We entered the Isfjorden, 78N 13E, at 08:27 with snow down the slopes of the mountains to just short of sea level. Svalbard (Spitsbergen) is one of Europe’s last wilderness areas (about the size of Scotland) and is the home to more polar bears than people. It is also as close as one can get […]

At 08:25 our navigation system showed us to be in the Norwegian Sea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) at 72N 19E with a heading of 355⁰ towards Spitsbergen. Located midway between the archipelago and Norway is Bjonoya (Bear Island) the home to a weather station and radio navigation systems as well as to giant colonies

At 07:45 we docked in Tromsø for the day, after refuelling out of port, and docked east of the bridge which was a first for us. Here we are 400km north of the Arctic Circle and are surrounded by fjords and mountains displaying autumnal colours across the forested slopes. In earlier times the city was

We arrived in Finnsnes, 68N 17E, under cloudy skies with some light persistent rain but conditions improved by 10:00. Autumnal colours are now more apparent as we have entered the northernmost area of the country. Having crossed to the island of Senja and used tunnels through the sharp, teeth-shaped mountains we crossed the island itself.

At 08:00 we were at 66⁰N 12⁰E just short of the Arctic Circle so with a quick donning of jackets we were out to celebrate once more! The Arctic Circle (66.33N) is used by geographers to define the Arctic. Everything north of here is within that zone, and it is also the southernmost extent of

Overnight we travelled along the inter-coastal waterway and open ocean before arriving at the island of Froya at 63⁰N. By breakfast we were docked at Sistranda, a village in Trondelag, to the northwest of Trondheim. The small port is on a low volcanic island and a giant roche-moutonnée. Offshore are fish farms and in the

At breakfast we had at 62⁰N 5⁰E already travelled the inter-coastal waterway and was making progress along the fjords to our stopping point, the village of Saebo, at around noon. We were finally experiencing calm seas and sunny intervals at 7⁰C. Prior to arrival we rendezvoused with another Hurtigruten ship for some promotional filming. When

We were off the Orkney Islands at 08:00 and heading NNE at 12 knots with 3m waves and a Force 7 wind with more than 5 hours to go before we head NE to Norway. As seas go, the North Sea is not very old. It was formed by the melt towards the end of

Last night, thanks to the Captain’s decision to avoid a storm we crossed the Greenwich Meridian (0⁰ Longitude) travelling westwards to Edinburgh, something that upon departure we did not expect as we were hoping to go northeast. At 08:00 we docked in Leith, the port of Edinburgh. From the cabin window we could see the

At 8:00 a.m. we were at 54⁰N 2⁰E off the Holderness coast of Yorkshire and northeast of the massive Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm and close to the Dogger Bank. Over breakfast the Captain warned us of Force 9 and upwards winds and high seas, by then we were 150km off Flamborough Head. We experienced