This weekend I planned to be lazy and so I was but since the weather was so beautiful today that I decided to take a walk by the coast. There are only two other weekends with a chance to see the sun in Tromsø, then polar night begins.
Some today’s snapshots:
A colleague, a friend of hers and I went on a car trip to the island Ringvissøya today. My colleague knows a place where you can spot otters and we wanted to give it a try. On the way there it was raining. While I drove the car the others watched the coastal line. Our first stop however was not for an otter but a huge flock of common eiders.
Sometimes the whole flock dove down for food and then – Plop! Plop! Plop! – they appeared again. Click! I got some photos, but only with my large telephoto lens, because the ducks where quite far away.
We continued a bit and then the first otter was spotted. It was swimming in the fjord occasionally diving to hunt for fish. All the next photos are 100% crop of shots made with 600 mm so the photo quality is inferior, but that was the best I got today. Did the otter get fish? Yes, at least twice we could see it eating. Then, at a shallow bay it went on land and went up through the grass where we lost it from view.
The otters were not the only mammals around. We spotted some porpoises, though only for seconds and a seal, that occasionally swam quite near the shore.
Meanwhile the weather has become quite nice.
Since the otters were not to be seen any longer we decided to continue the road and go for a hike. At a parking place between Kårvik and Skarsfjord we took our backpacks and started hiking up the hills. There was hardly any snow at the beginning of our tour. That changed when we gained altitude. Although there was more snow the ground was not frozen yet and partially wet. Sometimes it felt like walking on a sponge.
We came to a frozen lake, that looked pretty wintry but probably the ice was quite thin, at least in the middle. In the background of the first of the next photos you can see the mountain peak of the Gråtinden (586 m).
The snow had hardened and sometimes bore our weight but mostly we broke through the thin ice layer. But still it was possible to go up, the snow was less deep than I had expected.
And then – after round about 4 km we reached the summit of the Gråtinden.
Here you have an awesome view of the sea, the lowlands and snowy mountain chains in all directions.
We took a rest by the cairn marking the peak, then we started going back. I was quite glad to move again, because I wasn’t really prepared for the hike and had started freezing. While we made our way back and down the sun started to set and the mountains become more orange.
At 16:30 we were back at the car, same time as sunset. And since it even started drizzling again I think we had an excellent timing today.
Thanks for the tour, colleague and friend!
P.S.: Here’s a panorama that I took with my iPhone on the way up today:
I’m lucky. The place where I shot this photo in yesterday mornings blue hour is less than 500 metres away. The snow here by the coast has melted away but as you can see the mountains are white now and probably will stay like this for many months.
No, I haven’t joined many of “torsdagspadlinger” organised by the Tromsø sea kayak association this year. But at least the first one on the 4th of May and the last one this evening.
We were a group of ten heading to the island Grindøya in the west. When I arrived at the boat houses round half past five the sun was already disappearing behind the mountains of Kvaløya. Half an hour later we were on the water. The weather was quite warm and it was very calm –perfect conditions for a relaxed tour.
We headed to a sea mark – resting place for a small flock of cormorants. They flew away, when we gathered there.
While we were continuing to the northern tip of the island it was becoming dusky. We all had lights at our kayaks or our lifejackets. Less to see but to be seen.
After we passed the northern tip of Grindøya we turned left (meaning south) and calmly paddled along the forested island.
When we arrived at the beach at the southern tip it already had become pretty dark. The lights of the mainland illuminated the horizon. The single light at the left top corner of the next photo is the mountain station of the cable car Fjellheisen.
On the way back it was really dark. We paddled in pairs to ensure that no one was left behind and it was too dark to take snapshots. Just before we arrived at the boat houses again I took the iPhone out of its waterproof bag and took a photo. With a bit of help from Lightroom it’s surprisingly sharp.
It’s a pity that this was the last torsdagspadling but understandable, because it gets darker and darker every week. And if the weather forecast is correct it may snow next week.
Takk for turen – thanks for the tour, especially to the tour guides. See you next year.
Two weeks ago we were only five paddlers at the traditional Thursday paddling. Today we were almost thirty. While most followed the coast to the bay Telegrafbukta I joined a group of seven that paddled to Grindøya. The conditions were gorgeous. No wind, hardly any waves and beautiful light. We took a break on the island with a special bonus: Two eagles sitting on a dead tree. There were too far away for taking good pictures but beautiful to observe anyhow. On one of the photos you can spot them as tiny specks.
Takk for turen – thanks for a great tour, my fellow kayakers. Now I’ll leave Tromsø for a while until I’ll be back for more tours to come.
Today I just did my second kayak tour in Tromsø this year. The first one was on 4 May and it snowed. Then the weather was bad and I hardly had time. Then I was on an Arctic cruise, then home in Sweden and then it was holiday period. Today was the first “Thursday paddling” with the Tromsø Sea Kayakers Club after summer and I was happy to join.
Together with four other kayakers we paddled to the island Håkøya where we took a short leg stretcher. Then we paddled a bit along and back. I didn’t make many photos. The others were fast and on the way to Håkøya it was quite wavy. So I was challenged and even a bit stressed, but in a positive way. Now I’m looking forward to the next time. Takk for turen, fellow paddlers! Thanks for taking care of me.
Last month I joined a scientific cruise on the Norwegian icebreaker Kronprins Haakon. Our plan was to reach station 01 at 84.55° N, 18.78° E north of Svalbard. But the exceptionally thick sea ice of 2 metres and more prevented this. We tried to get north but in vain, we only reached 80° N and a bit.
We were not alone. The Swedish icebreaker Oden and the German icebreaker Polarstern had the same issues. In the night from the 11 to 12 June we were quite near to the Polarstern – less than 10 nm if I remember correctly. The vessel was visible on the “OLEX” navigation screen.
After another five week expedition to the Gakkel Ridge, the Greenland Shelf and the Nansen Basin the Polarstern arrived in Tromsø today. Not at the port on the island (I guess, too many cruise ships) but in Tønsvik by the mainland. Some weeks ago I asked the Alfred Wegener Institut (AWI) if it was possible to visit the ship but it couldn’t be done this time. Anyhow I took the car after work and drove there to get at least some photos.
Hopefully I’ll get a opportunity for a visit another time. And yes – I long deeply for the Arctic when I see the Polarstern lying there or check the track in the internet.
But hiking in the Norwegian Nature always helps. Two photos from a short hiking trip after the icebreaker photos:
Sunday, half past five in the afternoon. I just arrived in Breivikeidet by car, waiting for the ferry.
It was a quite spontaneous decision to take the car to the northern tipp of the Lyngen Peninsula to watch the midnight sun before the polar days are over in Northern Norway. Without the ferry I would have to drive 200 km one way, using the ferry it is less than half the distance. And there the ferry arrives.
Eight a clock. I have parked by car on a camping ground and the backpack is packed. Camera equipment, something to eat and drink, an extra jacket as well as sleeping bag and camping mat. Hopefully I can sleep in the tiny hut that is near the lighthouse I want to hike to. If not, I’ll sleep outside and get eaten by mosquitoes …
The way there is only 3 km. First I follow the broad gravel road then I turn right and hike along a path that meanders through the mountain landscape. The forecast of the Norwegian weather service yr was right: the weather is nice and mostly sunny. Hopefully it will be clear this night.
And there it is: Lyngstuva Lighthouse. The hut is tiny but it’s open and no one else is there. Nice!
Behind the lighthouse lies the open sea with the prominent shape of the island Nord-Fugløya (Northern bird island) in the north. On the sea there are surprisingly many ships, some of them large. The largest (and ugliest) is the touristic cruise ship Viking Mars with place for 930 passengers. Then there are two Hurtigruten ships. From the left comes Kong Harald on its way to Skjervøy, from the other side Richard With with destination Tromsø. Both have a capacity of 590 passengers.
As usual the ships greet each other with the ship’s horn. Again and again they toot, apparently checking who will have the last word. Finally some minutes after she ships have passed, Richard With toots a last time for half a second and Kong Harald answers the same way. Then it gets silent.
I enter the tiny hut and take some pictures before I make myself at home. It’s cosy!
I soon realise, that I may have the hut for myself this night but definitely not the place. The french couple has gone but in the next hours many other people will appear “on stage”.
Dramatis personae: A couple from Amsterdam. Two people from Lithuania (he’s here for the 7th time) with friends. A group of Finnish scouts. Some more random people. M. and F. from Bavaria.
With the latter two I spend the evening and night. They are the perfect outdoor hosts. They already have collected wood for a campfire, that is soon is burning. We sit round the fire and chat about all sorts of things. I’m even invited to a glass of red wine if I have a glass. No, I don’t have any glass or cup but I have a pot of yoghurt. I only have to eat the yoghurt and clean the pot and – voilà – I have a high standard quality wine glass. Later this evening F. surprises me once more: He brought a travel guitar and so we have live music while we watch the sun slowly lowering but mostly wandering to the right.
At 0:28 the sun has vanished behind the island Nord-Fugløya in the north.
Will it be visible in the mountain gap at 0:44, the time when I think it’s lowest? Yes, at 0:42 it shows up and at 0:44 it is mostly visible again. It’s not my very first midnight sun I see, but a very beautiful one. I’m glad, that I have come here.
I take some more pictures – from the lighthouse and hut and from the mountains behind whose red rocks now seem to gleam by themselves.
Then I say goodbye to my “outdoor hosts” and enter the hut to sleep.
I decide not to take the tiny room under the roof but to roll out my camping mat in the main room. The camping mat and I have some disagreements on the topic of sleep comfort but anyhow I sleep quite ok. Just much too short. Because the next day is today and today is Monday and Monday is a working day. A quite tired working day but it was worth it. I never regret being in nature.
In Tromsø the first sunset will be in three days, at the Lyngstuva Lighthouse it will take another day, because it’s a bit more north. Now I’m looking forward to spot the first star. The last one I think I saw in the end of April.
After to weeks of home office home in Sweden Annika and I have a week of vacation. Yesterday we went to a concert of the Umeå based balkan folk band Mullin Mallin on the island Norrbyskär. On the ferry there it rained.
But then the weather became better.
While the soundcheck it was drizzling a bit but then the sun came out and we could listen to Mullin Mallin under a blue sky.
After the concert Annika and I had almost two hours until the 22:30 ferry that only runs after evening events. Time to sit by the sea and watch the sun set. While the sun was disappearing behind a cloud the ship was approaching. We went on board and were brought back to Norrbyn on the mainland, where Annika had parked her car.
After a 40 minute drive we were home. That day was a great way to start our vacation. Norrbyskär is always worth a visit, even when it rains and you have to eat the ice cream inside.
This article is part of the series “2023-06: Arctic Ocean cruise KPH”.
One week ago I left the icebreaker Kronprins Haakon in Longyearbyen, Svalbard after a three week cruise. On the same day I took the plane back to Tromsø together with a lot of scientists from the same cruise.
The cruise went a little differently than planned. As you can see on the map below we seemed to cruise in a quite chaotic way.
But every loop was there for a reason. The left loop leading north was the attempt to cruise to station 05 at 83°58′ N. You see the line of planned stations in the upper right. But our attempt was in vain, the ice was too thick to get there.
So we decided to do research in the Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard. Since this was never the plan we didn’t have a permit to do research in Greenlandic waters. Therefore we headed south and east to do a first ice station in Norwegian waters and then another one at 80 °N. That’s the right loop.
We were lucky: already after a couple of days we got the permit for Greenland. So we headed south and then west again into Greenlandic waters. Here we still had to zigzag a bit through the ice but there was another effect that made the track a bit special: The ice stations.
The ice floes drifted south with a speed of round about 0.7 knots (as far as I remember). When the ice station lasted 36 hours, that’s a drift of more than 45 kilometres. That’s the small loops to the south at 6.5 °W, 4° W and 2° W.
And since we had some travel time, I could take some photos. For example from the incredibly elegant ivory gull.
And even when I was on the sea ice to make aerial photos with my drone I often had some extra minutes to play around with the panorama function, resulting in so-called “tiny planet” photos.
Oh – I’m longing back to the Arctic. Home in Obbola in Sweden it is really warm and 24 °C inside of our house. A bit too warm for my taste. And rain would be very welcome, our garden is very dry.