Norway and the Artic Circle

There are some things now that I reflect on that I realise you have to do when you are in this part of the world. In part I have been reluctant because they are expensive and don't sound all that engaging and potentially uncomfortable because of the cold. It is very hard to describe in words the experience you have with these excursions. I need to worry less about the cost and simply immerse myself in what we are doing.

After last night getting back so late we now have to get up early for our next excursion. I must confess that my enthusiasm for more snow and ice was not very high. Early is made more challenging when you have to go through the getting ready for ice and snow ritual. Thermal under garments, water proof pants, layer under the jacket, gloves, warm socks, shoes and headwear. Then decide what you need to take, phone in one pocket, camera in the other. Thankfully the jacket is waterproof. Backpack for anything else. Sometimes walking pole other times crampons.

The day did not look particularly promising overcast, but at least it wasn't raining. Bob as always is very positive about everything we are doing. I was initially not even sure this was an excursion I was interested in. Short bus ride again through beautiful countryside, snow-covered trees and mountains in the distance. If nothing else, the view is worth the trip.

My weariness dissipates the moment we get out of the vehicles and begin the process of learning about walking in and putting on snowshoes . Here we are again in a pristine almost wilderness area. We have one dog with us who will pull a sled with ' supplies'. The plan is to walk for about 45 minutes (this is what I was most interested in) and then go ice fishing , not something high on my list of must do activities. The walking is very good exercise, for a start snowshoes feel like you have a small snowboard attached to each foot except with the disadvantage that there are spikes underneath so you can grip the snow which means you can't slide. By the time we we get back to the vehicles, I feel I have mastered the art of walking in snowshoes. The path is up and down through fresh snow, snow we drove through last night. The day is bright however and we have no wind making it very pleasant.

It seemed like quite a long strenuous walk before we arrived at the frozen lake. Here we are in the middle of a forest surrounded by snow and snow-cap mountains and in front of us is a frozen lake where we are going to fish. We're instructed to pick up a reindeer skin, we will need this to sit on the snow while we wait for fish to bite. Our guide provides instruction on how to create a hole in the snow in order to fish. First, you shovel out the top layer of snow until you reach the ice, you then take a hand operated ice drill and drill through the ice which is about a meter thick. Now you can see the water, but you must scoop out the slush on top to make sure the water doesn't freeze over, it is still below zero. Next you take a tiny maggot. Attach it to a hook on a very small, almost childlike toy fishing line. The line is dropped 5 m into the ice hole you have created with your poor frozen maggot on the end of it. Now you sit on the reindeer skin and wait. It was a much more entertaining experience than I had thought despite the freezing cold. Three of us managed to create a small fishing hole and much to our and probably everyone's surprise we caught a very small fish. It was smaller than a sardine and already dead when I pulled it out. The guide, I'm not really sure how, managed to gut this tiny fish. Our sled dog meanwhile is having a great time in the snow. He runs to the edge of the lake and back checking out anything he can smell along the way.

Beside the lake, there is a traditional Sami structure with two fires inside, seats around the fires which we now place our reindeer skins on, it's freezing. Throughout Norway there are numerous huts and structures like this one, they may belong to someone or to a company, but there is an understanding amongst the Norwegians that anyone can use them at any time so long as they do not damage them. That isn't surprising given how harsh the climate is, it's understandable that you want to make sure people have shelter should they need it in winter. We are offered coffee and cake, for me the most delicious dark chocolate. Our tiny fish is cooked in a little butter in a pan over the fire. It is cut up and shared between the eight of us who are on the excursion. Even though we have only a small taste, it is in fact a very nice tasting fish.

Hot drinks are served in a 'parasite' cup. Folds down, keep it in your pocket and bring it out when when someone has something you might like. And we get to keep them.Read more