The majority of today’s journey is out in the Barents Sea so not too many opportunities for photography, or so I thought…
On arrival into Vardo, apparently the only town in Norway that genuinely has an Arctic climate, off marched some brave, hardy (read stupid) souls who have taken up the offer of a dip in the Barents Sea. Call me a wimp if you like, but this is heart attack territory for this boat’s demographic! With the wind chill its minus several degrees! More pictures of Vardo on the Kirkenes & Barents Sea photo page.
And that is a dive boat…hmm, no thanks, not even in a dry suit!
A different boat south; The Polarlys (Polar Light), is to be honest pretty similar to the one I got off just a couple of days ago. This time I have bagged a nicer cabin on an upper deck - great for the views, possibly not so good if the boat is rocking and rolling through the sea swell. And it is a bit windy this morning! In broad terms everywhere we were in the night on the way north we will now see in the daylight. So looking forward to a visit to Hammerfest, considered to be the world’s most northerly town, the Lofoten Islands and Trondheim, which we missed because of the storm.
In the end I was rather sad to leave Kirkenes. Friendly place with an apparent sense of community - perhaps not surprising when you think of how remote it is. If you don't get on with your fellow townspeople, you are going to be kinda lonely. But 2 days is probably enough for an outsider. Its almost April and it definitely still feels like winter. Every street is still covered in ice, and piles of snow still stand on most junctions, waiting for the spring thaw, which feels a long time a way yet. The temperature has not got above 0º over the weekend and the claimed warm summer looks a long way off. I had walked most of the streets of the town, definitely drunk coffee in every cafe, and viewed the cold sea from just about every vantage point (apart from the ones up steep hills, I might not have been able to get down from!). But still, I’ve enjoyed my 48 hours in Kirkenes, probably never to return.
I have just found out that anyone sad enough to want to know can find out where my boat is at any time by looking it up on Hurtigruten's active map at:
Oh well, now you know, that info can be logged under “he has mistaken me for someone who gives a sh*t”.
Think it is time to quit. I’m going to the bar…