Day 7: OMG...is it?.....Finally!!!

We found the Northern Lights!  We found the Northern Lights!!

Those buggers were very well hidden and they took their own sweet time in making an appearance, but we finally saw them!!

It was just as well as otherwise the day would have been a bit of a wash-out.  We discovered that post-NYE hangovers and ferry boats in stormy seas do not mix terribly well.  The winds were incredibly strong all day - at one point, at about 12.5 on the Beaufort scale which was rather alarmingly described as "hurricane".  Our route today took us to the North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe, and we'd booked another off-boat excursion to see the cool iron globe that marks the North Cape point - unfortunately, due to the bad weather, the roads leading up to the cape were closed, so they had to cancel the outing.  We still docked at Honnigsvag port, but there was very little to do there, other than visit one tiny gift shop that was open (and consequently jammed with ferry passengers in search of something to do!).  The weather was so bad and the winds so strong, we actually skipped a couple of stops as it was not safe to dock.  I guess if you were a passenger wanting to get off there, you'd be bang out of luck!

Anyway, we were passing time in one of the lounges, me blogging and Matt watching YouTube videos of this British chap building a BB-8.  It was around 7pm and was, of course, pitch black so again we were fighting the good fight to try and stay awake.  I'd decided it was obviously Gift Shop Day, so headed off to the little shop onboard the ship to have a poke around.  I had just reached the store, a couple of decks down, when finally the announcement came over the ship's loudspeaker system that we had all been waiting days for!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to inform you that we have some Northern Light activity.  Please take care when going on deck to view them - it is very windy and slippery outside"

Well, you should have seen the pandemonium that ensued!!  The whole boat let out a whoop of delight and people were actually running to get to their cabins to put on their outdoor gear (myself included) and to head out onto deck.  Old slow people were scattered to the sides of the corridors like human pin-balls in the rush as everyone felt the urgency to get out there as soon as possible.  You never know how long the lights will last for – maybe just a minute or two or maybe an hour.  

Of course, I had left all my stuff with ManpanionTM including my computer and iPhone, but I figured that he would head straight down to our cabin too to get dressed before heading up on deck – wrong!  ManpanionTM was even more excitable than I was and had scampered out on deck without stopping to put on a coat, hat, gloves or basically anything sensible and warm!  I headed up there in my best Michelin-man puffy pants and Canada Goose coat – and it was still fooking cold because of the wind, whipping the waves up from the sea and flinging them into your face!  

I couldn’t see the lights initially, so instead just headed over to where everyone else seemed to be congregating and found myself a little spot right on the railings that was a bit sheltered and would make sure I had an unobstructed view.  After a couple of minutes, my eyes adjusted and I could finally start to make them out!  Looking up into the sky, there was a spot that first of all just looked a bit brighter than the surrounding area and then, as you watched it more, it started to morph and change and expand.  Yep – those were definitely the Northern Lights!!  WHOOOO HOO!!!  After watching them for about a half hour and failing spectacularly to capture them on my iPhone, ManpanionTM found me and gallantly offered to go and get my proper camera and tripod from our cabin so I could have a better shot at taking some pics.   My efforts are below – I don’t think I’m going to win any photography prizes but at least we have photographic evidence we finally found them – and don’t have to come home with our tails between our legs!!

We stayed on deck for just under an hour until our digits had frozen to the point of potential snappage injury, so decided we’d “done” the lights enough and should head on inside.  It turned out to be a good decision – a few minutes after we’d returned to the cabin and were thawing out, another announcement came over the speaker system, requesting that everyone on deck now please come in, due to the high winds and heavy seas that were expected to get even worse.  By this time, it was time for dinner anyway so Matt and I headed down to the dining room where it soon became very apparent how rolling and wobbly the sea had become.  It was impossible to walk in a straight line as the boat listed from side to side and, as dinner was a self-serve buffet style that night, it made for some entertaining near-misses as people staggered to and from the buffet!  The route we were taking was also partly responsible, as we were apparently going through a channel where I guess two sea currents met, so along with the high winds, things were very choppy indeed!  But, as we made it through the passage, things started to calm down a bit so, by the end of dinner, the ship seemed to be back fully upright and we figured we probably wouldn’t have to peg it for the lifeboats after all.  Mumsie – I think you probably would have been dead by this stage.

So that was New Year’s Day.  Some disappointments but, by the end of the day, mission accomplished!  Tonight is our final night on board ship – tomorrow, we reach our final destination of Kirkenes – the northernmost town in Europe, where we disembark and start the final part of our adventure – the snow hotel!!  Ice-tastic!!!