Here is the big news about being in the Arctic. The weather is warm! We see people in shorts and sundresses in Tromso the official “Gateway to the Arctic.” The waitstaff on the ship say this is very unusual; it is still quite chilly this time of year. Of course, we bundle up when we’re on deck and the ship is cruising on the open sea. The views of snow covered mountains go on almost non-stop. We don’t take a second if it for granted. We are enjoying our day trips and our cruising time in our cozy armchair corner. We read, knit, chat with other cruisers and doze. Not bad.
We are impressed with the Hurtigruten. It’s a ferry that makes numerous short stops but also has the feel and service of a cruise; good food, good day trips and no casinos or phony party activities – very mellow. The ship is small enough that getting around is easy and it never has that overcrowded feel. The bonus of being on a working ferry is that getting off and back on for day trips is well orchestrated. They have this thing down to a science. It’s also fun to see the activity at each port. We’ve become friends with our dinner table neighbors and have a relaxed daily routine.
Today we walked around Tromso, a city more metropolitan than we anticipated. We did not make it to the Arctic Cathedral but did go to the Polaris Aquarium. After yesterday’s flurry of excursions, we needed a day to rest and not pressure ourselves to see it all. Oh, and we did some shopping
Check my hot tub and “reporter on the marina” video updates and I’ll keep on posting.
