Ørland

Another magnificent day. It’s 6pm and dinner not till 8 (we did manage to sort out dinner with C and J together at 8!), so perfect opportunity to write what I can remember of the day. I keep forgetting little gems when I actually get down to writing...so here goes. We are at present jus cruising up the coast from Trondheim but just had a dramatic few moments when we made a right angle turn and through a very narrow passage...they only do this slight diversion when conditions are good, so again lucky.

We docked at Trondheim at about 10 this morning, and we assembled to do the nature hike up in the hills. C and J went off to their kayaking. There were only 5 of us doing the hike, and 2 guides (not local guides, but 2 of our ship people which was fun as we are now getting to know them - Sven (who is actually German) and Nikolas. This hike turned out to be quite strenuous. We got driven out of the cry and up to the hills (Trondheim is quite flat, and the hills surrounding it are not called mountains). From there we walked uphill along an uneven and often muddy track, with many roots to trip over! It was beautiful, and we could do it easily, but certainly had to watch each step. Sometimes the water was icy so that was another hazard but I actually got hot - guess it was the work of walking, but I had prepared for the cold, and didn’t need my gloves or hat (but I did wear it in case I lost it), and tied my down jacket round my waist. The view from the top down to Trondheim was stunning of course, and we had hot drinks and chocolate up there to restore our strength. A great morning. One thing, when we first set out on the path we came across a group of kindergarten children - they must have been about 3 - all rugged up in jackets, hats, gloves and carrying backpacks and thermoses, also setting off for a hike. They were being introduced to nature and learning to be good Norwegian trekkers!

Got back to the ship in time for lunch, and relaxing this afternoon. Watching the passing islands - just rocks poking up often, and so many of them. We passed a very old and famous octagonal lighthouse - you must certainly need guidance through all these hazards. Amr has been washing - there was a queue for the washing machine, but he does love to organise this! He is now at a talk about how to get your camera to take photos of the northern lights. They can pick up colours that are harder for the eye to see, but I doubt if my iPhone camera can do it very well...

Tomorrow is a big day - we cross the Arctic Circle! This is almost as much of an occasion as crossing the equator is (or used to be when you did it in ships)! It will be between 7.30 and 8.30 am.Read more