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.

Click here for more photos.