Polar light at Friday night
Whale watching – second try
Yesterday Same meeting point, same tour, same boat as 6 days before. But completely different weather! No stormy wind from the north and clouds everywhere, but a clear and starry sky.
And off we went.
It was just incredible how much brighter everything was although it was less daylight than last Sunday. After two hours the island Nordfugløya came into view. A cloud parked itself over the island.
Slowly the colours of the sky intensified and remained colourful the whole short day, because now it was the first day of polar night¹.
It took us round 3½ hours to reach our destination, the sea round Skjervøy. So we had only limited time before we headed back. Already at one, half past one o’clock it started getting darker again.
Eight hours after our departure we had returned to Tromsø.
I have been outside for round seven hours. I didn’t freeze because I was wearing my warmest winter parka. I was inside once to eat a bowl of soup and once when I stood at the ship’s bow and the sea spray soaked the whole foredeck (including me). So I was eager to take a shower not because of being cold but I wanted to get rid of the salt hands and face were covered with.
Resumé: It was a great boat tour and I enjoyed the air, the colours, the light.
And the whales? Oh yes, the whales! Almost forgot them ;-) Well, we saw some of them, mostly orcas and the first fin whale of the season. There were not many whales around and they were quite in a distance, so for photographing whales this tour was not ideal. Too little time and too high the boat decks above the water. I would love to paddle kayak there but I’m pretty sure that I never ever will dare to do that.
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¹ Where I live in Tromsø we technically had 14 minutes of daylight yesterday but already 1.3 km north it was the first day of polar night.
No whales today
To the left the Brim Explorer, a boat located in Tromsø for amongst other whale watching. To the right the tourists waiting to be boarded. The boat is fully booked, I am not alone.
Before leaving an announcement: The crew will try its best but it’s not granted that we reach the waters where the whales are. Anyone is free to leave and given a full refund. Most people stay and so do I. First of all I’m not surprised, as another tour operator already cancelled today’s tour. And then I just want to be a day on the water. Whales of course would be a nice extra.
To the left Tromsøbrua, the bridge that connects Tromsø with the mainland. To the right the safety on board drill, that everyone had to join.
And then we’re off.
To make it short: What we didn’t get today was whale sightings. What we got today was rough weather in the open parts. The boat was rolling and pitching like a cork in the waves. More than one passenger got sea sick. The unpredictable movements of the boat and the dim light under the grey sky made photographing a bit adventurous. Several times I was forced in and one passage even the doors were locked. The rest I was outside, partly taking photos, partly just looking around and letting the wind blow around my nose.
Conclusion: an awesome tour even without whales. If you want to participate as well: take your warmest clothes with you. And those of you that just want to stay home and look at some whale photos may read my article about Whale watching in Andenes. Enjoy.
Note to myself: Tromsøya –Ringvassøya/Reinøya – Vannøya – Nordfugløya – Arnøya/Laukøya – Skervøya/Kågen – Lyngen – Reinøya – Tromsøya
Hiking up the Grønnlibruna
Here I stand on top of the small mountain Grønnlibruna (401 m).
I crossed a river and followed a forest trail that sent me deep into the mud. I trudged through knee deep powder snow and then stalked through Styrofoam-like wind-pressed snow to reach the summit and see the mountains in the sun that yr forecasted. Here I stand on top of the small mountain Grønnlibruna and there is no sun. It is snowing. It has been snowing all day and the mountains are hidden by the clouds.
As yesterday I am alone. Apparently the locals do other things in November than hiking up snowy mountains. While I walk around on the plateau of the Grønnlibruna the weather is changing and slowly the mountain ranges come in view and so the bay Sørbotn and the island Håkøya. The sun however I do not see today.
The last photo is taken with my Nikon, the others are edited iPhone snapshots.
For the records: 8 km there and back. Round 400 m in Altitude. Temperature -1 °C … -5 °C. Next time: snow shoes.
Apropos next time: Today we had 4¼ hours of daylight. Next Sunday it will be 2¾ hours. Saturday after that 13 minutes. On Sunday in two weeks we will have polar night in Tromsø until 14 January 2022.
So next time I’ll not only take snow shoes with me but some powerful headlamps, too.
Tønsnesvarden
On Tuesday we got some snow in Tromsø. On Wednesday it already has melted away. But last night a bit of snow arrived.
Today I chose a shorter tour from my book “På tur in Tromsø” (On tour in Tromsø) because I just wanted an easy hike, not a full-grown mountain tour. The weather agreed with me.
By the sea only a bit of wet snow and sleet covered the ground but already 50 meter higher the gravel path was covered with 10 cm of snow. Deep tyre tracks were carved in the snow. This part of the tour was very easy. Just follow the road up until you reach the radio unit on the Tønsnesvarden (281 m) and try not to slip, because under the snow there are some icy patches.
This summit has a big radio station on its top. Even in the increasing snow fall is was quite visible. Now I walked through 20 cm of snow. After an hour I arrived at the radio station, where I met the creator of the deep tyre tracks: A six-wheeled ATV.
It wasn’t cold but a windy. It snowed more and more and the wet snow glued itself to my jacket. On my way back I left the main road and followed a small path on my digital map on my iPhone. I stopped in a forest of birches with thin and long stems. I loved the motive, but my Nikon camera gave up in this wet weather. The lens was fogged up in the inside and in the dense and wet snowfall I didn’t dare to change lens. One photo worked out ok anyhow:
Soon I realised that some of the paths drawn on the map did not exist in reality (at least not in winter) while others that exist were not part of the map. So I went cross-county through pathless terrain, partly dens forest, partly wetlands with many small streams to cross. It took only 15 minutes until I reached the other gravel road leading down again. Now the iPhone was in charge for making pictures.
I followed the path down. With each metre altitude I lost there was less snow on the ground and the snow fall became more and more sleet. When I arrived at my car my anorak was soaking wet. Having seat warmers in a car is a great feature after such a tour.
For the records: 6.5 km, round 300 metres in altitude. Temperature round 0°C.
Appendix 1:
When I show pictures of mountain tours and hilly hikes it is easy to forgot, that Norway has not only mountains but the sea, too. This is an iPhone snapshot I took from some metres from my parked car. What you cannot see is the mountains of the island Kvaløya, 3.8 km away. They are hidden in the snow clouds.
Appendix 2:
What do you do with photos taken with a fogged up lens? You start to experiment. I mean, the photo is spoiled anyhow. But the result of today’s experimentation turned out nice in my opinion.
After autumn comes winter?
This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.
Two days ago I took a promenade to take some autumn photos. I soon broke of the walk because the asphalt was partly frozen and slippery as hell. It was a mistake to leave my spikes home.
On my mountain tour yesterday I both experienced autumnal and wintry conditions. And I had spikes for my boots with me. While I had been writing the blog article yesterday it had started snowing and that’s how it looked today.
My first snow in Tromsø this season. Yay! 8–10 cm had fallen and while I walked to work it started to snow again. Temperature was below zero and the snow was fluffy. It was fun to walk in the snow.
Looks like winter, doesn’t it? But if the forecast is right it will get warmer again already tomorrow afternoon and rain a lot in the night. A short pleasure.
Kayaking in the fog
Before I post some more black-and-white photographs from our car trip through Finland I’ll show you some photos from Annika’s and my kayak tour today. I cannot remember a week as foggy as this one since I moved to Sweden and it was foggy today, too. We couldn’t see the islet Lillskär from our house because it was hidden in the fog. It was however visible from the place where our kayaks lie. Or should I write float, because we had a water level of +45 cm.
Our tour wasn’t long but fun as every kayak tour. Now our kayaks lie on land and are waiting to be cleaned and dried. Then mine will be stored in the garage because I’ll travel to Tromsø on Tuesday and won’t be here before next year.
Saskarö in the fog
From Monday and Thursday Annika and I made a trip that I had in mind for a longer while. Travelling round the Bothnian Bay which is the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea. The first days we travelled by car along the sea. The last hours we travelled by ship from Vaasa in Finland to Holmsund in Sweden. From there it’s only a 12½ additional km to our house in Obbola where we live.
On our way to Haparanda we made a detour to Seskarö, an island that is connected to the mainland by several bridges. As the whole day (and half our journey) it was quite foggy.
Especially by the shores there was not much to see. A near island, a bit of ice, some rocks and and a white sea merging seamlessly into the white sky.
Morning paddling in Obbola
I’m home in Obbola – 6:20 – it’s still quite dark.
The sky is clear – hardly any wind – frost at -4.5 °C. – my kayak lies at the shore.
A good opportunity to do some pre-work kayaking and watch the sunrise at sea.
Travelling from Tromsø to Obbola
Live from the journey …
Part 1 – written in Hotell Sørreisa.
Saturday 16 October at 12:17 my train to Umeå will depart. Not from Tromsø (no train station), but from Abisko Östra. From there the train to Umeå will take nine hours. Then it’s only twenty more kilometres to our home in Obbola.
From Tromsø to Abisko I’ve planned to take the car. And this was the forecast for the Swedish mountains four days ago:
Half a metre snow! Holy moly! Luckily you can rely on the fact, that these forecasts are unreliable. Now only some centimetres of snow are forecasted for tomorrow.
Wednesday
While some trees in town shed there coloured leaves the mountains are already clad in snow. The first photo is taken in the centre of Tromsø, the other one near where I live.
Thursday
I change to winter tyres, a must have for crossing the Norwegian/Swedish mountains. Due to unsure weather conditions I decide to start my car trip already on Friday and book a room with breakfast in Sørreisa.
Friday
Half past three I have packed my stuff (why is the large suitcase so heavy again?) and start my car trip Tromsø—Sørreisa—Abisko. The first fifteen minutes stop and go in town, then over the bridge and onto the E6 that I follow for round 130 km south. The temperature slowly drops from +3 °C to -2 °C and gradually snow is not something far on the mountain slopes but lies left and right from the road E6.
It starts getting dark quite early. Sun down here in is already at 17:20. Here, that is Sørreisa Hotell, where I’ll stay overnight. This hotel does not only provided affordable rooms but really good Thai food as well.
Part 2 – written in Kiruna, sitting in the train to Boden.
Saturday
The next morning my car windows were covered with frost and the temperatures were slightly sub-zero. I had enough time to avoid the main road and instead took road 84 that has both mountain and coastal stages. I can warmly recommend this detour.
The smaller lakes in the mountains were mostly frozen. To my surprise even parts of the fjord Sagfjorden near Sjøvegan were covered with thin ice. I thought it would take longer to make the saltwater freeze.
After I joined the main road E6 I left it again to follow the E10 to Sweden. There was some snow on the ground, but it wasn’t snowing.
45 minutes later I arrived in Abisko Östra. Here’s a cozy cabin, where I had stayed several times to explore Abisko. The owners generously allowed me to park my car here for free, while I am in Sweden. Thank you, Anneli and Thomas! It was nice meeting you again!
In Abisko it started snowing. I bought some lemonade and then waited for the train to come. It came in time. I got into the train. Now it’s only round nine hours to Umeå. With the car it is 700 km to Umeå so taking the train is not only more ecological and comfortable but also faster.
Part 3 – written in the train between Kiruna and Gällivare
When the train arrived in Kiruna it was winter. Everything was covered with snow, it was windy and constantly snowing. We had a stay of half an hour and I went out to take some photos. My anorak was warm enough, the summer barefoot shoes weren’t. No problem, since the train was overheated I quickly got warm again.
After we left Kiruna more and more snow sticked to the slightly warmer train windows until I could hardly see through the window anymore.
Part 4 – written in the connection train somewhere between Älvsbyn and Jörn.
In Gällivare and Nattavaara there was more snow, but then the train approached the coastal region where it uses to be slightly warmer. The ground was also snow covered but the snow looked wet and probably won’t last long.
Meanwhile it had started to get dark. We were late but the connection train in Boden was supposed to wait for us. And so it did.
In Älvsbyn I took the last out-of-the-train photo today. It was dark and mostly I took photos from my own reflections, not from the outside.
I’m glad when I can leave the train. First of all I’m tired and want to arrive home. Then the train compartment is strongly overheated, too. I’ve been in saunas colder than this!
Part 5 – written from home on Sunday.
There’s not much more to tell. Leaving the town Vindeln behind I could see less and less snow until soon no more snow covered the ground. At 21:09 the train arrived in Umeå where Annika already waited on the platform. Half an hour I finally was home.
Today, after a rich breakfast:
I’m so glad to be here. At more than two weeks I’ll spend home in Obbola until I’ll take the same way back to Tromsø in early November.