Orcas and Alta

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November 21, 2023

1:47 pm

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Hello everyone,

We spent Friday last week at the top of the world. Well, nearly 😀 The northernmost point of this cruise is Alta, at 69 degrees 58 minutes North. It’s quite far North. Sadly not much in the way of Northern Lights for most of us (too cloudy) but the group that went out and about did catch some good lights. There will be more about that in a later post …

Picture. Photograph. We're looking out across a dark metal deck. In the foreground are two balls of snow, forming a tiny snow person. Behind, we see a group of people around a growing mound of snow.

More about that little one later. Actually, let’s rewind a bit further and give another special mention to photographer Geraldine, who is part of the expedition crew. I mentioned Orcas earlier, let’s see if this Facebook Post Linky works … Hopefully that’ll take you to a page with pictures of whales on.

It was good seeing the pod of Orca swimming alongside us for a little while. I was able to catch sight of them but wasn’t anywhere near fast enough to get the camera up in time for a picture. However, there should be plenty behind that link. Plus the MS Maud page has more of the various pictures from this fortnight’s cruise. Go take a peek :-D.

Norway has waters that are warmed up by the same Gulf Stream that keeps Britain warm, so the Orca and other whales like to visit.

(Note – there’s a very sleepy vibe going on in the Explorer Lounge at the moment …)

So – Alta !

Picture. Photograph. We're looking up and over a snow covered walking bridge, lit regularly on each side. Behind that, is a sloping building made up of cylindrical floors of decreasing radius as we go upwards.

Alta grew into a city a few years ago, which also meant they needed a bigger church too. Cue the Northern Lights Cathedral of the picture. Good place, it also serves as a community centre as well.

The textured sides that you might be able to make out in that picture are actually titanium plates, which are slotted together to provide the shell of the building. They reflect the mood of the environment around the building. For our visit … that meant grey and cloudy :-D. Oh well, no Northern Lights for the town that day. But there are several microclimates around Alta, so the group that went out and about hunting for clear skies were given a treat.

However, we had a treat of a different kind … With the explorer group going for a building of an impromptu snow person. Norway doesn’t seem to go in for building snow people. Perhaps it’s because the trolls don’t like the snow people and bop them all on the head while everyone is sleeping. It’s another curious difference between Norway and the UK.

Picture. Photograph. A group of very happily smiling people are gathered around a tall and thin mound of snow, steadily resembling a snow person. A lady with long blond hair carries a snow ball about twice as large as her hands, she's about to place the ball on top of the mound.

There we go. Almost complete. I’ve been staying quite wary of my back and legs, so I was just doing the spectating thing and taking pictures. (it’s a bit cold, I’ve been needing to defrost a lot and conditions were treacherous)

Picture. Photograph. A cheery snow person looks as us in front of a gathering of 9 assorted people standing and kneeling behind. The lights of the harbour can be seen behind them.

And there we go ! The members of the expedition crew (not searching for Northern Lights) proudly presenting their new snow person. I think it might be still there too (this was from Fri 17th) and also gained a friend.

As I type though, I’m really struggling to stay awake 😀 (It’s a very quiet, chill, sleepy vibe up here in the Explorer lounge) So it’s time for me to retreat to the cabin after taking just one more picture of a lovely sunset.

Picture. Photograph. We're looking out across a fairly calm sea towards a horizon with low hills and islands. The sky is clear blue with a milky haze at the horizon. To the middle right, we see the sun about touching the horizon, with a reflection on the water.

(I’m cheating this was Monday 20th). Later everyone, have a wonderful rest of the day.