Hurtigruten Day 8

Hurtigruten Day 8

After promising myself an early night and no more sunsets at midnight I still managed to go to bed after midnight!! At least with an inside cabin it remains dark until you turn the light on!

It's another rainy, foggy day! The weather in Norway certainly changes quickly from sun to rain to sun!! Not much sun lately although they are promising a sunny day tomorrow... we will have to wait and see.

Today we have a schedule stop for 2 hours from 10.45am to 12.45pm in Hammerfest. The shore excursion's desk have proper tourist City maps of the places that we are visiting available the day before so you can plan your time in port wisely. Why can't Princess do that instead of the useless maps that they provide?? From looking at today's map there doesn't seem to be much to do other than walk the streets. At least the Hurtigruten ship docks right in the heart of the town or city which makes access very easy especially with the limited time we have in most ports. Mind you in some ports it's more than enough!

Just before we arrived into port the Expedition team were offering Energy coffee out on the back deck. Coming from a tea drinker it was very nice. The water was boiled with cayenne pepper, coriander and chillies plus I am assuming coffee and milk.... a bit like hot chocolate with a zing! It was yummy!! Hope it provided lots of energy to climb the mountain to the lookout at Hammerfest.

Hammerfest is the most northern city in Norway and was almost completely destroyed in WW2.

Armed with our trusty map we hiked up to the top of the hill to checkout the views over the town. It was heavy going on the way up but the view made it all worth while. Also at the top was an old Sami camp and a very tranquil lake.

Back in the town we headed to the church and then to the Polar Bear museum which was in the tourist centre (and free) just near where our ship was docked. It was listed as the number 1 attraction in Hammerfest on Trip Advisor. There were a couple of nice wool and craft shops which I managed to look in and made a purchase of a ball of wool with a pattern to knit some Nordic socks... a good craft project for our cruise next year!

All in all it was a nice little town with not much happening and not many people around.... all these little towns are a bit like ghost towns you hardly see anyone and lucky if the shops are open.

Plenty of time left to relax until 11.45pm when we are stopped in Tromso.... known as "the gateway to the Arctic" for the midnight concert at the Arctic Cathedral. This is a ship's excursion and one that I have booked. The acoustics are fantastic in the church and the concert was very enjoyable and well worth another late night!

Tomorrow will be a recovery day as it was 2am before I was in bed!!

I need more sleep.... please....