DAY 8 – 4th DAY NORTH
Last
night at about 10 p.m. there was an announcement that the Aurora was dimly seen
in front of the boat. So naturally, everyone ( but Francie) headed to the bow where
about one quarter of us could jam in. I
found myself along the side under the lifeboats. As my eyes adapted, I could see something
that I thought were probably clouds, but I could not image them at
3.5/30sec. I shall investigate the
bogusity of this announcement.
At
7:26 a.m. we were awoken to an announcement that we are just crossing the
Arctic Circle, and please attend the ceremony at (the realistically scheduled)
10:30. First the winner of the “Guess When
We Cross” contest was announced
She
got a Hurtegruten Flag that flew over the ship signed by the captain – not shabby
Then
we had to chant Jorg repeatedly with increasing fervor until he appeared.
Jorg seemed to have been at sea too long because he harassed the ladies. He danced with Francie, but I didn’t get a
picture.
Then
the contest winner, got her real prize – being first in line to get a cup of
water and ice cubes poured down her back.
I
have a helpful hint (from first hand experience). If you participate in this ceremony, DO NOT
tuck your shirt into your pants and CERTAINLY DON’T tuck your undershirt into your
underwear. Ice cubes will home into the
warmest spots available.
Other
participants.
We
ate an early lunch because todays excursion to the whirlpools started at about
noon. We piled into two buses and got a
quick tour of the bustling town of Bodø, which can get into the high 80’s in
summer and seldom below 15℉ in winter.
But they get wind, rain, sleet, ice and snow in the same day. Of course, they reliably get little or no sun
during winter.
The
big attraction here is the Saltstrumen Tidal Current. There is a long, wide bay, Seinesbugten, (that
the tide easily flows into) next to a large volume fiord, Skjerstadfjorden, with a long skinny neck (that the tide does
not flow easily into). The end of the bay
is connected to the fiord, just as the necked region opens up. The connection
between the two is narrow, 400 feet, with an island in the middle yet.
At
maximum there can be almost 100 billion gallons of water (total in 6 hours)
flowing at 33 mph (peak) through the gap.
Fluid mechanically speaking – that’s turbulent flow,
The
best way to get an idea of it is via video.
This clip was captured, at great personal risk, by noted nature cinematographer,
Francie Nelson.
We
saw this interesting architectural specimen on our way back to the bus
Cruising
on, I found an ideal summer get away cottage -- no snakes, no high A/C bills,
no neighbors.
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