We recrossed the Arctic Circle this morning heading south, and fittingly the weather has warmed to mid 60°F. This morning it was bright and sunny, so much so that I laid back on the balcony and enjoyed soaking up some rays. Now (it is early afternoon and as the warm moist air has swept in over the cold water a fog has enveloped us, obscuring the passing landscape, pity.
The fog rolled in
The Seven Sisters (mountains)
Travelers always learn something. One thing that I have learned is that the Norwegians use all of their country. In looking at the globe that I had in my room as a boy I had always thought about how far north into the Arctic that Norway went. I imagined a population all huddled in the southernmost regions of the country with the northern shoreline being Norway in name only while actually being a frigid wasteland. Nothing could be further from the truth. While it is true the southern reaches of Norway are more heavily populated, it is not at the expense of an abandoned north. All along the coast, from Bergen to the Russian border, we were seldom, if ever, out of sight, of one homestead farm or another, often clustered together in small groups. Too small to be called a town but too large to be a hermitage. It seemed that wherever there is a piece of flat land hugging the coast, some brave Norwegian has started a farmstead. Then every so often there is a small village, generally a fishing port and trading center for the area. This is not to say that there is a vastness of wilderness behind these farms and towns as even the largest flat areas are only 100 yards wide. I have read that there is a region in northern Norway called Sunnmøre. It is said of the Sunnmøring that even if nailed to barn door they would live and prosper. I think that could be said of Norwegians in general. Even the towns and cities are cut from the same cloth. Those towns like Kirkenes, Tromsø and Solvær were not polar outposts, but active and vibrant urban centers that deal with the winter and celebrate the summer. So back where I started this paragraph, Norway is not what I expected it to be. It is far, far better.
We had an extended stay in the the town of Brønøysund, due primarily to the need to refuel the ship earlier than expected. Incidentally, this ship is brand new and innovatively powered with the world's largest battery packs and LNG turbines. The same LNG (liquefied natural gas) we saw being condensed at Hammerfest. I feel good to be a traveler on this energy wise ship. In Brønøysund, a community festival was taking place. We enjoyed looking at the crafts, the baked goods, people displaying and marketing products. But the undisputed highlight for me was meeting two remarkable members of this community. A husband and wife, he a Dane, she a Norse, both physicians in this small town. Walking through the festival I ran across a slow burning fire in a kettle with people cooking over it. I thought that it was a concession of some sort but couldn't figure out how to pay. As I was staring at it, with my obvious American befuddled look, a gentleman asked if I wanted one of what they were cooking. Of course I did, but I still did not know the rules. He kindly told me "it's free". Next thing I knew, under his expert guidance I was roasting a very fat hot dog wrapped in bread dough. A young lady called it stick bread, but that could have been because she didn't bother with the hotdog, she just wrapped the bread dough around the stick and started roasting. It turned out the man who helped me and his wife were involved with the Boy and Girl Scouts (a combined organization) of Norway. The roasting kettle was part of their recruiting efforts. He and his wife didn't stop there. Through their efforts their scouts help sponsor a scout troop and a school in Sri Lanka. Since Sandy and I travel independently we are seldom tied down to someone else's schedule. Sadly, however, we are this time tied to the schedule of the boat. We had to leave but I would have loved to spend more time with them. One of the joys of travel is that it allows us the opportunity to run into fun and interesting people like these two whom are a little bit at a time changing the world.
LNG fueling Havila Castor
Roasting a hot dog wrapped in stick bread
Physician scout supporter
hot dog roasted
Back on the ship, shortly after leaving Brønøysund we passed the Torghatten granite mound, a famous Norwegian Mountain with a gigantic hole in the middle, left there as the last glacial episode retreated.
Where Havila has taken us
