Spirit of Discovery blog

It was an early morning for the Captain again as our fjord pilotage commenced at around 2am, some 80 miles by sea from Alta itself.

Breakfast time came around soon enough and it was a bright, clear day now as we came alongside our Terminal berth; both itself and our ship having seen a few inches of snow overnight.

More winter fun lay ahead for our 2 day stay here, however if snowy adventures no longer appealed then alternative trips included a visit to the World Heritage Museum, or the Tirpitz museum in Kåfjord. The latter hosts all manner of paraphernalia from the infamous German battleship destroyed locally, (the largest to be built in Europe at the time) as well as other bits and bobs from the same dark era.

The famous Igloo or Ice Hotel is constructed 15 minutes from Alta each December, taking some 5 weeks of meticulous carving, before melting away in late April / early May as summer comes around. We ran trips to see this spectacle, as well as offering the opportunity for guests to stay the night.

The even more adventurous Saganauts could embark on an overnight husky journey, staying in a tipi tent overnight whilst the exhausted hounds slept nearby outside.

Not forgetting one of the reasons we ventured up to such high latitudes at what might be considered by some to be a daft time of year, on both evenings transportation was provided for whomever wished to be whisked off to a likely viewpoint for witnessing the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

Back on board, our F&B teams were busy conjuring up midnight feasts to accommodate everyone arriving back late from Aurora viewing, as well as ‘hot toddies’ to warm the stomachs…even the Captain was tempted by one of the latter offerings after having been out in -8C for a couple of hours.

Fortunately, departure from Alta was the following day and we slid quietly from our berth to head south again just after 7am.

Kind Regards
Captain Kim Tanner