A very foggy Bjørnøya/Bear Island

We knew that this part of the journey was going to be arduous. We had breakfast, exchanged pleasantries with the French couple we had talked to the evening before and then went back to our cabin. We had left Ny-Ålesund at 11am the day before, so were on the ship for 13 hours yesterday. Today, we were steaming south back towards Norway. We were due back in to Tromsø tomorrow morning at 8am. This will mean that we will have been afloat for 45 hours without a stop. Thankfully I had plenty to do and the staff on board always make announcements about things that are available to do or see to keep the passengers happy.

There was quite a bit of fog and low cloud as we headed towards Bjørnøya, or Bear Island. When we were heading North towards Svalbard, we had sailed past the eastern side of the island, this time we were passing the west side. Bear Island belongs to the Svalbard archipelago, and sits halfway between Spitsbergen and Norway. It is also where the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea meet, so it can be a bit choppy round there. As we approached Bear Island, I didn’t really expect to see anything because I could only make out part of it, which was a large cliff jutting out of the fog. It did get a bit clearer when we got nearer, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the first time we saw it.

The afternoon passed with me doing some reading, and JC was looking at our route and trying to work out how long it would take to get to our next destination…..

At 3:30pm there was an announcement over the tannoy that our route was changing because of bad weather. Our route should have taken us to Tromsø, and we should arrive around 10-11am on 17th (day 11). We were then to continue from Tromsø and then go to Torsken on the island of Senja. This is on the seaward side of the island, so instead we will be heading to Finnsnes, on the inland side of Senja. On Wednesday 18th September (day 12) we are no longer doing to Stokmarknes and Svolvær, but instead Harstad between 8:30 and 14:00. The Captain was very reassuring and said that the ship could handle the winds which were forecast, at between 50-60mph, and a swell of up to 4 metres.

Our evening meal was the only thing to look forward to, and was beautifully served again:

First course – lumpfish roe, potato chip, sour cream, chives
Second course – cured reindeer, troll cream (sour cream, lingonberries, potato crisp), pickled pine shoots
Third course – celery variation (baked, pickled, dried)
Fourth course – chicken breast, sweet turnip variation, fried parsley, saffron and lemon sauce
Fifth course – pumpkin ice-cream, curd, meringue, toasted pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate

After that, we went for one drink in the bar before battening down the hatches. Crossing the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea, we rode out a storm from around midnight until 6am. Someone must have upset the Norse god Njord, as we didn’t have the best night’s sleep. However, I am pleased to say that we are now safely in the shelter of the fjord near Tromsø (time 10:00am Tuesday 17th September). We will continue our alternative journey away from the unforgiving Norwegian Sea.