In Pursuit of the Midnight Sun!

Our second sea day, as promised, turned out to be much nicer and calmer than the first one. In fact, it was so calm, we thought we were back in the Baltic again.

Just so you know, this is where the days really start to get longer. Sunsets get later and sunrises get really, really early!! Like at 2:15AM!! It has been more and more evident as we went toward Geiranger when we could see perfectly well all around the stateroom with the lights off and the curtains drawn, at Midnight. The pictures tell you how far north we are and why anyone wanting to get a picture of a sunset is pretty much out of luck!

The primary reason we wanted to take this cruise at this time, around the first day of Summer, was to experience the Midnight Sun and we have not been disappointed. The first thing we learned is that the Midnight Sun actually starts in late April and runs more or less until about the beginning of August. One of our guides told us the next “sunset” will be August 2. Just how different things are was brought home to us on our deck walk Wednesday afternoon. Although it was 3:30 in the afternoon, a time when the sun would “normally” be well to the west of us, it was actually directly “above” and also well behind the ship. To give you a sense of this, think of how low the sun is in the southern sky at about Noon in Toronto in February and you get the idea. This photo was taken at about 4:00 from the aft deck, where we decided to `chill out` after our walk. We sat out in our short sleeves since the sun was shining bright and warm and there was no wind. This is of one of the Lofoten Islands just off the north-western coast of Norway:

Our first experience of the Midnight Sun actually happened Wednesday evening. After the show ended at 10:30 we made our way up to the Sunset Bar, which is located on the top deck all the way at the front of the ship. The Sunset/Palm Court area has windows virtually all the way around it and is a great spot for watching the world go by. When we arrived the sun was about 10 degrees above the horizon in the western sky, but the question in our minds was, how does it get from there to the eastern sky where we see it in the morning? As it happened, Crystal’s Chief Captain is onboard, was also at the bar and, overhearing our conversation, he explained it for us. The sun moves 15 degrees from west to east in an hour. If we were to stay up all night, and sit at the bar watching, the sun would dip low to the horizon, then begin to rise up and would cross the front of the ship from west to east and then start to rise up into the sky. While we had no intention of staying up all night, we did actually get to see this start to happen. The picture below was taken through the window at about 11:15PM, but by the time we left the bar at 11:50PM, the sun had risen to a point where it was no longer directly visible through that same window. In effect, we watched the sun “rise” in the west!!

And just to be extra-touristy, we had to take the photo of the clock outside to show how light it was. For good measure, we thought we`d add a shot of the TV showing the time and the bridge-cam view out beyond the bow.



The bridge view at 2 minutes after midnight

 Friday brought us to our second port of call, Honningsvag, Norway and the Nordkapp. As we didn`t arrive until around noon we had the morning to watch the scenery go by on the way in.

Honningsvag is recognized as the furthest north “city” on the European continent and the Nordkapp, or North Cape, is essentially at the “top” Europe. Our tour was to the Nordkapp Museum and Centre, a 20km drive from the ship. On the way out our local guide told us that fog was very common in June and July and today was no exception. Interestingly, given that it is located above 71 degrees north latitude, and only 1200 miles from the North Pole, thanks to the Gulf Stream the climate is fairly moderate, with average temperatures ranging from about -5C in winter to about +5C in summer. She did say that once or twice a summer the temperature will go up to about 20C and everyone flocks to the ONE beach, aptly called Copacabana Beach, to swim and work on their tan. Of course she did also say the water temperature of the Arctic Ocean and the bay the beach sits against rarely gets above 5C, so no one on the bus asked to stop for a swim!!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the area:

Honningsvag harbourside

A typical Sami summer camp

The Nordkapp, as you might expect, is a sheer cliff and the Nordkapp Centre sits atop that cliff. Unfortunately for us, the fog sits atop that cliff too so we didn’t get to see much, as the pictures show. We did, however, explore the centre and its surrounding exhibits, including a really interesting movie showing the Honningsvag area through all four seasons. While 24 hours of daylight at this time of the year is inviting, neither of us would be too keen on the 24 hours of darkness that starts with sunset in late November and runs until the next sunrise in late January!!!!

Looking down, before the fog closed in

Larry at an obelisk dedicated to one of the early kings of Norway

A monument dedicated to, and designed by, children

Yes, we were both here at the same time!

Returning to the ship, the evening’s activities included a great Norwegian Buffet dinner, the first production show and the Midnight Sun Cocktail Party in the Sunset Bar as the ship sailed past the Nordkapp, at Midnight, on our way out. As you can see from the pictures, the party was a great time and the Nordkapp was STILL covered in fog as we sailed by!

Around the cape from Honningsvag

The sun at midnight off Nordkapp

'The Horn', an obvious name but a place the Sami and others have used for rites and celebrations for centuries.  Maybe this is where the legend of the Viking horns got its start...

Nordkapp as we passed by at midnight, and still couldn't see anything.  It was the ONLY point covered in cloud.

Tomorrow we have the first of two sea days as we sail to the Svalbard Islands and the city of Longyearbyen, the furthest north town on Earth!