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.
