Crossing the Arctic Circle

Heading south from Bodø to Rørvik 

Yesterday was so eventful it seemed much longer than a single day.  Having been awake virtually all night on our first night aboard the MS Vesterålen I felt sure I would sleep. Indeed, I did manage a couple of hours but I was aware of the ship docking at Bodø
at 2:30am, I must have drifted off shortly after this.

As we docked at Ørnes it was time for another wonderful Hurtigruten breakfast, we wanted to be up and ready on deck for the ceremony when we crossed the Arctic Circle at 9:15.  Today the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and the mountains, capped with snow, gleamed against the blue sky.

Up on deck some of the crew had gathered, shortly to be joined by Egbert (the tour leader) and the Captain, Lars Kalas. Egbert shared with us the secret of the Norwegian strength and long life (cod liver oil!) and the we took turns to have a spoonful of the magic liquid washed down with a glass of prosecco to sweeten the taste.

Ceremony for crossing the Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle is marked by a monument on the small islet of Vikingen and the sun glinted off it as we sailed past.

Arctic Circle monument

The views were splendid as we headed south, visibility was clear and the the scenery was simply stunning. We even did a spot of sunbathing on deck as we chatted to a lady from Canada who was doing the journey to see the country some of her ancestors had come from.

We had a really brief stop at a beautiful little place called Nesna where my son, Tom, decided to walk up to see the small wooden church while my husband and I strolled around the harbour. We lost sight of Tom and soon the horn sounded to get us back on the ship. We made our way back to the ship, worried that Tom wouldn't get back in time. The Hurtigruten is very punctual (amazingly so) and would leave on time regardless... so we were a little concerned and I hovered on the gangplank until, just at the last minute, Tom came running around the corner! Phew..

Nesna harbour

At Sandnessjøen we spotted some amazing street art, one house had a number of beautifully crafted faces adorning the walls, another (on a dock building) had swimmers diving into water.

Street art on a building in Sandnessjøen

Street art in the port at Sandnessjøen

The town has a snow capped backdrop of mountains and shortly after leaving Sandnessjøen we sailed past The Seven Sisters mountain range, looking impressive in the sunshine.

The Seven Sisters

Brønnøysund, our next stop, is halfway between the northern most point of Norway and the southern most point. It is lovely to stroll along the harbour and visit the small stone Brønnøy Church. The light here was beautifully clear, once again lovely northern light.

Brønnøysund Harbour

Brønnøy Church

Torghatten, a mountain on the nearby island of Torget, is famous for its characteristic hole which goes right though the mountain.  We sailed around this so we could see the sailer's view of this odd phenomenon.

Torghatten

Our last port of call, after dinner, was Rørvik, where we docked next to another Hurtigruten ship, the MS Nordlys, and had the chance to go on board to take a look around. It is a much larger ship that the working ship we had selected, and is quite grand in comparison, however I prefer the smaller MS Vesterålen.

The Norveg coastal museum is a landmark in Rørvik and just in front of this we saw cod drying on one of the fishing racks and plenty of seagulls nesting on the harbour buildings.

Seagull hotel!

We left Rørvik at 9:30 pm and retired to the lounge where we met Tommy from Sandnessjøen, an oil industry engineer. He was using the Hurtigruten for business travel, getting off at Trondheim in the morning. The wide ranging discussion we had covered Brexit, the UK election, fish farming, being Norwegian and some of his scientific projects! Very interesting.

By the time I got into bed I was shattered, two nights with very little sleep and so much to see and do had worn me out and, thankfully, I did sleep at last.....

You can continue the journey here....
For a good guide to Norway try Lonely Planet.