We decided to retire to the cabin after dinner as we considered it would be the best place to ride out the bad weather. For the size of ship, she handled the stormy seas really well. I noticed on the ships model that there were stabilisers and a quick Google revealed they are Rolls-Royce Neptune 200 stabilizers, designed to significantly reduce rolling motion in windy conditions and rough seas. Well I can honestly say, that they worked brilliantly last night.
As it happened, we both slept really well and my Fitbit clocked my sleep at 9 hours. We received an announcement over the ships PA shortly before 6:45 telling us we were about to cross the Arctic Circle at 66°33’N. so the weather obviously didn’t slow us down any. At precisely 7:11 we officially crossed that invisible line into the Arctic, however due to the weather, the outside decks were closed off, so in order to capture a photo of the monument which is a large metal globe on the island of Vikingen. I had to use my phone up against the glass but the results weren’t good so I have decided not to post any on the blog.
Our first stop of the day was at 9:40 and a place called Ørnes, this was just for 20 minutes to pick up a handful of passengers, the sail in and out provided some really dramatic photo opportunities.
As is tradition on the coastal route, the “Arctic Circle Ceremony” took place outside on deck 8 shortly after 10:30. It’s a bit of a theatrical affair—King Njord made an appearance to “baptise” those brave enough to step forward. For those who haven’t seen it before, it involves a ladle of ice cubes being dropped down your back. I decided that observing from a safe distance with a camera was the more prudent choice while Nicole was the second to succumb to the blessing, if that is what you would like to call it.
We spent nearly all morning outside this morning just taking in the scenery and only coming in to eat lunch. The views were incredible and, I’d say we had FOMO pretty bad as we really didn’t want to miss anything.
Lunch was very tasty and our table provided us with yet more dramatic scenery on the sail into Bodø.
The strong tail winds last night actually put us ahead of schedule and we arrived in Bodø at 12:50, a good 15 minutes early.
The winds subsided so we set off to explore using ‘The Coastal Ferry Guidebook’ by Emma Vestrheim as a way of navigating the town.
She has a suggested self guided walking tour for Bodø which doesn’t paint an amazing picture of the location but it got us off and walking. If I’m honest, it wasn’t the most exciting hour of my life but it gave us something to do and when the wind picked up and it started raining again, we didn’t need any excuse to head back to the ship.
After we set sail again, we took some time out in the Havblikk Lounge and watched some more scenery pass by including the Landegode Fyr lighthouse at 4:15.
Samsund was our second from last stop of the day but the last one I am going to photograph. We initially had fingers crossed that we might see the aurora tonight but it started snowing just as we were leaving which means there were clouds.
We have our cabin phone set up to alert us if it appears in the night and I think the chance of it happening will increase the further north we go.
Fitbit Steps – 14,448
I’m also enjoying your daily blogs as I always do. I’ve only been to the Norwegian Fjords during the summer months and not travelled as far north so love to hear about your exploits. Thank you for taking your time to detail your travels.
I am enjoying your daily entries tremendously. We did this trip about a month ago, so when you mention your ports each day and/or the menu, it brings back a lot of good memories. In Trondheim, did you try to enter the church? I know it was Sunday, but how do they keep tourists out of a church?
🙂
The official tours were allowed special access, but we were respectful of the sign outside saying the service was about to start so no sightseers. Only come in if you are joining the service. I have seen some photos and it does look stunning. Pleased you are enjoying my rambling. 👍🏻
Looks like a good day. I am with you on Bodø. Kind of a waste of a stop.