The Arctic Circle - Rorvik

Sunday 30^th September - Day 10

Today is another all weather day. We start with mist and as the day progresses we go through cloud, rain and sunshine. You get the feeling that this happens a lot in Norway with it’s changeable climate.

Today we leave the Arctic Circle and I feel sad about it in many ways. I have grown interested in the lives of the people who live in these dramatic conditions. I also felt part of something. Being in the Arctic Circle was a bit liking being in a special club and now that we have left it behind, I no longer feel part of the gang.

Today is the day that I thought we would have yesterday. There really are no stops to write home about. The places we stop have very little of interest to talk about and we have very little time to find out more. We get off the boat at Sandnessjoen. It’s a Sunday and the only people out and about in town are are fellow passengers. The tourist shop is the only thing open and I get the feeling that it is likely to close 5 minutes after the boat departs. This really is a one horse town. It doesn’t even get a mention in our outdated Lonely Planet Guide book. I do like the fact that a local knitting entrepreneur and her friend have set up a small stall right in the port and are displaying hats and scarves that are all hand knitted. In fact the lady who runs it, is actually knitting at the dock keen to keep production going.
 

Back on board the scenery is no less interesting and people still leave their houses and park up their cars on bridges to wave and take our photograph. I wonder how many Norwegian photographs I will appear in over the next few days and weeks as I stand on deck 7 waving back.

We pass a gaint rock formation which has a hole through the middle. We are told that this was caused during the Ice-age. I prefer to think it was made by bored trolls.
 

Many of our fellow passengers will leave the boat tomorrow in Trondheim and so there is a farewell dinner tonight. There are some nice gestures during dinner which I won’t share just in case you are coming on this trip.

And the surprises keep on coming. At just after 3 am we get the call to let us know that you can see the Northern Lights. We run around at lightening speed pulling on clothes that we’ve laid out (as we did every night – just in case). When we get up on deck, the lights are everything we dreamed of – an arc of green dances across the sky flicking rays of light into some of the cloud below. I stand next to one of the ship’s staff who exclaims, “Wow and this is amazing,” every few seconds and I do nothing other than agree. We feel truly blessed being this early in the season and this far South to see such wonder. We stand on deck and watch like excited children as new patterns and shapes form in the sky above us. No wonder people want to experience this. It is absolutely fantastic and so beautiful.

Trondheim - Kristiansund

Monday 1^st October - Day 11

This morning we wake up in Trondheim. We are tired from being on deck at 3 am for an hour or so last night and so we wake later than normal and only get time for a very quick stroll in the town before the boat departs at 10 am. We wander down the river in the sunshine and look at the boats old and new lining the water’s edge. It’s a very pretty scene. We are disappointed that we won’t get to spend more time here or spend any money – especially arriving this time on a day when the shops are open.

Today seems very much like a time for relaxing. There are no other major stops again today and so we sit up on deck in the sunshine and read and watch the rolling hills and mountains pass us by. Had we only been visiting this part of Norway, we would have oohed and aahed at the scenery, yet due to the dramatic nature of what we’ve already seen, we have become somewhat blasé about it. I guess it’s all about comparisons.

It’s a very gentle day on board ship and now I feel happy that tomorrow I will be having my final day here and heading home. As they say, the reasons that many things are good is that they must come to an end. Often it is in the ending that you appreciate what you have had.

Maloy - Bergen

Tuesday 2nd October - Day 12

And so we arrive back where we started.

I realise today what a very different journey this could have been had we had the weather we are experiencing today. It's rain, rain and yet more rain all the way. Thankfully it's our very last day and so most of our time is spent inside the boat, then on a bus, then on a plane and finally in a car.

It's a day of logistics - paying the bill, getting luggage sorted and leaving the cabin so that it can be prepped for the new arrivals later this afternoon.

We have a relaxing breakfast and head to the library to relax, sort some email and read before we leave the boat this afternoon. As I reflect on my time on this voyage, I know that this journey will stay with me for a long time. I have seen some spectacular scenery, visited towns I didn't know existed and met fascinating people along the way. I also know that the trip is something that I will talk about to others and that I will no doubt look at the photographs on dull Winter nights by the fire. As I do, I will wonder what's happening in those remote places we visited and to those people that we met and shared a little of ourselves with.

In 2008, I came to Norway and fell in love. The scenery, the climate and conditions and the warmth of the people are all something I want to return to and experience again. Undertaking this voyage has reassured me that this was not just a passing romance but a long-term love affair.