26 September
Day 88
8 to go
We are on to our last leg. We have very mixed emotions. Our time is coming to a very fast end, we have loved being on holiday and exploring so many new and wonderful places. We are so grateful for the opportunity.
I woke still feeling unwell. My cough is now on my chest, I just hope I can keep it at bay. I did sleep well, so that will certainly help. The alarm went off at 8am and while we didn’t need to be in any rush this morning, we were both up and into it. Breakfast, showers and bags mostly packed by 9.15am, we decided to make the most of our final morning, heading out into the brisk 5°, but it was gloriously sunny. A beautiful final day. While my chest was tight and challenged on the hills, I was glad to be out of the apartment and making the most of my time.
We walked the park end of our street. We had a great view over Bergen wharf and the Children’s church. We passed the noisy school yard, rounded the point and then ventured up the other side, checking out the view of the other arm of Bergen.
We returned to the apartment for 10.15am. I was able to go through some of the photos, before we needed to complete the final pack up. We were out of the room at 10.50am, when we got news that our taxi was waiting. It wasn’t the same guy as Saturday, but a colleague. We didn’t mind as long as we got where we needed to be.
He drove us for the 30 minute journey to the airport, arriving for just before 11.30am. We went through all of the usual checks, collected bag tags, then dropped them on the carriage. We passed through the security check, unpacking and then repacking our carry on. We proceeded to wander through the lounge area, finding a hot chocolate and pastry to enjoy. We plonked ourselves where we had a view over the runway and waited for our time to board. We had a wait, as it wasn’t until 2.25pm. We were able to watch the SEM v United basketball game, which helped. Paul had a WhatsApp conversation with Marcello, organising our coming weekend. That is a crazy thing to be already talking about.
At 2.05pm, we boarded our flight. The plane turned out to be a jet not a prop. We had to walk all the way to the back, being in row 27 of 28. We weren’t able to place our bags in the bin above our seats, as it was allocated for crew, so Paul found some space further down and then we settled in to our seats, ready for the two hour journey.
The plane was in the air by 2.30pm. We had a clear view of Bergen, as we climbed up and headed north. The further we flew, the more rugged the country side became and it was coated in snow. Unfortunately we found the cloud by 3pm and visibility became difficult.
At 3.50pm, the captain was on the speaker letting us know we were on the approach to Tromso and had 20 minutes before landing. The cloud was thick, but there were odd patches of clear space. I hoped this meant we would have a successful Aurora hunt later tonight. We landed without a hitch, onto the wet tarmac. It was still raining, as we rolled to the waiting gang plank.
We joined the others, filing off the aircraft and into arrivals. We had a little wait for our bags and then it was into the brisk air and drizzle. We grabbed a waiting taxi and made for Skaret by Vander hotel. The drive was short, about 10 minutes and cost us 220NK. It was quite a simple process.
We located our room on the 5th floor, it had a view of the harbour and mountain, but we didn’t have time to take it all in.
We unpacked what we could, then went downstairs again and into a nearby supermarket for breakfast supplies and an easy dinner. We returned, cooked up the pasta and then gathered everything we would need for our night out chasing the northern lights. We changed into warm layers, packed heat packs for hands and feet and then we were out in the fresh air, walking the streets of Tromso, to the arranged meeting place for our tour.
Our guide, was waiting by his minivan, he checked us off and we joined the other chasers. There were 13 of us, from; Germany,South Africa, Texas and India. We were informed that tonight’s chase would be a little difficult. With the thick cloud, it meant we had a drive ahead of us and also a lot of crossed fingers.
We made our way to a service station, for a pit stop. We watched a documentary on the northern lights, which helped pass some time and then we made for the Finnish border. We stopped briefly in one spot, but the Aurora passed quickly, so we returned to the vehicle to continue the hunt.
We wound our way up a mountain, snow was thick along the edges and we wished we could get out and have a play, but our leader was determined to keep moving.
We eventually pulled over in a layover by the road and began to look skyward. White wisps of light were surrounding us. We were all out mesmerised by the sight. I tried to set up the camera but wasn’t having much luck. It was difficult not having all my usual gear, so I was just hoping for the best.
We stayed for about 30 minutes. We enjoyed a hot chocolate and some cake, while we were there. It was cold outside, about 1°c, but the thrill of seeing the lights made you forget and so did the hand and feet warmers.
The clouds began to cover our view and we knew that our evening was complete. We piled back into the van and made the 150km, 2 hour journey back to Tromso. It was a very quiet bus, most people enjoying some shut eye. There was also plenty of snoring from the Indians in the back.
Our guide dropped us off outside our hotel and we were back in the room just before 1am. We had had a great evening, but were ready to crawl into bed.
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