Back to Bergen

After Kirkenes, the Finnmarken retraced the route back to Bergen. We had time to take another look at the city before leaving Norway.

Kristiansund at night.

Stopped by Alesund but we did not get off the boat.

Kay bought an umbrella

Bergen had a bit of snow.

Photo taken before the cruise.

I was very happy with mussels and soup at the Fish Market.

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Within the Arctic Circle

On the eighth day of our cruise, now within the Arctic Circle, the Finnmarken reached Hammerfest, the most northerly port (70º40'N) where we took a shore excursion in windy and snowy conditions to North Cape (Nordkapp), the most northerly part of Europe. (71º10'N)

The following day the ship sailed further along the Norwegian coast and berthed at Kirkenes where we joined another shore excursion, this time across icy country to the Russian border.

Then the ship began to retrace the route back to Bergen. All along the journey the skies were mostly heavily overcast; we kept a lookout for the aurora borealis, the Northern Lights, ducking out in freezing conditions whenever stars appear, but the glow that we hoped for never appeared. I was happy though that one night when the Big Dipper was clearly visible, I was able to use the constellation to locate the North Star (Polaris) high in the sky.

Low clouds and strong winds.

Domkirk at Bodo, rebuilt after being destroyed during WW2.

Snow covered island.

Tromso church.

North Cape - most northerly in Europe, 72N and windy.

Sunset at Kirkenes, soon after midday.

Arctic Circle marker.

Dressed for the occasion.

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Towards the Arctic

The Finnmarken sailed northwards, stopping at a series of ports.  We were able to get off the ship to walk around at some of the ports.

At Maloy, we saw the first of many bridges.

Changeable weather - cloudy skies, showers ahead.

Pretty settlements in the bright sunshine (when the sun comes out)

Frequent rainbows.

Maloy - but many towns looked the same!

Getting off the Finnmarken at Alesund.

Alesund.

It was dark when we got off for a walk at Molde.

Day 3 - Trondheim.

Holiday house for rent - some kind of holiday.

Pretty colours at sunrise and sunset, they take place closer and closer together as we sailed north.

Small settlements with spectacular mountain views.

Initiation ceremony for Rob at the crossing of the Arctic Circle (rest of us chickened out).

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Bergen

We met up with Rob and Robyn at Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. The following day we boarded Hurtigruten's Finnmarken to sail up the coast of Norway.

View of Finnmarken from hilltop.

With Rob and Robyn on the funicular.

Bergen has a Fish Market.

Bergen at night,

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Post eclipse - Freetown, Sierra Leone

We ended our cruise on the Corinthian at Freetown, Sierra Leone. We spent much time discussing the reasons that kept the country one of the poorest in the world, one of which surely must be the civil war that ended ten years ago.

The pressure of population was obvious immediately upon approach to the Freetown harbour. We visited a museum and relaxed at a cafe-bar on Aberdeen Beach not far from town.

Freetown viewed from ship approaching harbour.

Shanty towns lined the water front.

The museum had a collection of traditional art.

The infrastructure problems were immediately obvious.

HIV is still a major problem.

There is a nascent tourist industry with developments around Aberdeen Beach.

Unemployment is very high.

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Eclipse 2013 West Africa

We watched the total eclipse on the Corinthian somewhere off the coast of Sierra Leon in the Atlantic. The ship managed to dodge the clouds with the skilful maneuvering of the ship's captain.

We watched the clouds nervously at dawn.

We took up positions on the decks even before first contact.

The crew watched with bottles of champagne ready.

Kay was only interested in the most important ten minutes.

The totality of the eclipse lasted a brief 90 seconds due to the closeness of the apparent size of the sun and the moon, but that also meant that the "solar prominences"or eruptions from the sun's surface are more easily visible during totality.

Enlarged image showing prominences (purple)

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On the way to Eclipse 2013 - Dakar (Senegal)

After Western Sahara, we stopped at Dakar, the capital of Senegal, another Francophone country. We only had limited time there. On arrival we visited Goree Island, the transhipment centre for the trans Atlantic slave trade of the 19th century. Many of the slaves ended up in North America.

Goree Island.

Slave House on Goree Island.

Statue commemorating the emancipation of slaves.

Goree Island laneway.

Typical method of carrying things.

Baobab Tree.

Kay had a new friend.

On the next day we had a tour of the city and stopped by a large market place, the Soumbedioune Market.

Guard outside presidential palace.

Street vendor.

Sand painters.

Soumbedioune Market.

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