Sørreisa

Today, the ship continues to make brief calls at several ports on the way to our next main stop at Tromsø.
Last night, I found that the benefit of being an insomniac meant I could gaze out from our cabin window in awe at the view as the ship made its silent way along North Norway's magnificent coast. The pale night sky created a beautiful light over the mountains, quite magical.
Bright sunshine this morning, light blue sky, deep blue water and much more snow on the mountains.
As soon as the ship docked at Tromsø this afternoon, the majority of passengers disembarked, some because they were leaving, the rest off to join the various excursions.
We were part of a group of 15, plus our German guide, Marie, and travelled by minibus for about 10 mins to a park in the forest high above the town. It was amazing to see the piles of snow surrounding the houses and I wouldn't fancy driving on the icy roads!
Once at the park,we were kitted out with snow shoes and walking poles and set off uphill for a trek through the forest. Tricky at first but we soon gained confidence that the shoes would cope with the deep snow and icy patches.
The walk took about an hour with a few short stops to admire the views, or in my case to catch up with the rest of the group who were much younger and fitter!
I've haven't been in such thick snow since the winter of 1962!
Once relieved of our snowshoes, we were given toboggan mats for the daunting prospect of hurting downhill on them.
Now this is not something I ever imagined doing at 70, but hey-ho let's give it a go! Alan & Karen bravely went first and survived with loud shrieks from Karen and their dignity almost intact. Our turn next, as we careered downhill in hysterics, spinning around with absolutely no control! Unfortunately it wasn't captured very well on camera, so we had to trudge back and have another go. It was insane but great fun!
After gathering around a fire with a warming drink of hot Ribena (no alcohol as this is Norway) and a sweet snack, we all returned to the minibus for the drive back to the ship, weary but happy.
A couple of pre-dinner g&t's, from our stash that we had smuggled on board, soon revived us. Dinner followed by another round of Barbu which Karen won convincingly this time.
Another great day on our Norway adventure.Read more