Derek in search of the Northern Lights

Today's ports of call: Departed Molde 21.30, arrive Alesund 00.30 Depart Alesund 01.00, arrive Torvik 02.15 Depart Torvik  02.30, arrive Maloy 05.15 Depart Maloy 05.45, arrive Floro 07.45 Depart Floro 08.15, arrive Bergen 14.30 Weather at 11.00am, overcast skies, light breeze, temperature +3C Firstly, an apology for the lack of a concluding post, but I have been laid low by a rather heavy cold. Obviously the Arctic air was not quite freezing enough to kill off all the nasty little bugs!...but given the number of people on board who where coughing and sneezing throughout the trip, it's not surprising that I didn't succumb. Our bags were quickly packed and we sailed the last few miles back to Bergen. Unfortunately we had no time to see any of the city as we had to get straight to the airport for the flight back to the UK. An overnight stop before flying back to Jersey gave us the opportunity to have a day in London, not to do anything particularly special, but just to walk fr...

Today's ports of call: Departed Rorvik 21.30 arrive Trondheim  06.30 Depart Trondheim 10.00, arrive Kristainsund 16.30 Depart Kristainsund  17.30 arrive Molde 21.00 Depart Molde 21.30 Weather at 11.00am, partly cloudy skies, recent snow showers, wind calm, temperature +1C An early morning arrival into Trondheim and some light snow showers. Today is as much of a sea day as it is possible get on this trip as the next port of call was not until late afternoon and we had an excursion booked in Kristainsund. The first part of this was a drive through the second deepest road tunnel in the world. It goes nearly 1,000 feet belo sea level and although this might not sound very much there is something a little unnerving about traveling along a road tunnel that just seem to stop going downwards. Any moment you expected Old Nick himself to appear out of the shadows and hitch a ride. The next section of the route was along the famed Atlantic Highway, a road five miles or so long which twis...

It has been interesting to see how the locals use Hurtigruten as a kind of traveling hotel. At most ports, there always seems to be a few people, young and old waiting at the gate or terminal, suitcase in hand and ready to board whilst a few disembark into the arms of waiting friends or loved ones. Likewise, there are always boxes and containers being loaded into, or out of, the hold. The ship's carry mail too...indeed, one of the waiters told us that a few years ago when the north of the country was cut off from the road network by heavy snow, Hurtigruten carried absolutely everything to the coastal communities. During the stops, the locals are allowed to come on board and stop of a coffee and a sandwich. After all, it must be like having a new cafe open up in port every day. This being Norway, everything is expensive. I have already mentioned the cost of beer, but there are other examples. A children's souvenir tee shirt was £34, the ship's excursions are eye-wateringly e...

Today's ports of call: Departed Stamsund 22.30, arrive Bodo 02.30 Depart Bodo 04.15, arrive Ornes 07.00 Depart Ornes 07.15, arrive Nesna 11.00 Depart Nesna 11.15, arrive Sandnessjoen 12.30 Depart Sandnessjoen 13.00, arrive Bronnoysund 15.45 Depart Bronnoysund 17.00, arrive Rorvik 20.30 Depart Rorvik 21.30 Weather at 11.00am, clear skies with increasing clouds, moderate breeze, temperature +1C Our last port of call yesterday evening was Stamsund. As we approached the port in total darkness and with all kinds of obstructions and rocks both left and right it was a stark reminder of just how skilled the captains of the Hurtigruten fleet must be. Yes, these days there are all kinds of navigation aids and GPS, but the way the M/S Richard With was guided into the harbour, turned 180 degrees and docked effortlessly made an extremely difficult and precise operation look easy.  Shortly after breakfast we passed the globe shaped marker signifying the Arctic Circle on our starboard side and re...

Today's ports of call: Departed Tromso 01.30, arrive Finnsnes 04.15 Depart Finnsnes 04.45, arrive Harstad 07.45 Depart Harstad 08.30, arrive Risoyhamn 10.45 Depart Risoyhamn  10.45, arrive Sortland 12.30 Depart Sortland 13.00, arrive Stokmarknes 14.15 Depart Stokmarknes 15.15, arrive Svolvaer 18.30 Depart Svolvaer 20.30, arrive Stamsund 22.00 Depart Stamsund 22.30 Weather at 11.00am, clear skies, light wind, temperature -3C Yesterday's aurora lasted all evening, on and off, but we're not particularly bright, more of a waving pale cloud with just a tinge of green. When not watching them we took part in the evening's entertainment, a music quiz, scoring a creditable 34 out of 44 points. The winner scored 42, but what made it memorable was that one of the waitresses from the restaurant sang a couple of the songs...and a very good voice she had too. It was a busy day in terms of ports of call. Each one varies in size and most have a minor claim to fame, although it's im...

Today's ports of call: Departed Berlevag  22.00 arrive Mehamn 00.45 Depart Mehamn  01.00, arrive Kjollefjord 02.45 Depart Kjollefjord 03.00, arrive Honningsvag 05.30 Depart Honningsvag 05.45, arrive Havoysund 07.45 Depart Havoysund 08.00, arrive Hammerfest 10.45 Depart Hammerfest 12.45, arrive Oksfjord 15.30 Depart Oksfjord 15.45, arrive  Skjervoy 19.45 Depart Skjervoy 20.15, arrive Tromso 23.45 Weather at 11.00am, broken clouds which are clearing, calm wind, temperature -4C Early yesterday evening the northern lights put in another appearance although nothing like as spectacular as the previous sightings. Long pale bands of milky white stretched across the sky and they remained fairly static. We just count ourselves fortunate to have seen them as there were many heavy snow showers around. Today's first daylight port was Havoysund and just outside the port gate a snowplough was busy clearing the overnight accumulation.  During the course of the northbound service, th...