Turning around at Kirkenes

Yesterday we reached Kirkenes on my Hurtigruten cruise. We’re now heading back toward Bergen.

I don’t have a lot to write about, and because the ship’s wifi blocks photo apps, it’s hard to post a lot of photos. So I’ll just share a few highlights here, as best I can remember them.

Northbound Highlights

Bodø

Here I did a RIB boat ride around the area. The thrill was supposed to come from visiting Saltstraumen. If you visit at the right time of day, you get to experience the world’s strongest maelstrom. The current is created when the tide turns and flows in and out of the channel between Saltenfjorden and Skjerstadfjorden. Every six hours, massive volumes of water are set to pass through the 3km long and 150m wide channel at speeds of up to 20 knots. The small strait and the tremendous forces at play generate large eddies, which can reach up to 10 meters in diameter and 4–5 meters in depth.

We weren’t there at the right time of day. So it wasn’t thrilling. It was just a fast ride in a boat. There were a few points of interest. Some cool rock formations created when Greenland and Norway collided some 430 million years ago. A salmon farm. And some nice scenery.

Lofoten Islands

I took an excursion by bus from Stamsund to Svolvær. It is a beautiful area I wish I had more time to see. I would come back just to spend a few days here.

The rainbow photo up at the top is also from the Lofoten Islands.

Trollfjord

This was the most spectacular part of the entire journey. Trollfjord is just 2km in length. It’s a short detour we made just for the experience, since it doesn’t lead anywhere. It was after midnight when we got there, but everyone on the boat, or so it seemed, stayed up to take photos.

Tromsø

This was not really a highlight. I opted for a bus tour, and there just wasn’t enough to see to warrant spending any time on a bus. We got a a viewpoint where the view was not inspiring, and a modern church called the Arctic Cathedral that was also not inspiring. Finally the tour went to a museum, and I ducked away so I could wander around the town on my own a little. This was the best part of an otherwise uninteresting three hours in Tromsø.

Midnight Sun

I enjoyed some views of the midnight sun from the window in my cabin before I went to sleep that night.

Birdwatching Safari

We had a small group for this excursion from Honningsvåg, on the island of Magerøya. We went by bus to a small fishing village, where we boarded a boat and went to a small island which is the nesting ground for various seabirds. It was hard to get any good photos, because we were on the boat and it was not steady, but we got to watch puffins, gannets, guillemots, razorbills, shags, cormorants, various gull species, and even some sea eagles. And we passed a group of seals, and on the drive we passed herds of reindeer. 

Kirkenes

In this town close to both the Russian and Finnish borders, I signed up for a quad bike excursion to the Russian border. It turns out there were just four of us: me and my three dinner companions from Adelaide (Kylie, Heather, and Liz, who by now had become good friends). Heather has a photo of all four of us suited up, which she is supposed to send me, and when she does I will post it. (Sadly, they got off the boat after our excursion and are continuing their travels elsewhere.)

I did quad biking once before, at Rothiemurchus, by Aviemore, Scotland. That was all off-road. This was all on-road, which made it a lot adventurous, but we did get to go quite a bit faster, topping 60 km/h.

Border Crossings

Kirkenes and the Russian towns across the border have a friendly relationship, and locals are allowed to cross the border as long as they stay within 30 km. We visited one border crossing that is closed, and one that is active. 

Viewpoint

After the turnaround

As I said, we’re now on our way back to Bergen. There are far fewer people on the ship now. A lot of folks got off in Kirkenes and will be flying onward from there. A number of people got on, but not so many as disembarked.

After we left Kirkeness, we sailed in rough open sea for most of the day and night. I think a lot of people were suffering. I am not prone to seasickness, but I still felt a tad bit unsettled, and I skipped dinner last night.

Hammerfest

This afternoon we stopped in Hammerfest, and there was a little over an hour for exploration.

Next

Tonight we will be back in Tromsø. There is a midnight concert in the Cathedral (the pretty old one, not the ugly modern one). I will try to get a nap before that.