darlaville: Norway Cruise part 3

Day 6 started with an unhurried morning since we weren't scheduled to pull into port at Tromso until around 1:00 pm.

After breakfast I attended the marine biologist's talk on "sea monsters"...which was about large and strange fish. Some that could have been the basis of old time sea monster legends.

I stayed in my seat for the next talk, which was on the psychology of color.

Afterwards I enjoyed the scenic sail into Tromso.

Snow in the mountains. How would you like living here?

Something different here. Is this fish farming?

How about living here? A guide said that traditionally, homes are white and outbuildings are red.

Here we are pulling into port. Tromso is one of the larger cities. It's actually an island. People have lived here thousands of years...including the Vikings and the native Sami people.

I had a good view of the port workers catching the thrown rope to loop over the bollards. They started with a small rope which was tied to a huge thick rope that actually holds the ship.

Then began a long process of many trucks taking turns to pull up and unload supplies for the ship.

My bus tour didn't start until 5:15 pm. That sounds late in the day, but remember, it doesn't get dark here in the summer.

The tour was just okay. Mostly because I had forgotten to put my hearing aids back on...so I missed hearing a lot of information.

The amazing parts to me, were the tunnels. The Norwegians build lots of tunnels everywhere to prevent roads from being blocked by avalanches and heavy snow.

Because Tromso is an island, they not only have bridges, they have carved tunnels below the surrounding water to drive to and from the island...the main one being 334 feet below sea level. It's quite a system, with roundabouts and even below-ground parking.

The weather was damp and chilly, so back on the ship, I stopped by the fancy coffee shop before the evening entertainment, to get a hot beverage.

I got a little surprise too...this is a $7 hot chocolate!

It was good, though.

The evening show was another female singer.

Back in my cabin,while getting ready for bed, a beautiful rainbow appeared.

Amazingly, I could see both ends of it.

I'm not sure if the whole arch could be seen (because of that overhang). I didn't want to get dressed again and go up on deck to find out (but I should have).

Day 7 was the most fun. We had reached our northernmost port, and the northernmost city in Europe...Honningsvag.

My tour for the day was called "King Crab Safari".

Off the ship and there at port we went to an equipment rental shop, where we dressed in heavy duty waterproof coveralls and a flotation vest.

Next, we climbed into a RIB, a Rigid Inflatable Boat and took a seat.

Then we zoomed off into the Barents Sea!

It was " hold on tight" as the boat captain made some fast curves out in the open water...just for fun.

We pulled in close to this area where they said there were some reindeer up on the slope. I couldn't see them and I've looked really hard at this photo and still can't see them.

Next we located the floats that were tied to the crab traps. They were really deep. A lot of rope had to be hoisted in.

There were 3 King Crabs in this trap. Two (females) were thrown back in the water and this one (male) was harvested.

This photo of the other RIB on the tour, shows how we were seated. The seats are high and close together and one must throw a leg over like climbing on a horse.

So you are wedged in, straddling the seat, nearly standing, hanging on to grab bars in front of you.