Norway Day Eight: An Fun And Informative Drive In Search Of The Midnight Sun
It was Thursday evening and I had two more opportunities to see the midnight sun in Norway. I left my hotel around 8:30 p.m. and walked about a 1/2 mile through the empty streets of Tromso.
I was walking to the meeting place where I would join up with my midnight photography tour arranged by Get Your Guide. I arrived at Storgata 107 and received a warm welcome by our tour guide Robin and a number of young travelers staying at a hostel. I had a great conversation with these young folks. I wished I was young again.
We soon departed on our drive in search of the midnight sun. Once again the weather was not co-operating. It was raw, cold, overcast and windy. We drove west through the tunnels of Tromso and over the bridge toward the islands nearer the ocean.
As the tour advertised, it didn’t take our guide Robin long to find reindeer. We came upon a few of them roaming the streets of this small community.
This female had some unusual antlers.
It was amazing to be this close to these wild animals. They roam the frozen interior of arctic Norway throughout the winter and only come to the lands near the sea in the summer. Each wild reindeer is tagged and owned by a Sami family. The tour was already worth the price.
We continued our drive toward the ocean. I was sitting up front with our mascot, our guide, Robin’s friendly dog Burger.
We drove to a small fishing village were we left out vehicle and walked over some rocks to the sea, at the edge of a fjord. Here is a link to some more photographs from our drive to the village. Norway Day Eight: Drive to fishing village. June 7 2018.
It was a beautiful experience. Our guide informed us about the geology, history and culture of this remote arctic region.
We saw some birds, including this seagull and oystercatcher,
some remains of a sea urchin and
We made our way back to our vehicle and saw some fish being dried the traditional Norwegian way. Here is a link to some more photographs of the fishing village. Norway Day Eight: Fishing village. June 7 2018.
We next followed the same highway I drove to the fishing village of Sommaroy. It was pouring rain when I drove here a few days earlier. It looked different under the cloudy skies. I wish I could have seen it in the sunshine.
Our guide explained more about this region of Norway. We asked questions and had a pleasant conversation as we drove along the fjord.
We drove past the troll house I saw on my drive. Our guide pointed out the troll house, and this house with a “It’s a small world” theme in its front yard. This brought back some early memories. I remember seeing the “It’s a small world” exhibit at the World’s Fair when I was a child. It is Father’s Day Morning as I type this and it again brings back memories of that day, It was one of the best days of my life. My dad always encouraged learning and education. He is the biggest influence for my love of travel, nature and music.
Well back to Norway. We drove to an isolated beach along the highway, We stopped to explore and take photographs. It would have been a beautiful place to photograph the midnight sun.
We had no sun, only clouds and a cold, brisk wind off of the ocean. Temperatures were in the 30’s. I am glad I brought my winter gear.
We roamed the beach learning a lot about the area and the people who live here and those who vacation here in the Summer.
We next made our way to the island where the fishing village of Sommaroy is located. We first stopped for a midnight snack of some modern traditional Norwegian food. I liked the cheese and nut spread but wasn’t overly fond of the fish paste. It was still a great expreience.
We drove through the village and visited another remote beach.
We next walked up a bluff overlooking the ocean.
This would have been the perfect place to photograph the midnight sun. Unfortunately, once again the midnight skies were cloudy.
We stood on the bluff, overlooking the ocean, standing in a strong cold wind hoping for a break in the clouds. The clouds remained and so once again I did not see the midnight sun. Here is a link to some more photographs from our visit to Sommaroy. Norway Day Eight: Sommaroy visit June 7 2018.
We now drove back to Tromso along the south side of the island.
It was a pretty ride along the fjord.
There were a lot of farms and small houses next to the sea.
Our conversation covered so many subjects. We talked about Norway and the countries that we were from. These were Hungry, Canada, Germany and, of course, the United States. It was a great group of young people and one old timer. We solved a lot of the world’s problems on that ride back to Tromso.
It was around 1:30 a.m. when I was dropped off at my hotel.Here is a link to some more photographs from my ride home. Norway Day Nine: Ride to Tromso. June 7 2018.
I was exhausted but experienced a wonderful tour and another great day in Tromso. unfortunately I still didn’t see the midnight sun. As tired as I was, I still had a hard time falling asleep with the light peeking in around the curtains. I always loved the sun, and the long days of summer. I now realized too much of a good thing, even light, may not be good.
Nature confounds her summer distinctions at this season. The heavens seem to be nearer the earth. The elements are less reserved and distinct. Water turns to ice, rain to snow. The day is but a Scandinavian night. The winter is an arctic summer. Henry David Thoreau
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