Day at sea with lots of whales

As we walked through Honningsvåg yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice the local Kindergarten where the children were wearing snow suits and the teachers were well wrapped up against the elements too. And this is supposed to be their summer.

You know that moment when someone’s wise words come back to haunt you? William, our French server in the Arran restaurant was right to tell me not to complain about the announcements as this time the announcement was worth it. We were just at the point of feeling we were ready to go out on the town (ok, the ship), when said announcement came through that we had whales with us. I was hardly dressed for the arctic conditions, choosing a particularly flimsy dress to dine out in, so the option of going outside was a non-starter. So we joined the throngs in the bar and ohhhhhh’d and ahhhhhh’d as about 6 humpback whales lumbered a few miles in front of us. It’s really hard to watch and try to capture the moment at the same time. Also, at that distance, it really is hard with an iPhone. So you’ll just have to take our word for it as our pictures don’t really do the scene justice.

Dinner was a hive of activity. We’d barely sat down and ordered when the announcement came that we had reached the North Cape - the northernmost point in Europe. That was worthy of a chink of glasses. We were also organising a visitation with our friend and colleague Peter too. However, the thing which didn’t disappoint and hasn’t during any of our meals so far is our immediate neighbours who dine at the same time as us. We must be a complete nuisance to them as we blither on about “stuff” throughout our meal. Seriously, we have never seen them utter a word to each other. Have they been married so long that they don’t need to talk to each other any more? Do they simply not have anything to say to each other? Are they getting a divorce but agreeing to still go on one final holiday? Or what? We may never know.

This morning we work to 6 degrees. Getting cooler. We are learning, that for the sake of my fellow passengers, it’s easier for all concerned if Nick gets my breakfast for me. Seriously, this isn’t because I have Prima Donna tendencies (well, not more than normal anyway), but because I seem to aim for people rather than walking around them. Also, in my defence, the ship was fairly waggy this morning, so bands firmly remained on.

After breakfast, we loaded up on our layers and braved the north wind and set out for our 10 laps. Feeling all virtuous, we got back to the room, removed said gear and were just planning our morning coffee when the announcement came through the tannoy. Whales on the starboard side. All gear back on again…at speed. The engines were cut and we drifted silently. Again, the whales were a reasonable distance away, but we could see them clearly. I couldn’t believe I was the only one that worked out the whales were staying in the same place, but the ship was turning with the current. This meant that everyone remained looking where the whales had been. After a while I trotted off to the back of the ship and lo and behold, the whales were there but no crowds. Eventually, the ship’s engines started again and off we trotted.

Right, where were we, what had we been doing before we were ‘rudely’ interrupted by whale sightings? Ahh yes, a coffee and deciding what trip we would do when we got to Longyearbyen on Svalbard. TBH, none of the trips really appealed and they are all seriously eye-wateringly expensive. So we thought getting some expert knowledge would help with our decision-making process. The girl was really helpful and answered all my bizarre questions so well, that we recognised that the trips were actually largely a waste of time. My main question was, would we have a greater chance of spotting a polar bear if we went on a trip? Apparently not, our best chance of a sighting would be from the ship as we approached Longyearbyen. OK, that definitely helps with our decision-making process…we’ll do our own thing in Longyearbyen.

Just as we were saying our thanks and goodbyes, I spotted the now all-familiar fountain of water coming out of the sea. We were then treated to a lovely sighting of at least 5 whales. We still haven’t managed to take very good pictures, but you’ll get the gist.

After so much excitement, we really did need that brew and settled in the bar keeping an eye out for any more sightings. Only that got harder and harder as the conditions turned foggier and foggier. Oh, and I got queasier and queasier.

After lunch, I took to my bed looking pale and wan. Even with my bands on, I am still useless when it comes to motion. We are now barely moving we’re going that slowly, but there is something about my constitution that unless I’m in control (there’s a shocker Gabs!) I just get grim motion sickness. I guess it’s because we no longer have the protection of the land as we are now well and truly in the Barents Sea heading in the general direction of the North Pole. As I submit this missive, we’re now down to 3 degrees.