Thursday, 14 March
Steps: 11457 with 22 flights of stairs
Cruise day 6
Øksford – Hammerfest – Havøysund – Honningsvag– Kjøllefjord – Mehamn – Berlevåg
We stopped in Honningsvag just after 11. The temperature was well below zero with a strong cold wind. Gaeleen, Cherise and I opted for a slow walk around the town, while the rest of the group chose to be more energetic. We found a small shop which stocked a large variety of handmade items for tourists. I love those kind of things, plus, it was lovely and warm, definitely worth a stop. We walked another block or two and found another shop to go into just to thaw out a little. This was a craft shop which stocked everything from wool to kitchen utensils. I enjoyed watching the locals do their shopping on little sleds.
Gaeleen the wanted to find the giant troll statue that the town is well known for (according to all info sources). It was on the other side of town, so we turned around and followed our blue dot on Google maps, which is tricky with gloves on and freezing with gloves off. Several blocks later, we found we had passed it, so we found some stairs down to the waterside, but it was not there either. I found the tourist information centre where we learnt that it had burnt down. Google needs an update! We ended up walking further than the original energetic group.
At 16:40, we passed Finnkjerka, a Sami holy place. It is a natural rock formation that looks just like a church, from both sides. The photos make it look small, but it is like a full size church. The sun was starting to set and the cloud formation was stunning.
At 17:00, the ship stopped briefly in Kjøllefjord. We were taken into a warehouse and given our outfits for the snowmobile adventure. We had to put on so many layers of clothing, I now fully understand the value of a lady’s maid to help you dress. We then went by bus to the middle of nowhere, where we were given a brief lesson on how to drive and snowmobile. Because I admitted to being nervous, I was made head girl and allocated front snowmobile right behind the guide. With the strict instructions to follow our guide’s tracks and keep a distance of 15m, off we set. I did a great job of keeping in the tracks, because the guide had said something about a river alongside the path and visibility was not great. Somewhere at the back of the queue though, David and the others were playing silly buggers and had to be reprimanded! Boys will be boys! We travelled about 15km across the snow to meet up with our ship at Mehamn. The wind was blowing the snow across the plains like sea sand blows across the beach. It was nerve racking, but exhilarating at the same time.
What I learnt: I do not like layer of clothing and boots that are so bulky you can hardly move in them, therefore, I would not ever choose to live in a place that has so much snow!
Kim's journey 