day 7 (28th february)
at around seven we woke to calm seas and sunshine! we were at vadso, the only town? settlement that we would only call at once. pretty coloured wooden house lined a low spit of snow covered land glittering in the sunlight and it was easy to forget the long wakeful hours in the night.
calm sailing all the way to kerkenes, which sounds like a sneeze when pronounced as it should be! 'the church on the peninsula' is its meaning. this was where we were hoping to do the husky dog sledding but had prepared ourselves for more disappointment as all excursions are dependant on weather and the many things that can go wrong in this climate. but the various excursion buses were lined up on the quay and, heads counted, off we went to just beyond the town. split into three groups we were treated to the interior of a snow hotel, brrrrr, but amazing ice carving by chinese artists,
and then met some reindeer and the huskies that weren't being used that day. hot apple juice in a sami tent while we waited for our turn around a frozen lake.
the sun was at its highest which is not saying a lot at this latitude and the sky was streaked with thin cloud making wonderful possibilities for mesmerising photos, if only you could get your cold fingers to work the buttons!
finally we were aboard our sledge. not a lot of room with lou hunkered down between my knees on the lowest part with me sitting slightly higher with my feet just about hooked into the wooden side bar. we shared a piece of reindeer fur to sit on. our musher was russian and said he came from murmansk about 16 years before. he makes asphalt for the roads in summer when the lake thaws between may and october but the tourist season keeps him busy all of the winter period. these facts were shared as we dashed around the track on the edge of the lake. lou says he had read it was about 5km. i have no idea but we were out there about half an hour and the bus and the boat had to wait for us!
it was magical! the sun, the snow, the bare trees around the lake which turned out to be to be bigger than we had first realised as, later, we veered off over a small rise and down again on the flat white expanse. the blue eyed alaskian husky team was a mixture of male and female and appear to love to run, tongues out, panting and looking over their shoulders and appearing to grin back at us. steering is primarily done by the dogs following the tracks that are first made by snow mobile and the musher uses his body weight and the brake to make adjustments. Some of the turns were quite taxing for him, I would imagine, as the enthusiastic racing dogs pulled the sled towards the edge of the tracks and threatened to pitch us all out!
The sound of the dogs panting, the rush of air, the grinding of the brake and the bumping over the icy lumps made for an exhilarating and unforgettable experience.
Back on board we were still elated but feeling the effects of so much excitement and the lack of sleep so back to the cabin for 'resting the eyelids' after a late buffet lunch.
a much calmer trip back across to vardo where 'alan' encouraged idiots or courageous souls (take you pick) to go ice dipping. the snow was deepening and the night coming on and about seven or eight people walked over the end of the dock in their cossies to where a small 'pool' had been cordoned off and, one by one, jumped into the water...mad!! I could hear the yelps from where I was watching from deck five. i gladly snuggled into my coat and pondered other people's pleasures!
after dinner around eight o'clock we stopped at batsfjord. Soon there was a message that a passenger had spotted the lights on the starboard bow (our side of the ship). sadly lou was still feeling exhausted and was in bed but i went out and stood entranced at the great green streak across the heavens above me. dashing back to the cabin and unable to persuade lou to come and see the 'real thing' i took the camera and stood on the back of the top deck aiming at the sky and praying i was catching a part of what was happening over my head.
the departure was delayed and the outer ships lights turned off so that we could all stand and gaze at the phenomenon we had come to see with no guarantee that we would. and you CAN see the green with the naked eye!
calm sailing all the way to kerkenes, which sounds like a sneeze when pronounced as it should be! 'the church on the peninsula' is its meaning. this was where we were hoping to do the husky dog sledding but had prepared ourselves for more disappointment as all excursions are dependant on weather and the many things that can go wrong in this climate. but the various excursion buses were lined up on the quay and, heads counted, off we went to just beyond the town. split into three groups we were treated to the interior of a snow hotel, brrrrr, but amazing ice carving by chinese artists,
and then met some reindeer and the huskies that weren't being used that day. hot apple juice in a sami tent while we waited for our turn around a frozen lake.
the sun was at its highest which is not saying a lot at this latitude and the sky was streaked with thin cloud making wonderful possibilities for mesmerising photos, if only you could get your cold fingers to work the buttons!
finally we were aboard our sledge. not a lot of room with lou hunkered down between my knees on the lowest part with me sitting slightly higher with my feet just about hooked into the wooden side bar. we shared a piece of reindeer fur to sit on. our musher was russian and said he came from murmansk about 16 years before. he makes asphalt for the roads in summer when the lake thaws between may and october but the tourist season keeps him busy all of the winter period. these facts were shared as we dashed around the track on the edge of the lake. lou says he had read it was about 5km. i have no idea but we were out there about half an hour and the bus and the boat had to wait for us!
it was magical! the sun, the snow, the bare trees around the lake which turned out to be to be bigger than we had first realised as, later, we veered off over a small rise and down again on the flat white expanse. the blue eyed alaskian husky team was a mixture of male and female and appear to love to run, tongues out, panting and looking over their shoulders and appearing to grin back at us. steering is primarily done by the dogs following the tracks that are first made by snow mobile and the musher uses his body weight and the brake to make adjustments. Some of the turns were quite taxing for him, I would imagine, as the enthusiastic racing dogs pulled the sled towards the edge of the tracks and threatened to pitch us all out!
The sound of the dogs panting, the rush of air, the grinding of the brake and the bumping over the icy lumps made for an exhilarating and unforgettable experience.
Back on board we were still elated but feeling the effects of so much excitement and the lack of sleep so back to the cabin for 'resting the eyelids' after a late buffet lunch.
a much calmer trip back across to vardo where 'alan' encouraged idiots or courageous souls (take you pick) to go ice dipping. the snow was deepening and the night coming on and about seven or eight people walked over the end of the dock in their cossies to where a small 'pool' had been cordoned off and, one by one, jumped into the water...mad!! I could hear the yelps from where I was watching from deck five. i gladly snuggled into my coat and pondered other people's pleasures!
after dinner around eight o'clock we stopped at batsfjord. Soon there was a message that a passenger had spotted the lights on the starboard bow (our side of the ship). sadly lou was still feeling exhausted and was in bed but i went out and stood entranced at the great green streak across the heavens above me. dashing back to the cabin and unable to persuade lou to come and see the 'real thing' i took the camera and stood on the back of the top deck aiming at the sky and praying i was catching a part of what was happening over my head.
the departure was delayed and the outer ships lights turned off so that we could all stand and gaze at the phenomenon we had come to see with no guarantee that we would. and you CAN see the green with the naked eye!
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