Sara, one of the team members of PolarQuest’s ever busy and creative Marketing department, travelled with M/S Stockholm through the magnificent fjords of Tromsø during five days in early November. Below can you read about an adventure that made her sure of what paradise on Earth looks like.
I will probably never forget how my expedition in Tromsø started. As I stepped out of my cabin, I met one of our guides Andreas who eagerly asked me "have you seen them?". I replied "who?" but the very same moment I understood it was a silly question to ask. I wasn't properly awake yet. Andreas was fully dressed in his warmest clothes - he obviously meant the orcas!
We ran out on deck, I did not have time to put on my warm clothes, even less to lace my boots, so I had to settle with my sneakers. But that was alright. It was warm enough outside and to see these fantastic animals up close, just next to the ship, made everything else fade away.
Orcas were not the only ones to circulate the ship in their search for herring. Among them there were a few humpback whales too, and during our trip we would experience several thrilling encounters with these impressive giants of the sea.
I had seen northern lights one time before, and even if it did not last long or was particularly strong, it felt magical to see the green light dance across the night sky, and since then I have dreamed of seeing it again. Knowing that Tromsø with its unique location on 70 degrees north and straight beneath the auroral zone is one of the sites where northern lights occur most frequently in the whole world, I cannot state anything else than I sincerely had hoped for a night clear enough to unveil this beautiful phenomenon for me once again. And I got lucky! One starry night, at approximately eleven o' clock, we went back onboard to wake up the guests who already had went to bed since we had promised them the same day not to let them miss any of it. Even though it was quite late and a bit chilly outside I do not think anyone who went up that night have, or ever will, regret it.
Some of those who have seen the northern lights witness about a crackling and whining sound, almost like fire, and perhaps then it is not too difficult to imagine that once upon a time the Earth which was considered flat also was considered to be surrounded by oceans and fire, and that it was when the light from these fires became so strong that they were reflected in the sky that northern lights occurred. Another theory was that glaciers were able to absorb and collect so much energy that they eventually became illuminating. Surely, however, the northern lights have been marveled and admired by humans through all times.
Text: Sara Larsson