Norway 7 -- Hammerfest

There seems to be a braggin battle between Hammerfest and Honnigsvag at to which is actually the most northern settlement.  I think it hinges on the term settlement or city or town.  In any case, we have been hanging around as north as it gets.  The scenery is incredibly stark, reminiscent of the Group of Seven paintings -- especially Lawren Harris.  The contrast of light and dark is amazing.

So in Hammerfest, there is a Royal and Ancient (1963) Polar Bear Society.  The object of this group is to preserve the tradition of hunting and fishing and maintain the museum to inform future generations.  For a one time fee of 200 NOK (about $37CDN) you can become a member for life and are invited to the annual membership meeting on the 3rd Sunday in January always held in Hammerfest.  It seemed a more worthwhile remembrance than a polar bear stuffie.

We sailed on, trying to catch up on time.  We were slow due to the storm the night before and battling the waves.  Also, the big Easter Holiday weekend is coming up and last evening in one port we were unloading 25 cars and bringing on 12 more as people head to their holiday destinations.  I like that this shipping line is functional for the locals as well as a pleasure for the tourists.

And it is becoming more of a pleasure for Ian again.  Now that we have the western offshore islands to protect us, the water is much calmer which means he no longer needs the motion sickness meds and therefore his tummy is much happier also.

We finished the night (or started the morning) with a midnight stop in Tromso where we boarded buses, drove over the bridge and attended a midnight concert at the Arctic cathedral.  It is an architecturally beautiful building -- very modern and open in its design, et with excellent warm and full acoustics.  The three musicians -- a baritone, a cellist and a organist/pianist -- delighted us with a selection of modern and classical pieces in the venue.  It was certainly worth staying up to attend.

This morning we continue west and south.  We now have the Lofoten islands protecting us on the west.  We just passed through an area where a channel had been dredged in 1922 to permit ships an inside passage through this area.  The natural depth is only 2 - 3 metres, but our ship draws 5.5.  Thankfully the channel, marked by a series of buoys, is maintained at 7 metres.

This space up on deck 7 which is officially Multe -- the bakery, is a wonderful area where one can get a coffee and purchase baked goods.  But it is also the play area.  Kids bring their own toys -- like the kids playing Minecraft lego-- or borrow some of the games, puzzles, or toys available.  There is usually at least one puzzle on the go on the table which conveniently has a small cove molding around the edge.  Anyone is welcome to come and join at any time.  It is also my favourite area to work on the cross stitch.  The light during the day is very good and the backdrop wonderful as I see the mountains and town sail past.  Conveniently located to the viewing area at the back of deck 7, I have gone out to the heated area to wait for a particular point of interest. 

Ah, it is snowing again here.  The weather is very localized and often it is sunny out one window and snowing and dark out the other side.  A very different and interesting landscape.