CFT Northern Lights - Bodo

Saturday 10 March

Soon after 7 am we were out on deck to view the globe marking the arctic circle. The sea was a bit choppy earlier but quickly settled in the lee of yet more islands and rocks. Sunrise was beautiful.

At 7:15 am we crossed the Arctic Circle and this warranted a ceremony on the top deck.

There was an arctic crossing ceremony with a visit from Neptune (or whatever he is called in Norse).

At breakfast I met Beverley Moor who has recently retired from Maths at UTS.

The morning presentation talked about the freedom-to-roam law in Scandanavia which basically you can walk anywhere even if it is private land. You can even camp 2 nights as long as you are 150m from the house. Another thing we found out about was Simon Beck and his snow art. It is fascinating and all done with snow shoe foot prints.

We had an early lunch then on arrival at Bodo saw lots of Eider Ducks on the harbour. Barbara and I went for a coastal walk as our afternoon activity. This was magnificent except for my back-hip-leg of course. The water under the sand was frozen and there were even sections of frozen tidal foam.

Our walk took us across a Viking ship burial mound and some large areas of ice.

At the end of the walk we were served a cup of warm mjad tea, a tea made from some plant with salicilic acid (I needed that) and with honey added.

Back on the bus and to the ship just in time for departure. Our group had a sing along around the piano and were then ready to leave on our next activity.

Barbara and I booked for the Lofotr Viking Feast. This meant we had a long drive to the museum before a very rushed ceremony and a delicious feast of slow cooked lamb and vegetables. There were lots of toasts to various players and gods with mead and even a very quick circle dance before we were herded back on the bus.

I would have liked to have had a little more time to really look at the Viking hall we were in and the gift shop. Our trip back to the ship was another 50 minutes drive to the next port.

We quickly went to bed and luckily I got about an hour sleep before the captain announced the appearance of weak northern lights. I got up and had a look but I could not wake Barbara. The lights were really just pale whispers and as it was really cold I went back to bed and slept soundly.