It was very exciting to cross into the Arctic
Circle at approximately 7.20 this morning. Some of our group enjoyed passing the Globe, which marks the spot where we entered it, up on deck with a glass of early
morning sparkling wine, however I was far less organized and made it by the
skin of my teeth whilst still in my pajamas! Thankfully I didn’t appear to be
the only one and as it was pretty dark I don’t think anyone one would have
really noticed anyhow!
We spent most of the morning knitting
whilst admiring the snow capped mountain views from either side of the ship –
it really is incredible to be travelling through icy waters with these
spectacular scenes from the warmth and safety of MS Midnatsol. There are
settlements all along the coast, some of which appear incredibly remote with
many of the houses close to the shore with boats moored alongside. It’s the
stuff of picture postcards…
Mid morning we were invited on deck to
attend the Arctic Circle ceremony. King Neptune graced us with his presence and
those people who were brave enough were given the traditional Norse welcome -
which includes a ladle of ice cold water down the back of the neck followed by
a shot of cloudberry wine.
After another early lunch, during which we
were treated to a fly past by two very kind sea eagles, we took a short walk
into Bodo where we found another ‘Husfliden’ store. I bought some of the
traditional paper cut Christmas decorations and was really excited to get one
in black rather than white card. A few of the ladies bought more yarn and Lynn
showed us the way to a small quilting shop that had lovely fabrics and
patterns.
Once back on board we set to our knitting
once again. My ‘wingspan’ scarf (free downloadable pattern on Ravelry) is
coming on nicely using the yarn I bought yesterday and the group is still
having fun with their fairisle bag project. Both Elizabeth and Dani have
already completed the project and are now in the throws of putting it together.
Dani has decided to make hers into a cushion cover.