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Happy Valentines Day!!
A busy day ahead with lots of stops … we’d missed Mehamn at 4am this morning and we were at breakfast when we stopped in Harstad. The next stop at Risøyhamn wasn’t until 10am or so and there was a gathering on deck as the sail-in took us past some very low lying islands and markers defined the narrow channel the ships needed to follow. There was just 2 metres clearance under the boat.
It was blowing a hooley on deck – whilst the temperature wasn’t that cold (-6C) the wind chill was biting but worth staying out to watch Nordnorge weave its way through the islands. We ended up in the Explorer Lounge to warm up with a cup of tea!!
Just half an hour before we got wrapped up again to go back out on deck for the sail-in to Sortland.
One of the Hurtigruten traditions – passengers remaining on the ship are given flags to wave. As the ship passes under the bridge, the coaches with the Vesterålen tour party cross over the bridge.
Hurtigruten have a well co-ordinated plan that the ship sails under the bridge as the coaches drive over – it takes some co-ordinating!! A good gathering of those left on the ship met at the front of the ships waving Norwegian flags!
The ship arrived in Sortland and we were surprised to see quite a few passengers disembarking. The female dockworker was kept busy with the lines and then manoeuvring 18 pallets of “Plantejord” [a specially formulated soil designed to provide optimal nutrition, water retention, and air circulation for growing healthy, strong plants] onto the ship.
With three coach loads of passengers boarding the ship, we decided this would be a good time to go for lunch. We de-layered and headed down to the lunch buffet. It was fairly quiet when we arrived but as expected, quickly filled up. As we left the dining room, they had stopped more people entering as there were no free tables and as and when tables became free, the Head Waitress showed people to their table.
Less than two hours later, we’d arrived in Stokmarknes – the home of Hurtigruten. There’s a Hurtigruten Museum right next door to the dock but we opted for a quick look around the town. We were only here for an hour … so time was very limited. It’s quite a pretty town with oldy buildings and a high street strung with Christmas lights. Near the dock it’s all very modern with the Museum and University. It started to snow and we walked behind the hotel/museum back to the ship. Like a lot of Norwegian towns, there were floating piers with saunas on. This one had people in – we don’t know if they took a dip in the cold waters afterwards! Visibility was really reducing. The bridge and the little houses on the island opposite were becoming hidden with the snow. The one plus was that the snow was covering up the ice so was much easier to walk around without wondering if you’ll end up on your backside!
Back at the ship, everyone had the same idea – photos of the ship! Impossible to get photos without lots of other people in!
We were back onboard and made it to Deck 5 as the ship sounded it’s whistle – 10 minutes until the ship sails! Everyone started running when they heard the ships whistle but don’t think anyone was left behind. By now the snow had started and the whole vibe of the town had changed with it. The little chalets we’d seen quite clearly across from the dock when we arrived were now getting hard to see through the veil of snow.
Back to the cabin again – it’s exhausting work getting dressed and undressed to head outdoors! We had 45 minutes or so before we travel through the narrow channel to reach Trollfjord. It was still snowing but it was still light outside so we should be able to see down the fjord this time (on the way up it was just before midnight when we passed this point). It’s so picturesque as you sail down the narrow channels and the ship got really close to land in places.
Thermals on again and back up to Deck 7 – it didn’t look quite as narrow in daylight! On deck, the were selling the Hurtigruten Trollfjord mugs with Hot Chocolate with a splash of brandy (you get to keep the mug) – it was delicious.
Before going through the narrow bit, we headed down to Deck 5 so we could go to the front of the ship – lots of others had the same idea so missed out on getting a central position. Being light did take away a little of drama of sailing through here at night.
This time, you could see right down the fjord to the end. It was only a short distance to the end, but it was incredibly narrow. Ships are not permitted to sail down here in Winter due to the risk of avalanche and rock falls hitting the ship and putting passengers at risk.
Jon went to collect his auction win and hung it up in our cabin. It is quite a stark print but a memento to keep of this amazing trip.
We were now heading towards Svolvær – only in port for 2 hours and the ship docked at 18.30pm. The majority of the tourists boarding in Tromso disembarked in Solvær along with most of us doing the Coastal voyage southbound. We were in port for less than 2 hours, so this would be whistle-stop tour of the town.
It was snowing quite heavily which covered up nearly all the ice! It was Valentine’s Day and the large illuminated heart that was visible from the ship on the Northbound voyage was switched off today (probably as everyone would want their photo with it!).
Such great fun being out in the snow. We’ve not had a decent snowfall back home for 10 years or so and we loved it.
A lot of boat trips leave from here – trips to the Trollfjord in the summer and other places in the Lofoten Islands. It does seem to be a magnet for those exploring Northern Norway.
Jon managed to capture a superb photo of the ship in snow.
Back onboard in time and we ended up in the Explorer Lounge for an hour or so. One final stop for today in Stamsund.
We were back out on deck to watch the arrival and the Northern Lights came out to play again. It was a little cloudy tonight so not a great display – but still, they were there!
