Returns to Carson's Travels Home Page Places Visited View Our Photo Gallery Map of Trip How to Contact Us

MELFJORD AND ARCTIC CIRCLE

 

June 6, 2013

We continued to sail north, crossing the Arctic Circle just after 5:00 am. At 66 degrees 33 minutes north, the Arctic Circle represents the southernmost latitude where 24 hours of daylight occurs on the northern summer solstice. We are in the land of the midnight sun and will not experience another sunrise or sunset.

Carsons on hikeWe entered Nordfjord, a branch off of Melfjord. A big submerged rock in the middle of the entrance limits passage to only smaller ships. We traveled to the very end of the fjord and entered a remote part of the Svartisen or "Black Ice" National Park. This park encompasses a massive ice cap with glaciers spawned off the sides from high in the mountains. Waterfalls spilled over the glacially smoothed rocks. The captain nosed the ship right into the mouth of the glacially fed river. We were then dropped on shore for a hike, following the river rushing down from the glacier, then bushwacking through a relatively new birch forest as there was no trail. Arctic FlowerOur naturalist guide was very excited to see so many wildflowers in bloom. (Unfortunately, we can't remember most of their names!) We got a great view of the glacier when we emerged from the forest. It was hard to believe we were north of the Arctic Circle as the weather was gorgeous, sunny and in the 70's.

 

 

GlacierAfter the hike, we got into zodiacs for a cruise along the coastline. Beautiful waterfalls cascaded down the rocks. A few seals poked their heads out of the water to see who was intruding on their territory. Waterfall

 

 

 

 

 

Monument to Arctic CircleOn the way out of the fjord, we crossed the Arctic Circle several more times. We then stopped at the small fishing village of Traena where we celebrated the crossing with traditional smoked herring on crisp crackers, served by some of our crew dressed in Viking helmets. The town has a monument on the spot where the Arctic Circle crosses so of course we had our picture taken there.

 

 

To view more photos from Melfjord and Traena, please go to Melfjord Photo Gallery. To read about the next location visited, go to Lofoten.

 


Home Locations Visited Photos Map Contact Us