Gorrdiken

In spite of the 4-hour sleep, we wake up at 6.45am surprisingly rested and still in awe of the incredible show we witnessed last night.

After a quick breakfast, we head to the harbour, where our fjord cruise boat awaits us. For once, there are only a handful of tourists (the 8am departure is a good deterrent, especially if the Northern Lights activities end at 2am), but we still get the ever-present Italian guide: a young woman named Valeria who lives in Tromso researching orcas.

The first stop is Ramfjorden, a very important fjord for Sami people. At the end of the fjord there is indeed one of their main summer camps for reindeer.
Debris left by the glacier at the entrance of the fjord causes fresh water to stop on the surface of the salt water, which makes it easier for the fjord water to freeze in comparison to other fjords.

We are 69° above the equator, about 3° above the Arctic Circle. At this latitude, the sun doesn't rise above the horizon for two full months between end of November and end of January.

Whereas the "Arctic" is usually defined as the region comprised between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole, there is also another definition which is based on climate factors: the so-called "True Arctic". Is this case, only regions where the warmest month does not go above the 10° mark qualify. Due to the Gulf Stream effects, this side of Norway doesn't meet the basic requirements. However, the definition of True Arctic is less and less used, as the Arctic climate is changing much more rapidly than in any other regions of the planet.

The boat stops at the end of the fjord, at the edge of the floating layer of frozen water, where the ice starts breaking. This was our very first stop yesterday during our on-the-road fjord tour, but the same natural phenomenon witnessed from the boat is entirely different. To fully enjoy the view, we venture to the open-air deck of the boat... And the reward is definitely worth the suffering! 🥶🤩Read more