Reine and Lofoten

The weather gods continue to be kind to us. We again have clear blue skies, sunny day, freezing cold but good weather for aurora borealis sightings (we were not so lucky ). Our first excursion was not until 1:30 so we had time in the morning before lunch to wander through the village close to where the ship is docked. We walked past racks of drying fish, we find out later these cod. It does smell. The fish is left to dry for a number of months. Everything is closed because it is Easter Tuesday. We do find the tourist office open and I buy a very nice waterproof jacket for around $120. Much better than the jacket I brought with me.

We are now well beyond the Arctic circle. The Lofoten Islands are quite a spectacular sight. Very pristine with jagged coastline and mountains. We are in the fiords. We travel across a number of bridges between the different islands, we saw many small villages located along the coastline as we drove. The painted wooden houses stand out against the white snow. Flat land in this area is limited and so typically houses will be close to the water with mountains to the back. The roads are good as is the general infrastructure. Not surprising given the strength of the Norwegian economy.

We visit a traditional village with houses preserved as they would have been centuries ago. It is very icy, during the day. When the sun is shining the snow melts then at night it freezes creating a hazard. So far during the trip I don't think the temperature during the day has gone above - 5°. I have a walking pole with me and am being very careful with Bob checking that I'm not taking any risks. However, it's Bob who manages to fall. Fortunately on his well padded bum, no damage done to either himself or his camera. The local guide was not terribly helpful because he said rather angrily to me that when you're coming to the Arctic circle the first thing you should do is pack something called ' crampons' . We knew nothing of these until our Polar Park visit where we were given some to wear. A number of passengers were like us wearing runners, good walking shoes not so good on ice. One of the guides from the ship however was very helpful and pointed us to a small shop where we could buy them for about 18 euro. Very happy to have them because they simply slip over your shoes and it gives you much more grip on the ice. I suspect they'll be getting more use.

We stopped a number of times more once to look at a church and another stop at a fishing village.

Back to the ship, no aurora borealis though, will have to wait another dayRead more