Scandinavia- 20th Oct (Fri)

We woke up in time for breakfast in the morning. Meanwhile, the ship had docked at Ornes at 9:15am for 15mins. After breakfast, we checked that the time crossing the Artic Circle was 7:20:08am. So none of us managed to guess the time correctly. The next stop was Bodo, from 12:30pm to 3pm. We had booked on the sea safari excursion for that.

While waiting, we were at the Panoramic room. It looked like a beautiful day today with the sun out.
At one time, the sun was blazing hot on us through the glass and lots of people had left the room. We managed to find a better seat, right in front but were annoyed to find that reading was almost impossible when there were two American ladies seated right next to us. They kept talking on and on and didn't seem to be able to lower their volume. I had problems concentrating when the volume was so loud. I wish that they were more sensitive to other people's needs.

There were lost of announcements going on. We were told that the town centre was quite far away from the ferry terminal but that we could take a bus or train there. There was other tourist options provided for those who weren't booked on for the excursion.

The excursion is basically a trip on a zodiac (inflatable boat) where we would be able to be closer to the natural scenery, bird life and the world's strongest tidal current. We would also have a good chance of seeing sea eagles. Sea Eagles are Europe's largest predatory bird with a wing-span of over 2 meters. Everyone will be provided with thermal suits, gloves and glasses.

We dreaded the cold and made sure we were properly wrapped up. So at 12:30pm we got ready to alight.
We were directed to a room where we were handed out thermal suits. All of us struggled to get into the suits. We felt all bulky and wrapped up with this extra layer. Next we were handed gloves, goggles and head gear. We were led to the four zodiacs waiting out in the sea. The group was then broken up into English and Norwegian speaking groups. When we were all seated, they asked for tickets. It was a laugh because it was almost impossible to be able to dig out the tickets now.

Ross and myself wanted to sit right in front but we were too late and got a seat on the fourth row from the front. It was fun on the zodiac boat. The couple on the row, 2nd from front, was the couple who sits next to us at the dinner table. The British lady was vain and kept keeping her goggles up (afraid that her mascara would smudge?). Each boat had a guide and ours warned us of splashing sea water at the coming stretch of water. That was when she dutifully placed her goggles on properly. But then she asked whether her shoes would get wet since she was only wearing trainers. I couldn't fathom what her options were if it did anyway. After that stretch of water, she did her best to keep the goggles up and kept checking for smudging.

As we headed out to the water, our unprotected face felt terribly cold, in fact, frozen. We could feel and taste the sea water on our face. It was fun as the boat went on the waves and bumps. It was clumsy and difficult taking photos in the zodiac because of the splashing water, the fact that I was wearing gloves, and that the boat was constantly in motion.

We passed by a stretch of water where there were yellow balls of floats and traps and we were told that it was an area for cod farming. We saw lots of snow-capped mountains in a distance. Then we came to an area where lots of birds were circling and we spotted two sea eagles. I could see their long fanned out wings! The guide brought us further along and pointed out the eagles' nesting area.

Next we came to the Norwegian sea where there was supposed to be the world's strongest tidal current.
There were lots of swells in the sea. There was also lots of bird life there as this is also where lots of fishes can be found.

We headed back the way we came. On the way back, we were slightly irritated with the two couples in the front two rows of the zodiac who were standing throughout. All of us behind could not see anything that was in front of us. If I stood too, the poor old lady sitting behind me would be able to see nothing, and those two guys were big blokes. I felt tremendously irritated and wished that I could say something. It was a huge sigh of relief when we could see the port. Besides my hands and feet were freezing.

We got out quickly and headed back with 5 mins to spare. They checked our excursion tickets on our way out.

As soon as we got inside the ship, it felt pleasantly warm. I got myself a hot chocolate and we both got some hot food.

There weren't that many stops for the rest of the day. The next was at 7pm to 7:30pm at Stamsund. We wouldn't be getting down cos it coincides with dinner time. After that, the next stop is Svolvaer at 9pm to 10pm.

Dinner was pleasant with Sergy. It was the last time we would be having dinner with her since she leaves the ship tomorrow. She will be catching the flight to Oslo day after tomorrow, staying a night at a hotel. In Oslo, she will take an hour's ride out to a small town, where she was born and see what she can find out about her roots.

I still haven't managed to feel totally warm yet after this afternoon's sea safari. I was keen to go out for a walk in Svolvaer. Before getting off, we went on the outside deck for a peek. We saw the northern lights! It was very much just wispy whites. We were so excited and felt very lucky! We were wondering why it wasn't announced but thought that maybe this was a too weak version.

The ship was late arriving to Svolvaer. At 9pm, the ship was still moving towards Svolvaer but they also extended the hours to 10:15pm. The town center was just next to the ferry terminal. We took a walk around and the night was feeling chilly. Our guess is that it's near zero degrees Celsius.

We kept trying to take photos of the Northern Lights but all we got was a clear screen of black. The Northern Lights looked wispy and whitish. At one point, it was whitishly green and blue. The wind was blowing really strongly. The wisps looked almost 3-dimensional and kept moving. At one point, it was strong white wisps right on top of the ship. We were lucky to have caught sight of it. We'll remember it as Ross's early 35th birthday present.