Old Lad

So here’s a first. I am blogging from inside the Arctic Circle! It’s now 7 days into a voyage up and down the Norwegian Coast and round the North Cape. I know it’s traditional when age sets in to start going on cruises. But to be honest I have never fancied being cooped up with 6000 of my fellow human beings. This experience is a bit more minimalist. The ship is brand new and hybrid powered ( The charging point on the quayside at various ports is a wonder to be hold – I suppose it makes all the lights go out in the town when the ship plugs in!). There are only 170 cabins and apart from excursions ashore the only activities are food and drink and watching the scenery go by.. It is amazingly relaxing.

It is of course cold – it is partly in the Arctic in February. Which leads me to wonder about some of the comments I have heard about it being very cold. A lady from Arizona was bemoaning the fact that she had never felt so cold. Me being from “up North” am not finding it too bad. But I ask myself, why did she come on the trip! I will be honest and say that the age range on the trip is what you would call Silver Surfers. It’s a heart warming tribute to how active you can be in old age. This morning we had the opportunity to go dog sledding – a fantastic experience even if getting Up and down off the sled was a bit of a challenge! The ship calls at 34 ports up and down the coast with some stops only be 15 minutes to take on or offload cargo. It’s a good way to see Norway especially where we have a few hours stop. By the way last time I said I would comment on litter – there isn’t any in Norway!

You do get some idea about the hardiness of the polar explorers of years ago. The lowest temperature we have had is -20C. What it must have been like at -40 is difficult to comprehend. Another thing I have found interesting Is the story of the Nazi occupation of Norway and the effects it had. I don’t think we in the UK have given much thought to it with a lot of our history concentrating on the War across Western Europe and the likes of D Day. Very few War Movies have featured Norway. I remember as a teenager reading HMS Ulysses by Alister Maclean and watching Kenneth More in Sink the Bismark but not much else.. But the truth is that Norway suffered badly. Place like Tromso and the small ports around the North Cape had to be completely rebuilt because the Germans adopted a scorched earth policy as they withdrew and destroyed everything. So it’s been an interesting history lesson. It’s also proved that you can be an Old Lad of 77 and still go dog sledding! Time to plan the next adventure!