where I had to turn off for the docks ( or `port' -- what's the difference?). I had left the midday meal until AFTER my return from the streets of Bodo. The sun had already set and I settled into the comfortable corner-seat in the restaurant which was mine for the whole tour. The waitress (later found her name to be Edda) explained the choice. It was a fabulously prepared chicken meal - or an equally fabulous fish preparation. In this context, the word OR really means AND if you want it to! So I had some of each. In this context, SOME really means A LOT. Thus I had three chickens and two fish dishes!!Both quality and quantity were terrific. I was able to finish this vast meal off before the boat hit the OPEN SEA stretch across WESTFJORDEN to the Lofoten Islands. Just as well, because it was a VERY, VERY choppy crossing on that leg of the journey - and I was unsure of my ability to "keep food down" in these conditions. In the past, it hadn't been possible! This time, I want to use the dark hours of the Westfjorden crossing for Aurora observations. We are miles from land and only the on-board lights will be a problem. The opposition to observation was the choppy (quite rough) sea when we rounded the island of Landegode and headed directly across this VERY wide fjord to Stamsund. We had hugged the coast until then. The Aurora was well visible over a 60 degree arc centred on our heading, - and at other times from 15 degrees left of heading to 45 degrees right of heading. To minimise the light interference with vision, it was best near the observation sub-deck at the rear of the top- level deck. As the boat was being thrown `all over the place' , the presence of a number of poles and rails made easy hand-holds for someone (like me) who wanted to concentrate on other things. The wind was strong and the temperature low, so my `Parka' became very useful throughout this crossing. I only left the aurora observations for short periods ; I had waited so long to get these chances. It was only as we approached Stamsund at about 7pm that I left my position (virtually on my own for the whole afternoon) on the Observation Deck in the `open'. I had thus been hanging onto upright poles from 4.30pm(?) until 7pm for stabilising my position. from being a person who used to be prone, more than almost any other person on Earth, to sea-sickness, I had been transformed into an Aurora-observing machine with piston-like legs that automatically compensated for all movements of the Lofoten. The sheer beauty of the Aurora, sometimes complex and active, sometimes simple and un-moving - were sufficient to remove my thoughts and mind successfully from the punishment of the seas. However, during the stop at Stamsund, I went to lay below, mainly to let my mind replay the sights I'd seen over the last few hours. A walk on firm land would probably have been difficult as my legs had now become adapted to a different environment. As we moved northwards again, this time with the rugged coast of the Lofotens on our left, it was impossible to see one of the major spectacles en-route:: the sight of the Lofoten Wall. This is the penalty for not coming in the summer!! The Lofoten Wall is a great 60 mile stretch of jagged peaks. With north-bound AND south-bound passes, I will miss this fabulous site that I've only seen in photographs. It is the range of mountains after which this particular boat is named. They are composed of granite and are somewhat volcanic in origin. During the last Ice-Age, these mountains were subject to severe glacial action. Only after the glaciers disappeared did this exceptionally wild Alpine grandeur appear. Tonight however, it has disappeared again. This is a repeat of the problem encountered at Molde. The next stop was Svolvaer, just one and a half hours from Stamsund. We got there about 9pm and I had a quick walk around there. There was an hour's stop and I explored the streets and buildings of the town for three quarters of an hour. It was interesting to see the contents of the display-windows - and compare prices with those in the UK. There was a world of difference. Doing comparisons at the prevailing exchange-rate showed prices to be at least five times dearer. These are predominantly clothes and book-shops! Still haven't seen shops where one can buy large amounts of food for home-cooking! How does the house-wife get on? On returning to my cabin, I then planned the logistics & photography for the remainder of the trip, knowing, now , the day-lengths and sun-heights available this far North. Many towns would remain un-photographed - very few being seen with sufficient sun-light. Photographic plans would now be concentrated around scenes from on-board whilst sailing during the hours of lightness. That would be far better, I reckoned, than just getting dark photos of buildings - however interesting they might have been in sun-light. I thus marked my chart (a specially modified version of Annex `A') with possible photo-opportunities until the end of the expedition. On leaving Svolvaer, before visiting the Trolls in their own fjord - the ship was intent on finding all the big waves in the remaining part of the open-stretch today. The sky was clear on this stretch so there were possibilities of Aurora-watching. However, I left that until the calm of the Trollfjord. Unfortunately, on entering the fjord through its narrow entrance, the cloud cover was too high in the Aurora's direction. After a busy exhausting day - now is the time for a rest in the cabin. The journey, overnight, leading us into the eighth of November, was quite pleasant. It was through an offshore fjord system in Vesteralen (north of the Lofotens) and the lack of `turbulence made the overnight trip very acceptable. However, in the approaches to Stockmarknes, a howling wind was heard inside the cabin. It sounded really bad, but the ship was not rolling - and the view from my porthole revealed a calmly gliding scene. The night stops at Sortland and Risoyhamn were witnessed only by moving the venetian blind which was reachable from the bed. The arrival at Harstad had me hoping about seeing and photographing the place before breakfast. I had a quick `wash and dress' and then went out with the camera to Harstad itself! I inspected the dockside quickly before moving on to the coach station, the shops, houses and an estate. I saw snow shovelled to the edges of the roads - piles everywhere. I wandered around trying to get the feel of the town, its people and the Norwegian way of life. Sunrise didn't occur before the boat sailed (8 a.m) - and it would be quite a while before it happened. I had arrived back at the Lofoten at THAT time, expecting an 8.15 a.m. departure. I was greeted by the "BONG, BONG" which heralds announcements over the Tannoy. Essentially, it was " ...... we are now leaving Harstad". ( Who's a lucky boy, then??). I had been using a slightly out of date timetable , which, until now , had shown no variations. Hereafter, I would pay attention to the board displayed near the gang-plank, just before each arrival, giving the actual proposed departure time for the places in question. I had breakfast at my normal restaurant-table. The sun, which I had waited for so long to see and illuminate the streets of Harstad, was still unwilling to rise. During breakfast, I had the pleasure of the fantastic "Arctic pre-dawn" scene. There were lovely reds with clouds being illuminated from their undersides. This beauty was accentuated by this sky behind the silhouetted mountains with the waters of the fjord in the foreground. There was even a new fraulein at breakfast to improve the internal scenery! Later, I strolled around the decks before sunrise ( in a pullover and a Russian-style hat). The Lofoten was gently drifting along the fjord with snow-clad mountains all around. Except for the bottom 150 feet, or so, the snow covered these mountains. It produced a beautiful inner-feeling that can't be portrayed with a camera - since that requires MORE light - and sensors for the feelings themselves - the picture with `light alone' is insufficient. I didn't see the actual sunrise. It sneaked up on us by emerging from behind a cloud behind a mountain at 10.30 ish!! At last, I can now see the scenery that I've been waiting for so long to see. Many fjords. Some wide, others narrower - mostly bigger than I had imagined! It was late morning as the ship approached the impressive, typically Norwegian, concrete bridge at Finnsnes. Actually, the town and harbour turned up before the bridge. Sneaky!! The just-over-half-hour stop at Finnsnes saw me being brave ( just like at Trondheim!). Here, I was comfortable in my feelings of exploration- up the hill, across the roundabout towards town, along the main and side-streets, - car parks , window-shopping , general round town viewing and sightseeing. It was more a large village than a town. Here were the first items that I bought in a Norwegian shop. A supply of goodies to eat & drink on board were purchased. They were more expensive than in the UK, but cheaper than the nearest-equivalent items sold on-board the Lofoten. Fizzy drinks ( including `Solo') were among my purchases. They supplemented my haute-cuisine over the next few days. I really am eating too much! The low calories, low sugar, drinks shouldn't be too bad. I really enjoyed the walk around Finnsnes which seemed hours to me. A welcome break from the small on-board entourage! It was `great'. Now we are heading North again (under the Finnsnes Bridge) for an afternoon visit to TROMSO - which we would stop at for over 3 hours!! - - -Whoopee!!! Before leaving this delightful place, I take some photos as we approach and go underneath the bridge. This bridge , at 1150 metres in length (joining Finnsnes and Senja) is one of the longest pillar-bridges in Europe. It is something special! As we headed approximately North (actual heading at any time varied according to our position in the network of fjords that we were in) the scenery got even better and more photos were taken in the low light - along the Gisund Sound and left into Balsfjord. This is what I had hoped to see. That is what the trip has been for! Better still, lunch was now being served (I had Codfish, prepared the special Norwegian way) and I could enjoy the fabulous views from my window in the restaurant. It's a wonder that I didn't get indigestion with jumping up and down to look through the windows on the opposite side (and even the higher decks to obtain better views `in the open'). The snowy peaks bordering these two fjords were my idea of the real coast of Norway - and they were drifting slowly by at 15 mph. It was a fantastic feeling. We arrived in TROMSO close to dusk, so I walked to see the fabulously modern architecture of the Ice Cathedral. It was just across the fjord! However, it meant crossing the very large bridge (whose summit I reached 30 minutes after leaving the Lofoten) and reaching the Cathedral just on the far side (three quarters of an hour from the Lofoten). This bridge was LONG! The view behind the Ice Cathedral (i.e viewed from its front) reminded me of the view from Interlaken towards thr Jungfrau. The valley and scenery were so similar! Having got right close-up to the Ice Cathedral ( not actually made of ice!) the lateness of the hour (about 3.30pm) meant that NO PHOTOGRAPHS could be taken. Visually, the sights and atmosphere of the place, its surroundings, its people, the feelings and so on, compensated for the lack of photos. The view during the walk back to the Lofoten, in the dark, was a beautiful vista of light - no wonder it is called the Paris of the North!! On return to the cabin, I wrote letters to those back home. Before and during the boat's leaving the port, I talked with a very good friend on board. I will call him the "Oslo Geordie" in this account, as I never got to know his name. We spoke of our respective travels. He had made many more than I had done - for two main reasons. Firstly, he was older and retired. Secondly, he spent his working life in the Norwegian shipping industry - and had clearly ben around the world a few times. He came from Oslo, where he still lives and speaks very good English with a Geordie accent. His seven years as a resident of Newcastle on Tyne gave him the distinctive version of the English language - and he was quite fluent. When I had asked him, earlier, "which Newcastle?" he had replied that, for Norwegians, especially sea-faring ones, there was only one Newcastle. You may recall, from Chapter Two, that this link between the UK and Norway is still very much alive! One either flies from Heathrow , as I did, or sails from Newcastle. Our departure from Tromso was at about 6pm, and `Oslo Geordie' and I chatted on deck as we plied our way along the Balsfjord, observing all the lights on both sides. I never saw as much light in Norway (before or since!) as during that evening with the old and new Tromsos on either side of the fjord. We watched the University Halls of Residence glide by and I learned a lot of the background of this town and its changes from my friend that evening. In the middle of the fjord there is the island of Tromsoy, upon which is built the urban centre of Tromso. That urban centre contains a third of the inhabitants, a further third being in the outskirts whilst the rest were in the outlying areas - making Norway's largest urban community covering 960 square miles (which also includes fishing villages, farmland and reindeer pastures). Apart from being known as the `Paris of the North', its other title is `Capital of the Arctic'. As we slide into the darker regions ( which took a long time) I could renew my Aurora - watching pastime. I got my fourth session of observations - and later, my fifth session where it extended to 150 degrees of arc. Rising elements from the main band were quite a feature. Today has been quite a day!! I retire to my cabin to terminate the 8th November.