Cruisin' through the Arctic Circle!
Norway's western coast
The Arctic Circle's famous landmark
Land of the mid-night sun!
Day 4 was another day at sea, as we cruised through the Arctic Circle! The captain opened the heli-pad in the front of the ship in order to allow us to view the the famous globe that marks the invisible line of the Arctic Circle. North of this line is where the summer sun stays above the horizon all day and night, and the sun in the winter disappears!
Views of Tromso
Back on board!
Dinner at the San Marco restaurant
On Day 5, we arrived in Tromso, known as the "Gateway to the Arctic." A few facts about Tromso!: Fishing in Tromso still plays a big part in the local economy. However, it is also an important city for education and is home to one of the country's biggest hospitals. We spent the morning walking around the town and admiring the Arctic Cathedral from across the bridge.
Honningsvag, Norway's northernmost village
Making a new friend! Norway's trolls are everywhere!
Getting prepped for our King Crab Safari excursion
Catchin' some crab!
King Crab!!
Inspecting the crab we caught!
Cooking the crab
Our restaurant for the afternoon, a traditional Sami hut
Ready to eat!
Enjoying our catch!
Crab legs cracked and ready to eat
North Cape
Day 6 brought us into the small fishing town of Honningsvag, known for being the world's northernmost village. From Honnigsvag, the North Cape, known for being the Northernmost point in Europe, lies about 22 miles.
Mark and I had a fun excursion planned in the afternoon, the King Crab Safari! We met our guide on the deck and then headed over to their headquarters around the corner where we donned dry suits for the trip. After putting our suits on, we hopped in to the RIB (rigid, inflatable boat) for a short ride out to the crab pots! We watched as our guides pulled it up from the sea, and were lucky enough to have caught four crabs in this run. After getting them out of the net, we headed over to shore to feast on some crab! We met the rest of our hosts on the pier and took pictures with the live crab! Once the photo ops were over, we headed over to our eating venue for the afternoon, an authentic Sami tent. The Samis are Norway's indigenous people who use these tents as their shelter from the harsh winter weather. Inside the tent was a bar with drinks and a large fire. The crab meat was put into a big pot over the fire to boil in sea water. Once it was boiling, the pot was removed from the fire and left to sit for about half and hour. Then the good eats arrived...two huge plates of cooked crab meat! It doesn't get much fresher than shellfish straight from the sea to your plate in about 45 minutes! After enjoying our meal, we headed back to the mainland in our RIB. It was a fun and memorable afternoon!
In the evening, after departing from Honnigsvag's port, we passed by the North Cape for a view of Europe's northernmost point and another globe that commemorates its position.
Stay tuned for more updates to come from Week 2 of our cruise!...
Well now I have to add Norway to my list so I can see the trolls. Not quite my treasure chest trolls, but still, love my trolls. I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!
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