollfjord – the narrowest of all the fjords.
First stop tonight was the small town of Stamsund. The people on the Viking Excursion were getting off here and we were joined by around 50 Chinese people who were travelling with Nordnorge to Tromso. It’s not just a cruise ship, but a postal ship cum ferry. We had bee warned the influx of people would mean seats in the public areas were likely to be filled (you only have to book a cabin if you are staying onboard for more than 24 hours). We were here just enough time for everyone to board and the gangway drawn up behind them.
After Stamsund, we were then moving onto Svolvær – the capital of the Lofoten Islands. We were stopping here for 55 mins – as the port was slap bang in the centre of town, there was time for people to get off and have a wander. We’d be stopping here on the Southbound leg for a couple of hours so we just stayed on board. It looked a very pretty town from the ship. Another 70 or people joined us here. It was going to be very busy onboard until we reached Tromso!
We’d hardly left Svolvær and just got back to the cabin when the Expedition team announced there was Northern Lights activity on the Starboard side. Back on with the hats, gloves and jackets and back out side. Initially, it was a thin grey mist but as your eye adjusted and perhaps the activity got a little stronger. the greens came out. Not a huge amount of activity but we can now say we’ve seen the Northern Lights.
We were lucky in that all the activity died down before we approached Trollfjord and the ship’s spotlights would be used (and destroy everyone’s night vision!). A passage down the Trollfjord is a highlight of the Summer Coastal Voyages – it’s an incredibly narrow fjord with just enough room for the ship to spin around at the end before heading back out. In winter, ships are banned from entering the fjord due to the avalanche risk.
The captain shone the spotlights on the entrance to the fjord before rejoining the main route through … although the passage was incredibly narrow. Breathe in everyone!
The route we were taking was a very narrow channel but as it was dark, we couldn’t see very much. On the Southbound route, we would be travelling back down in daylight so we could hopefully appreciate the scenery.
It was now nearly 1am so time for bed said Zebadee.
