Tromsø our next adventure

We had an early night because our flight from Paris to Tromso is at 7am. Last time we were here to also take a charter flight to start the Northwest passage cruise. Fortunately this time the charter left on time, previously we waited at the airport for some time before finding out a plane had broken down somewhere in Croatia. The flight was uneventful and we were given breakfast both on board as well as in the airport. This time we arrived in sufficient time to be given a tour of Trompso before boarding our ship. Trompso is a very long way north in Norway, part of an archipelago of islands well within the Arctic circle. It is not a large place so the tour whilst interesting did not take very long. What we did see was snow, snow, capped mountains, and pretty painted wooden houses. We did however, come across reindeer grazing by the road. We also found out about the way the indigenous people of Norway, the Sami, live. They own all reindeer in Norway and the reindeer are allowed to graze anywhere.

I think we have a fascination with snow covered landscapes because we simply don't see vast areas of snow. Even though it is early spring, the snow comes right down to the ocean. A photographer's paradise really. We are given lunch and more time than we need because the ship is not ready to board until 4:00 p.m. This does give us an opportunity to walk around Trompso a little bit.

Finally boarding time and we go through what is now a very regular routine, get into our room. Do as much unpacking as possible, put out the laundry. Wait for the mandatory drill and information session. This is followed by a welcome by the captain with champagne and finally we get to sleep. What is new for us however, is that because this is not an expedition cruise we do not have the number of naturalists on board that we are used to and therefore not the usual number of briefings. The briefing for the excursion the next day is quite short because it is simply an overview of what to expect depending on which excursion you have selected.

The captain has told us that should there be any evidence of northern lights we will be told. And true to his word. We were woken at 11:00 and again at 12:00 because there was a particularly spectacular display. We slept rather than get up dress for Arctic conditions to take pictures of the lights.Read more