Sunday, July 1, 2007

Beyond the Arctic Circle

Cruising has been very pleasant and on flat seas as we follow the Norwegian coast northwards. At no time have we been out of sight of land and at most times we have been sailing inside the chain of islands along the coast.

Passed over the Arctic Circle as we had breakfast - could hardly feel the bump. At Bodo we donned our survival suits and goggles and boarded a zodiac powered by 250 hp outboard. Saw sea eagles nests with chicks and survived the wild rapids of the Saltstraumen.

Sailed the Strait of Raftsundet with 1000 metre high cliffs dropping straight into the water. After midnight we travelled up the Trollfiord - exceptionally narrow and beautiful. We even managed to see a few trolls.

We are in the land where the sun does not set and it is total daylight every 24 hours.

Travelled up to North Cape from Honigsvag. On the way we stopped at a Sami (lapp) camp and trading post complete with reindeer herd. We had the mandatory photos at the globe marking the most northern point of Europe.

The turn around point for the trip was at Kirkenes located on the Russian border. On the return trip to Tromso we passed the beautiful mountains with fingers of snow reaching right down to the water's edge.

We have spent last night in a hotel in Tromso and today we fly back along the coast to Bergen. Tomorrow we take the train to Oslo, described as one of the great journeys of the world.

3 comments:

Miss Di said...

I was whinging yesterday about how dark it was, only 10 hours between sunrise and sunset and how lucky you were to be in the land of the midnight sun. On balance, however, I think our more moderate swings are preferable.

theotherbear said...

Yikes. Light all day and night? That would be just weird.

gailandrob said...

It means you do not have as much sleep as it still seems like daytime. It is absolute full light 24 hours a day.

Now that we are further south at least there are a few hours of semi dark each night.