*AN ARCTIC ADVENTURE*

** ELEVEN **

** RETURN TO TRONDHEIM **



With a tyre screech from a gangster movie, the boat skidded to a halt at Ornes harbour. This is the last stop before exiting the Arctic Circle. It awoke me at 7.37am and 'twas very dark. I got photos here on the way up North - taking, for example, the Willemsen's shop! "Williiamson" is my ex-wife's maiden-name!!

I got dressed ready for the next place after breakfast - but even MORE important, to take photos of the Arctic Circle crossing-point before then!! On the breakfast table was a letter from Reitje and Pascale which they had obviously left for me a few hours earlier.

I got Roy (at Resepsjon) to stamp my `Circle' and `Nordkapp' cards with the appropriate dates for BOTH directions. He obliged with pleasure.

At 9hr 51m we passed the island with the globe marking the Arctic Circle and I took three photos from different angles. The HORN blew a second or two before the final photo. So we are now back in civilisation !!?? (Not really!! I maintain that we are now OUT of civilisation!)

We make slow progress but with excellent visibility from the `Circle' to Nesna. Any bus trying to keep to a timetable would find it difficult with the road moving at half the speed in the opposite direction!! Furthermore, the wind speed is 3 to 5 times our speed through the water - but again in the opposite direction. Fortunately, this leg of the journey is relatively smooth after the overnight sea- crossing.

At Nesna, there is only time for a 4-minute stop, a single photo of a yellowish house and a few hurried words with a woman walking her dog ( but now being whistled back by a crewman). This is a `Cargo-stop' only - the main business of our craft.

Even before Nesna, the vicious sun was at the incredibly high elevation, now, of FIVE degrees!! This made the use of sunglasses obligatory - well, highly recommended!! Despite its altitude today, it still set before midday - but this time it was due to obscuration by mountains.

Never mind! It will rise again! Oh Yes- it WILL rise again !

It did too!!

Sandnessjoen was an interesting place. I did a bit of sightseeing there and took some photos. They included some `Car-Eating-Boats' with their mouths open WIDE to swallow whole cars and some larger vehicles - before they scurried off along the coast somewhere. In addition to our long-distance (Bergen to North Pole & back!) craft, there were local ferries to Donna etc.. There was even one boat called North Crusader and labelled with a RESCUE ZONE in large capital letters. I heard from the 'locals' that it supplies the North Sea Oil Industry.

I took a photo after leaving the port - a photo of Sandnessjoen and the Seven Sisters. The best view of these mountains was whilst I was in my cabin - lovely and comfortable!!

The only problem with that potentially fabulous photo was that the `beast' decided automatically to take it as a `flash'. A blank white reflection from the window resulted. Moving South, I then drifted past the `sisters' exposing themselves one by one! Perhaps I had better explain myself. The `Sisters' are, visually, a set of mountains separated by valleys caused by immense glacial action which cut a single mountain into related peaks as their carving action progressed down towards the sea.

On the way further south, I see an airstrip's VOR system (just North of Alstahaug at STOKKA). Quite a lot of interesting equipment there!! During lunch, we had fried herrings (as mentionned by the Chief Steward some time ago) and I asked the waitress about the possibility, being a RADAR man, of going onto the ship's `bridge'. She asked questions behind the scenes (kitchen & elsewhere) and came back with the answer that I could "go straight up after lunch", if I liked. "You're welcome" she added. She asked me if I wanted coffee here (in the restaurant) or on the bridge. I chose the latter option and thanked her very much.

After an interval of a minute or two after lunch, I went up. Annex `D' contains a summary of the results of the questions that I asked. Some answers were direct, but others were deduced when the question was not translatable. Because the guy was not familiar with the English version of the technical terms, the full detail could not be explored - but that is the fault of my lack of a Norwegian vocabulary. Apart from that, this mariner was very good at English

At Bronnoysund, I went ashore on two walks. On the first, it proved `a bit rainy' so I returned for my Parka for a more extensive walk/investigation/shopping on the second one. Blast off from the launch pad was scheduled and accomplished at 5pm.. Cloudy and mucky on deck, I went into the covered areas of decks and foyers and encountered a large crowd of disabled (spastic) people onboard for a trip (to where, I didn't know then). It was easier to understand them than the `fluent' Norwegians because I found that these spastics spoke very similar to those back in the UK, and thus communication was essentially a visual art rather than an auditory one.

There was some `easy-listening' music LIVE, on an accordion, in the lounge by the dining room - probably for the disabled - as there hadn't been any LIVE music since take-off from Bergen many days ago. It was very crowded there - and smashing music.

This was followed by a beautiful evening dinner - as usual. The staff come up with "winners" every time!

On arrival at Rorvik midway along the waterway, I indulged myself in a very pleasant walk. On the way North, that didn't happen because it was dark, just clearing weatherwise, and I was awaiting my first view of the Aurora Borealis !! This time, I was able to see the attractiveness of this little town, - it being like a slightly large `Legoland' in parts.

Waiting close to the Lofoten was the M/S Midnatsol, one of our sister ships, on which the spastic party would return Northwards on their short trip. They were continuously running up and down the very long and steep `gangplank' before they finally went aboard. Their excitement was very plain for all to see.

Meeting crewman Roy, he told me that my Membership Card of the Ice-bear Club will be sent to Malvern as the girl at the Club remembered my joining. He also said that the two young girls onboard were part of a Youth Training Scheme. He also answered my question about `frig magnets' (as I was attempting to buy some for the sister-in-law) by saying that he'd never seen any in Norway.

Back on board, - I had a look around the DUSJROM - which turned out to be a shower-room (but somewhat spacious compared with the description, from Pascale, of their size on the more modern boats). She said that, essentially the modern ones (or at least the ladies ones) require the partaker to sit on a small toilet-like seat whilst being sprayed from above. The `room' on those is obviously somewhat smaller than here on the Lofoten.

The Rorvik bridge-clearance seemed to be a few more inches than on our way North - but still mind-bogglingly small!! The Aurora was OK before the clouds ruined it! At dinner, the spastics and their `aids' occupied seven tables each of six people. Each person had a personal helper. Sometimes, the helper had to act as a `restrainer' because some of them had quite boisterous personalities and were full of life.

The long overnight voyage to TRONDHEIM was enjoyable despite several re-awakenings - but , by now, I had used `mind-over-matter' and other techniques to overcome sea-sickness.

We docked at 6.35 a.m.on 14 November - and- for a change- I made use of the battery shaver. I had an early 5-10 minute stroll just before the 8 a.m. breakfast. We are at a different dock from the one we used on the way UP the coast - and , furthermore, it is much COLDER now. There is extremely thick frost on the roads and pavements - it has been eight days since I was here last!!

I followed my usual practice of taking a different route from my previous visit, in order to obtain a more varied overall picture of the place that I am revisiting. I try NOT to be entirely different, then the two explorations from the separate visits will link up and correlate in some way. To enable me to do this, I was accompanied by my `Malvern Library' book "Insights Guide - NORWAY" which has a useful map of Trondheim.

Rather than go to the Nidaros Cathedral and the `Castle', I crossed the River Nidelva at its first bridge. It was a rail bridge with footpath and a small road section also. It was very much a dockland bridge `out-of town'. I thus crossed the Nedre Elvehvn to a little-used part of Trondheim, thereafter taking a footpath to regain the road system (all un-named on my map!), eventually joining the named sections at Innhervedsvei and recrossing the river by the Bakkebiu. I then crossed the Kjopmannsgata (see November 6th) and went into the reasonably attractive shopping areas of Tryggvasonsgata and Sondregt. Then a crossing of the Ostiekanal-haven was made (it's a sort of harbour/canal), and I rejoined, first, the railway lines at Hovedstusjon and, secondly, my old walk back to the docks - about a kilometre away.

The signposts showed the ways to two different docks, one for going North and one for going South. I thus chose the one for going South on this occasion.

On leaving Trondheim, I again followed the map that the captain had given me on `day-one'. Thus I could correlate the sightings with the names on this map.

We slowly proceeded down the Trondheimfjord making the long right-hand bend to head for the Atlantic Ocean, passing, on our right, the same things that we passed on 6th November. A tranquil coast for sure!! There was Lady Austrat's castle, where the powerful lady entertained her powerful guests. After the straight following right-hand bend in the fjord, we turned left to get closer to the Atlantic, passing the NATO base of Orland on our right as before. However, instead of going right around this promontory and heading North as before, we carried on Southwards this time, the main coast on our left with the islands of Hitra and Smola passing to the right.

It's so relaxing seeing these beautiful sights glide past at a snail's pace (well, 15 knots anyway).

Apart from the boxes of fish and other freight taken by our vessel, there is now a goat in a cage outside one window!!

It's clearly different down South here (at 64 degrees North) as at 1.20pm, not only has the sun NOT set, but it's still at the incredible altitude of 12 degrees. We had left Trondheim at 10.00 a.m and, on settling onto my private table in the restaurant, I indulged myself in another beautiful dinner (lunch, if you prefer!). This one has the most fantastic mutton that I've ever tasted. The potatoes were roasted in butter after being boiled in something special. Many other beautiful vegetables accompanied this cuisine, - and for `sweet', the artistry of the ice-cream made one feel guilty about eating it.

As we passed the island of Smola, I spent a fair chunk of the afternoon watching an almost infinite string of islands drift past on the right. This string of islands started before Smola, really, emanating from the Southern tip of Hitra. They were all very small but extended well over ten miles - taking us right into Kristiansund.

At one time with the curious optical effects with the refraction at low angles over the sea, they all looked joined up. They were not , however, but it was a battle between the eyes and the brain to come to that conclusion.

I had a late-afternoon walk around Kristiansund's `front' near the harbour. It was an attractive place and had an attractive approach. Pity that we were not there longer. Pity it was dark on our way Northwards too! It had a nice shopping area on the `front' which I did not use (at least for purchases). I got a spare detailed map from RESEPSJON for walks etc - and this proved invaluable.

Later, I indulged in some relaxation on the cabin's bed for the sea-crossing to Molde further South. Then there was the fantastic `fish-preparation' for an evening meal. I thought the cheeseboard was French, but it had Norwegian Camembert and Norwegian Blue-Vein encased in pure white-bread sandwiches. Great !!

Later, at about 9pm, I partly walked into the Molde centre, but it was far too short a time allowed. It was far too big a place to walk in, but the approach by night makes the town look attractive with its lights.

As expected, the night journey proved rough. Very rough !! I first awoke at 1.15 a.m. -- gosh, -that's Alesund already (We would have been there from 23.45hrs , last night, until 00.45hrs this morning. I enjoyed Alesund going Northwards, - a memorable meander around the town and surrounding hills, - but, alas, the time of the clock today prevented my re-visiting it. Awake now, I realise that it is rough earlier than expected.

I shut my eyes for a few seconds, entered a time-warp, opening them again at 2.10 a.m. It was a very fortunate time-warp because I had missed the heavy open seas of the `Stad' and the town of Torvik. Well, I had missed Torvik - but we are behind time now in very heavy seas. I had the impression that the autopilot had been set incorrectly and that we were heading something like NorthWest, perhaps, towards the Shetlands across the North Sea with the `driver' asleep somewhere in his cabin.

Who needs poltergeists when the room's objects , and those in adjacent cabins, can so noisily move about by natural forces?! I had to move about (risking the possibility of sea-sickness) for restoring, resetting, replacing and securing items in my room at least. It becomes abundantly obvious now, if it wasn't earlier - why tables, chairs and other furniture are chained to the floor. I had thought, during my first hour or so on-board the Lofoten, that they had a problem with theft. Not so! It's these poltergeists that they have to guard against. Anyway, I made several trips about the cabin, only mind- over-matter preventing me from spewing-up. Only just!!

It was possible to get a little rest at Maloy after the sea-torture of the leg to there from Torvik around the Stad. After Maloy, came some on-and-off sleep until the rude awakening as we screeched to a stop at Floro. We sneaked quietly out whilst I was writing my notes after dressing and toilet activities. So we are now on the final leg of the return to Bergen -- not having stood on solid ground since Kristiansund late yesterday afternoon.

For breakfast, I indulged in some LETT MELK on cereals, then cheese and meat plus biscuits, and a glass of H-MJOLK. Such a choice of milks always appears, but on this occasion I did not use any CULTURE MELK!! During breakfast, the sea became relatively benign (now 15th November). Individual wave-heights were less than a foot, which was OK. However, the `swell' amplitude was greater (about 3.5 feet), a lower frequency - and this frequency was `tuned' to the Lofoten's natural `pitching' frequency for our cruising speed - thus our pitching motion was amplified. When the boat was side-on to the swell, it produced quite a devastating effect on our `roll' amplitude, increasing it frighteningly!.

I took an internal cabin photo for trip-memorabilia during this period before we got too near Bergen. I used most of the morning for rest, relaxation and recovery.

I strolled along to the restaurant, somewhat earlier than normal for lunch (now 12.10 pm) and found that I was the only one there !! It could be that the others are either still recovering or packing in readiness for the arrival at Bergen.

For lunch, I started with a delightful "Eggs in Mushroom Soup", following this with "Fried Halibut" with a number of sauces. ( I still preferred the Tartare Sauce taste to the "Salad Cream" option for this dish!!) For `sweet', the cherries and various sauces satisfied my taste-buds. The Chief Steward paid me a personal visit during this stage of the meal, bade me farewell, and gave me an invitation to "come and see us anytime".

I told him that I'd love to - and that I'll be writing and talking about the Voyage in fair detail back in the UK. The crew member, Roy (normally in reception) also came to bid me a personal farewell. In addition, I also received a public farewell over the loudspeakers around the craft.

As we prepared to disembark, like most of today, the datalinks and communications with the Lofoten were very busy. Teletypes were busy with their details on the requirements for taxis etc.. The Hurtigrute, although an old `traditional' craft, as you will have noticed, has modern electronics and satellite navigation, etc, to aid it in the modern world.


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This page was updated and reformatted on 27 June 2005.