Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Yesterday afternoon’s briefing warned us again about a potentially rough open sea crossing. This time they were right! About 7.00am this morning it did get pretty rough with the boat pitching and rolling more dramatically than it has prior to this. We were coping OK with the movement but then I made the mistake of having my shower in the windowless, hot, humid box that is our teeny, tiny ensuite probably when the pitch and roll was at its worst! Have to say I felt a bit ordinary when I was done but improved back in the relative coolness of our cabin with its window and a view of the horizon.
We made it to breakfast despite the rock and roll. We really needed our sea legs this morning to stagger along the corridor to the dining room, ha, ha. Despite the conditions there were plenty of other intrepid passengers loading up their plates. I was feeling much better than when I got out of the shower but decided to keep breakfast pretty light. I was very happy that Norwegian pancakes (basically pikelets/drop scones) were on the menu again this morning. A plate of those with butter and raspberry jam washed down with chai was very welcome.
Between breakfast and lunch all we did was watch the passing scenery. After the open sea section of our journey we entered the sheltered waters of Altafjord as we sailed towards today’s port of call of Alta at the mouth of the Alta River in the Finnmark county of Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality of Alta and the major commercial centre in the western part of the county. With a population of almost 22,000 it is quite a large city.
We had an early lunch so that we were ready in time for our excursion to the Alta Museum and the Northern Lights Cathedral departing at 1.30pm. We made our way to the coach where we were met by our guide, Robin, and driver, Ægir (I think). During the drive out to the museum Robin entertained us with interesting snippets of information about Alta and pointed out the football stadium, cross-country skiing track and the old Alta Church.
The full title of the museum is the Alta Museum – World Heritage Centre for Rock Carvings. We were able to see a small selection of rock carvings that are housed in the museum but, unfortunately, the outdoor area that showcases even more rock carvings in their original setting is closed for the winter. Basically all the rocks are covered in snow!
The museum also houses displays about minerals and mining, fishing in the Alta River, the controversial damming of the river to generate hydroelectric power and Sami culture. Downstairs the museum honours local legend and one of Norway’s greatest sportsmen, Bjørn Wirkola. He is considered to be one of the world’s best ever ski jumpers. On the drive out Robin stirred up the English people on the bus by saying the UK has Eddie the Eagle, Norway has Bjørn Wirkola. The downstairs part of the museum also featured artworks by Sami artists Josef Halse and Hilde Skancke Pedersen and … a bomb shelter which operates as the museum’s locker room and toilets. Aargh, we needed at least half a day to explore the museum properly and we had just one and a half hours!
We had to laugh when we went back out to the buses and there were people confused about which bus they should get back on. Ahem, one bus was white, the other bus was YELLOW did you not notice the colour of the bus you boarded back at the harbour??!
Our next stop was at the Northern Lights Cathedral which is part cathedral and part museum. We started downstairs in the museum, viewing a time-lapse video of the amazing northern lights. We then had time for just a quick look at the interpretative boards outlining the role Alta played in the ground-breaking research into the aurora borealis phenomenon conducted during the 19th and 20th centuries. Once again, a wealth of information and so little time to do it justice.
Upstairs in the cathedral we were treated to a short performance on the pipe organ before we were given all the facts about the conception and building of Alta’s exceptionally beautiful cathedral. Its distinctive scroll-like design is inspired by the appearance of the northern lights in the night sky. Although the old Alta Church was declared too small for the number of parishioners in the city in the 1950s it wasn’t until around 2000 that there were sufficient funds to build a new place of worship. A design was chosen in 2003, construction commenced in 2011 and the Cathedral was finally completed and consecrated in 2013.
Yesterday we went out and about without considering putting on our waterproof overpants and we certainly would have benefitted from wearing them yesterday when we had to walk back to the boat in the rain. Ha, today we thought we would ‘be prepared’ and wear our waterproof overpants. Of course we were just about expiring in the museum and the church due to wearing our extra waterproof layer. It was not raining in the museum or the church!
We briefly contemplated walking back to the boat. However, there is snow on the ground her in Alta and it is treacherously icy in places. The afternoon was rapidly drawing towards sunset too so the light was fading. In good conditions the walk would have been lovely but we decided to err on the side of caution and take the coach back to the harbour.
Returning to the boat by just after 4.00pm provided us with the opportunity to write in the travel diary and process some photos. We were also able to stream the briefing about tomorrow’s port of call at 5.00pm so that we are well-versed on the program going forward. Tomorrow will be our last and northernmost port of call before we start heading south on Friday.
With all of us spending the day differently we were able to share the stories of our experiences over dinner. Meredith and Fiona visited the Ice Hotel and loved it. They also managed to fit in the cathedral and Meredith stayed in town to use the facilities at the Northern Lights Swimming Pool. Mark and Claudia also visited the cathedral and made use of the pool, sauna and spa before undertaking the three-kilometre walk back to the bus. Hmmn, some were a little more energetic than we were!
After dinner Bernie rugged up and headed to Deck 9 to keep an eye out for the aurora while I opted to enjoy a cup of tea in the cabin. As I type this I am trying to decide if I will venture up to Deck 9 too??? I gave Bernie instructions to text me if there is anything to see so maybe I’ll wait a little longer. I am a bit hesitant about spending more time than necessary out in the cold because the lingering cough that I left home with has been improving and I don’t want to jeopardize that.
Tcht, Bernie sent me a text message so I put all my layers on and headed up to Deck 9. I stepped out onto the observation deck which was like an ice-rink after being snowed on all afternoon while we were in Alta. I took careful tiny steps towards the back of the deck where Bernie had said he was. The cloud cover was almost TOTAL so nothing to be seen by the time I arrived. Bernie showed me a photo he’d taken on his iPhone of a small, pie-shaped clear patch near the cloud-obscured moon in which a very small green patch could be seen. Not an auspicious sighting of the aurora.
I stayed for a short time but soon decided that conditions were so poor I was not going to see any auroral activity that would compete with what we saw in far north Finland in 2013. I’d rather be reading my book in the comfort of the cabin than standing on the deck at -2.2°C but feels like -10.2°C hoping, hoping, hoping that the heavy cloud might clear.
Steps: 6,936 (4.59km)
