Day 13 - Monday June 23rd – Day at Sea and Robert’s Birthday

Usually we sail out of port early evening but tonight we spent the night at the pier in Honningsvag, so there was no ship’s movement.   This morning, we left the port about 6 am so that we could get another view of the North Cape which we sailed around about 8am.

 

 



The clouds had lifted sufficiently for us to see the Cape more clearly than yesterday.  It looks like a mesa we would see in the west but surrounded by water.

 




As we sailed around the North Cape we got an even better view.

After breakfast, we watched the polar bear plunge of 6 brave people jumping into the swimming pool at the rear of the ship, the aft.

The water was probably not too cold, but they appeared to be freezing when just standing around in the cold probably less than 40 degrees F.  

Michael Porter and Robert DeNyke watching polar plunge from upper deck.

 

Next up was the kitchen tour which was amazing and  the detail on preparation was amazing!

Here is a link to vid of the kitchen tour:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI9DOxG4pvI&feature=youtu.be

 The kitchen was all stainless steel and extremely clean, a good thing!

After lunch, Chuck and Michael played cribbage while Robert and Mike read.  The interior pool area was covered and very warm.  It was a great place to relax.

We had dinner in the Rotterdam Dining Room, celebrating Robert’s 57th birthday with chocolate cream pie and Happy Birthday written on the top in chocolate.  The stewards sang the Indonesian birthday song.






After dinner, we found a note in our cabin inviting the 4 of us to a free dinner in the Pinnacle Grill which was a gift from the cruise ship.  We had previously had to call on 3 separate occasions in 3 days for a plumber to fix our non-functioning toilet so the cruise ship awarded us the free dinner at the Grill which is in a special dining room which charges extra, normally $29 each.   So we called to schedule our special “steak” dinner for tomorrow night which is a night at sea.
  

After dinner, we went to the theater for performance by Kyle Kennedy in the theater, doing “Souled Out.”  He has a good voice, but is white, so he did not come across very well as a soul singer.  After the show we saw the sun barely as this is our last night above the Arctic Circle.  The sky was completely overcast most of the day, with a few minutes of sun through holes in the clouds and a little more after dinner.

 
At 11:55 PM, Chuck and Michael went out on the deck to look west but only saw a bright orange/yellow, very thin line between the horizon and dark clouds.  Robert stayed in so I went out on my own.   

It was sunlight at midnight and still cloudy on the horizon so not really much of a sunset.  Through the thick clouds and fog, you could barely see the midnight sun. The concept of the midnight sun is that it does not set for four days as it only touches the horizon.  It was still very amazing even if the night was so overcast!
Here is a link to a video of the Midnight Sun above the Arctic circle:
 http://youtu.be/z_XbsBlrEyc

Day 12 - Sunday June 22nd

We had another night rocking and rolling while at sea on the way to our next port, Honningsvag.   As you might have guessed, we sail out of a port in the evening, sailing overnight arriving in the next port the next morning.   Honningsvag is the northern most city in Europe, population about 2,500,  and as you recall from previous days at sea, we are now in our second day in the Arctic Circle.  We are sailing around the top of Norway passing North Cape and into Porsangerfjorden, the 4th largest fjord in Norway and the northern most one.  

Red arrows indicate North Cape and Honningsvag

We got up early to get to the Lido Restaurant early enough to grab a window seat on the starboard side so we could see the North Cape as we sailed past it shortly after 7 am.  This morning it is very cold, overcast and rainy; the high temperature forecast is expected to be       37 F.   From our seat at breakfast, we could see the North Cape as we approached it from the eastern side and sailing around it to the north. The Cape was barely visible at the top.


                                                                                                                                                                                  

The high cliff is about 1000 ft from sea level with a large flat plateau on top where visitors can stand and watch the midnight sun and views of the Barents Sea to the north.  As we passed the Cape from the west the view was much clearer and could see the cliff with the overlook.  Little did we realize at the time this would be our best view of the North Cape.

Honningsvag, Norway - as the cruise ship approaches to dock.

We have not seen the sun, midnight or midday and not much chance again today.  So we are hoping the weather will clear some so that we can get those views this afternoon when we get to port and take our shore excursion to the North Cape.  

Views of Honningsvag from cruise ship.

After breakfast, we read a bit waiting to catch early lunch and then depart ship for our bus ride to the Cape.  When Robert got to the room, he had a chance to use the hair dryer, despite being bald, as he dropped his hat in the toilet. 

When we departed the ship for the bus, the rain is a steady drizzle so the bus is nice and warm.  The ride up to the cape was beautiful despite the rain.  Even though being cloudy and rainy, we got some good views of the scenery.  There are no trees as we are way north of the tree line.  There were patches of snow, herds of reindeer, lots of ponds and streams.  The closer we got to the Cape, the higher altitude that got us closer to the clouds.  It was amazing to Robert and I that there were RV parks here.  (Notice the RV in the picture?)

On the way, we stopped at a Sami (formerly Lapplanders) shop and saw a man posing with a reindeer with antlers.  They are much smaller than I thought (the reindeer, not the Sami) being less than shoulder high; The Sami are typically short folks.  The little baby calves were adorable.  The reindeer is an even-toed ungulate mammal of the deer family. In North America it is also called caribou. There are about 10-20 reindeer subspecies and the reindeer is the only deer that has been domesticated.

By the time, we got to the Cape, the clouds and fog obscured everything; we just got wet and it was cold.  At the Cape, there is a visitor center with a movie about the North Cape including the Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun.  There is also an odd Thai museum in the visitor center.  Or it seemed odd to me...sort of out of place but it was commemorating the visit of King Chulalongkorn of Thailand (Siam) in July 1907.  The monarch from Asia sailed from Copenhagen with the chartered yacht.  His visit was documented by the carving of the date and signature in a large stone in the visitor center.

There is also a monument on the grounds

to commemorate the visit of 

King Oscar II 

of Norway/Sweden in 1882.   

After the tour in the visitor center, it was time to brave the rain and go outside to the point.  We at least should go take a picture.  
 

Mike at the North Cape....can you tell I am happy?  Not as cold as I thought and at least dry in new jacket!

    

 


 
Time to head back inside out of the rain and visit the souvenir shop before we board the bus ride back to the cruise ship. The souvenir's at the visitor center are expensive but Robert did find some items for his co-workers.   Michael and Chuck also stocked up on souvenir's as well. A cashier at the souvenir shop at the Cape said that they expected 6,000 visitors today. While Robert and I were waiting, Mr. social Robert met a new friend. Or was he just trolling?





           Load em up folks for the bus ride back to the ship, not too much rain just drizzle and foggy.

It was a fun trip even if we did not see the North Cape views.    The bus ride back was similar to the ride up to the Cape but the fog had settled in heaver so the views were not as good as the trip up.    I think most people napped.

Exiting the bus at the port, there was a statue of Bamse, the Norwegian dog hero,outside the souvenir gift shop.  We purchased a book in the shop about his story.   It was a good day!

 .  

Day 11 - Saturday June 21st

The ship rolled and pitched a lot last night and we could hear the elevator counterweights banging in their shafts.   We sailed into the port city of Tromso, the 7^th largest city in Norway and referred to as the Arctic capital of Norway, arriving at the dock about 8:30am.

  

Arrival in Tromso

Today was the first day of summer and the high temperature forecast is 41 F, 5 C.  It is very rainy this morning.   We did not plan any shore excursions, as they were mostly museums and galleries that is not our style.  Instead of getting off the boat, we read, played cribbage, napped and generally did nothing except wait for the mealtime to start.  It stopped raining about lunchtime but was cloudy and cold the rest of the afternoon. 

  

The tour/excursion director, Sonja,  had a presentation about our next port of call in the afternoon, which we attended, to get an idea about the excursion to the North Cape.   We have an early bus departure tomorrow.  She also provided info about, Bamse, a huge 196 pound St. Bernard dog who lived during the 2nd World War.

Bamse was owned by Captain Hafto of the Norwegian Navy, and went to sea with him on a minesweeper during the war. He achieved legendary status due to the many tales of his adventures, courage and kindness he spread. Bamse became the global mascot for the Royal Norwegian Forces and a symbol of freedom and inspiration for Allied troops throughout Europe. More on this in tomorrow's day blog.

Even though we spent most of our day in the library room, Robert and Mike did visit the cruise ship gift shop today and purchase heavy jackets with a liner and hood since our heavy jackets are still in our luggage somewhere in the US.   As we approach the North Cape, the weather forecast is to be cold and rainy.