Out last full day aboard started with a morning call saying the 2 shore excursion’s we had were too close and 1 had to be dropped……down to the Guest Information…..put on standby for one of them after a few words….

Our first option was a wildlife cruise in a branch of Isafjordur. It was a small ship with most of the seating outside. Our guide, Tom, promptly welcomed us to a Puffin cruise, perhaps with some other wildlife. No worries, I thought I wouldn’t see any till Shetland. Tom had a lovely Welsh accent and came from Swansea, so having done my Botany Degree there had a lot to share……no worries Boyo !

Barely out of the harbour we had a humpback whale ahead, and another, and another…..They led us to a Vigur island, full of puffins fishing, flying and standing guard over their burrows.

What a treat ! Our skipper swapped sides as we snapped away and Tom fed us information. After 30 minutes we headed back…

But first we had to stop and meet Octopus, Turbine and Starlight. 3 beautiful Humpback Whales that are regular stars of the fjord.

They were so exciting to see, easily the best tour so far……

We managed a quick bite before queuing up for our second excursion, 2 seats left on the last coach of the day, hooray ! This tour was a 2 hour drive with 3 photo stops and lots of views.

Our final stop was an unusual white sand beach, site of an Eiderduck nesting site, and Artic Tern nests.

That evening we packed and had a final dinner in the restaurant with new friends from Queensland. They are staying onboard for a weeks cruise around Iceland, then onto Greenland, Canada and ending in New York. That’s quite a trip, we’ve greatly enjoyed our time onboard Viking Vela but it’s time for us to move on.

We have another day at Sea today, but not before a 5am sail past Jan Mayen Island. This is home of the northernmost volcano in the world, in the middle of nowhere !(the Greenland Sea actually)

We have a very busy day tomorrow, and leave the ship early the next day…….so the blog might incur a slight delay till normal service resumes. ps we’ve just informed about a full offer on our narrowboat Prime Thyme…..subject to survey she’s sold 😢

Yesterday morning we had a tour around town, including the local Museum.

The stuffed animals were imaginatively displayed, but no substitute for the real thing. The town itself is situated at the end of a steep valley leading to the fjord. Coal mining activity, now stopped, is evident all around.

Out of town the views around are on a big scale. We saw Reindeer, but no polar bears unfortunately.

That afternoon we departed Svalbard, and Norway. Next stop Iceland, but first some beautiful vista’s as we sailed out of the main fjord with smaller ones, and glaciers, leading in.

Our Captain informed us the pilot had seen a polar bear the previous day when piloting out. Despite all our prayers, and everybody leaning out with binoculars and telephoto lenses none were spotted. You will have to make do with a Seagull shot….

“To meet some Tasmanians”, with apologies to Lewis Carroll, but upon seeing them his poem surfaced in my mind…essential British schoolboy poetry.

5 minutes into yesterdays cruise we spotted this pair on a shingle beach just out of the harbour. Another 5 minutes later we sailed through a pod of 20 Beluga whales, what a start to the afternoon.

Sadly that was the most of the wildlife interaction. With no sea ice around our chances of seeing a polar bear were slim. We will have to come back during the early spring. However looming up in the distance was Borebreen Glacier.

The closer we got the bigger, and more impressive, it got. It’s one of few glaciers actually advancing, some 60m a year into the sea.

Very impressive up close, with large cracks and booms as the ice calved off. We had just enough light on a dull day to bring out some of the blue colour. This was more apparent on some of the small icebergs, some of which had an amazing texture like a reptilian skin. I took quite a few photos….

After loitering around a bit we headed back to port. Not much wildlife apart from the ever present Little Auks and gulls.

The light had changed enough to light up the mountains around the fjords entrance, one could have almost been in Scotland with the orange “heather”.

We have a 2 sea days now as we leave Norway and make our way to Iceland, so I’ll save today’s excursion for tomorrow’s blog…..

We are moored at Longyearbyen, on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard. It feels a pretty remote place, 76’ degree North, with a rugged landscape. We were first off the ship this morning, with an 8am dogsled ride. As it’s summer the sled was substituted with a buggy, but the experience is essentially the same.

We were met off the ship by Marcel, a slightly intimidating tattooed gent from Slovakia. He quickly laid done the ground rules, which we instantly agreed to, and then harnessed the 13 dogs up.

Clyde’s a “little bit crazy”, pulls like 3 dogs, so is left single. When we are ready to go 6 handbrakes are released, and we shoot forward like a Porsche 911 on full gas. Marcel the guide still has brakes on, but the dogs want to run.

We soon stop for water, the dogs are panting like mad, but crazy, so nobody steps out. By the next water break things have calmed down, and we can give the dogs a cuddle ! if we want.

Marcel talks about his life, it’s not a job, and how he lives in a camp of 300 dogs, 28 of which are “his”. He is solely responsible for them, and it’s clear he loves them deeply. He doesn’t live in town because it’s too busy, and his tats suggest a very different life at one stage. He also shows a video of encountering a polar bear 2 weeks ago whilst on a tour….that’s why he carries a rifle.

It’s time to head home, my hands are freezing in the 3 degree wind. But first a couple of pats, H said Clyde was a solid dog, at first he ignored her but then leant in for cuddle. A big softie 😀

On the final leg we passed the industrial remains of the coal industry, all closed now apart from one Russian mine elsewhere on the island. After watering the dogs one final time Marcel drove us back to the ship. Leaving his dogs alone for 5 minutes was the most stressful part of the trip for him.

An unforgettable experience, as hopefully our fjord cruise this afternoon will be.

We have a day at sea today, on our way to Spitsbergen, so I thought I’d show a few pics of our ship, Viking Vela.

But first after leaving Nordkapp last night, and whilst having dinner, we were treated to the pilot exiting our vessel.

The guy up forward is co ordinating the transfer, where the pilot leaves the hatch and steps on that black platform. They would have both got very wet last night !

The Explorers Lounge is a great viewing area, and has a small cafe, called Mamsens. This does traditional Norwegian food only, and is our daily lunch spot for an open shrimp sandwich.

Also on Deck 7 is the light and airy Winter Garden, main pool with pool bar and grill and the World Cafe aft.

The next couple of decks are for staterooms including our cabin. Lots of storage with a big bathroom and heated floor !

Deck 3 has a void in its middle, called the atrium. It gives a very spacious feeling, and has numerous Viking related displays.

Deck 2 houses the main restaurant, shops and theatre along with guest services, future cruises, etc. I haven’t included pictures of the Nordic Spa area which includes a heated pool, sauna, cold bucket rinse and a snow cave ! Believe me it’s pretty amazing !

Finally we are still heading North, currently at 74’ and cruising past Bear Island on our way to Svalbard. ps it’s a Force 7 gale outside with 4-5 meter swell, still very comfortable 👍

Bucket list objective ticked off today. I’ve always wanted to go to Nordkapp after my then bosses refused to give me leave, which I was entitled to after working a Christmas period, to join a Citroen 2CV car rally from Oslo to Nordkapp. Fortunately I was able to drive from Montreal to LA via Vancouver the next year after I resigned, when I was again informed it wasn’t convenient for me to have a holiday !

It was pretty wild country driving up to the Cape, no trees, but the weather was ok with none of the usual mist, rain or fog.

We passed a couple of Sami summer camps, mainly empty as the reindeer were being counted or led to richer pastures. Luckily a few had been left corralled for passing tourists to see.

Nordkapp loomed in the distance, the northernmost point of Norway at 70’10’21’ Exiting the bus the wind was howling so me made a beeline straight to the information centre. But there was no avoiding it, we needed that picture…

It was really blowing hard, with people dropping to the ground or hanging onto the fence, H headed back whilst I pressed on !

The visitor center showed a brilliant film about the area, we had it quite good compared to some of the winter conditions. I was amazed to see cyclists on the road, and caught up with some on our return to the ship. The young lady had cycled all along the west coast of Norway, culminating in Nordkapp a couple of days ago. Carrying everything needed, what an accomplishment, and it wasn’t an ebike !

Down on the dock were 2 other attractions…

There was a large rack for air drying Cod, called Stock Fish. The bodies had been used already, with the heads destined for Nigeria. Also a statue of Bamse, a Newfoundland dog awarded a medal for gallantry during WWII

Finally I promised pictures of some puffins and Hazel being chased by a polar bear this trip……sadly they are both stuffed, we still have a little time left on this holiday to rectify that 😁

It’s Sunday today so off to Church, the Artic Church that is. Its interesting design and colourful interior was enhanced by an organ recital, no service till 11am.

Looking back to the fjord we could see our ship, and a ski jump obviously not in use during the midnight sun.

Then onto the Planetarium to see a film about the Northern Lights, sorry no pics allowed. After a quick pit stop at the ship it was back into town via the complimentary shuttle bus.

We managed to find another wool shop, sock kit purchased with a doggy design and Norwegian wool. Whilst waiting on the shuttle bus for our return a little Chi walked past….a long haired version of Mini Cooper ❤️❤️ we are missing them both and they are obviously pinning away 😀

Quick evening update from our dining room table’s view…..a magnificent “sunset”…..it actually doesn’t set, just goes low on the horizon, hence “Land of Midnight Sun”.

My brother had told me to expect something special, and it didn’t disappoint ! A superb blue sky greeted us opening the curtains.

We had 2 excursions today. The usual complimentary one, “Wild seaweed and fjord cruise” plus an extra booked one, “Panoramic Lofoten by land and sea”

As we sailed out of the harbour into the main fjord the mountains towered over us with traditional red fishing cottages, and more modern salmon pens in the foreground.

In addition to the boat crew onboard was a group of enthusiastic young people running Lofoten Seaweed. They gave a very good presentation including samples to try and trawling a drone showing the types and where the seaweed is harvested. The crystal clear water allowed good vision. We purchased a few products to bring home, namely the less fishy ones !

Our second tour started with a bus tour between 4 islands. Some were connected by bridges, others by tunnels. There were a lot of motorhomes on the road or parked, it’s obviously a very popular destination for summer, but made for interesting driving on the narrow roads and even narrower tunnels.

We also stopped at a beach with pure white sand and surfers…..pinch yourself and it could’ve been back at Bondi Beach, almost…..

We arrived at a very busy harbour and proceeded back by boat this time. The scenery seemed even more dramatic, and with cloud rolling in made great photos. A most enjoyable day and certainly worth a revisit some time in the future.

Our midday tour took us out of Narvik along the shores of Ofotfjorden towards Skjomen.

We then turned off the main fjord onto a narrow road, with numerous passing places for oncoming traffic.

Towards the end of the fjord we pulled over and walked down to a fantastic view. The mountainside opposite was stunning, with a glacier just peeping over the top.

Our guide, a real character, then proceeded to invite us into the artic waters for a paddle……of course nobody joined her except yours truly to her great delight and joy of fellow passengers.

It wasn’t that bad, honestly 😁 It’s amazing that such a beautiful place was used by the Nazi’s as a submarine base. All traces have been completely removed, just crazy tourists and flowers now.

A great tour and guide, much enjoyed by all. After our return and quick snack we bussed into town. I had noticed a wool shop on our way in much to Hazels delight. Norwegian project sorted 👍