05/12/2019
Norway and its Northern Lights
Aurora Borealis-
This is for the seekers of something different , for adventurous travellers , a unique and scenically wondrous expedition that will take you 500km above the Arctic circle to a remote lodge located on a remote island in far northern Norway. The Arctic Panorama Lodge is positioned directly beneath the âAuroral Ovalâ â the âviewingâ platform for the auroral emissions that create the remarkable Aurora Borealis. Although this is situated 1800 kms north of Oslo, access is as easy as a walk in the park, sort of , a flight from Oslo to to Tromso, itself 350 kms north of the Arctic circle, with the final destination, Uloya island. This this is when the ordinary gets replaced by the extraordinary. It is a 3 to 4 hour journey through some of the most dramatic yet peaceful, sea and mountain vistas I have ever seen. Still waterways with reflected mountain ranges, deep blue fjords with solitary fishing villages, distant snow covered peaks , some rain and sleet and ice and then on the last ferry leg as twilight cast its slate coloured sheen on the bay, with the lights of the ferry port reflected in the water , a final burst of sunshine. A Hollywood biblical scene played out on the edge of the Arctic. An interesting start.
Once inside the warmth of the lodge and seated at the bar, tended by the gregarious lodge owner Svein , his wife and co-host, the estimable Aud busied herself preparing an extravagant dinner . Introductions were made with the assembled mini-UN. Two French female schoolteachers from outside of Bordeaux, a single mother and daughter from Colombia, she a Medellin medico, the ubiquitous Australian, a hirsute Scot who with whisky in hand immediately suggested a plunge into the hot tub on the outside deck. A deck that I was yet to see, but still accepted his offer. A lone New Yorker with an accent straight out of the lower east side and dressed like he was at an apres-ski bar in Aspen and last but certainly not least, a gay couple from Singapore , Clive and Michael. A veritable smorgasbord of style and taste and accent and good humour. Conversation never flagged for a minute until our host rang the dinner bell . We sat down for , I kid you not, moose stew , and roast salmon( more predictable), myriad roast vegetables and soup and finally, two hours later, ice cream and homemade cakes. I felt that at the end of dinner they would need a team of Alaskan huskies to get me up from the table and onto the deck for final drinks and coffee.
The hairy Scot and one of the French teachers were already in the spa tub. Svein our host, looked like he could chase down and eat the rest of the moose family and then suddenly disappeared to grapple with the clean-up, he is hands on . The Singaporian couple were locked in conversation with the New Yorker and the other French teacher with our Colombian friends. It was a wonderful convivial night, wholly unexpected, and topped by, as we eventually made our way out onto the deck, the most amazing light show , with clouds of floating luminous green smoke and streaks of purple haze covering the horizon directly above the Lodge, the Aurora Borealis. Where can it go from this I pondered , after a long dayâs journey from Oslo ,as I lapsed into a coma at around midnight.
The next day however, if possible, was even better. The weather was perfect, the fjord still, the sky a soft blue and after a sumptuous breakfast we all joined a local charter boat in search of whales. Although early in the season and with low expectations of any sightings we were about an hour into the amazing Lyngen fjord when suddenly the tell-tale water spout shot from the sea about 100 metres from the boat. To our right the arched back of a humpback broke the surface and then quickly followed a couple of Orcas. The isolation of the setting, the incredible stillness of the bay, the silence, made any ruffling on the water surface more profoundly vivid. It was a special experience and then it was over- not another whale or orca to be glimpsed again for the next two hours, but it did not really matter.
Our guide then decided to drop a line and the closet fisherman in me could not resist the offer to join in. After an hour of water and mountain gazing I remarkably hooked a fish, a miracle in itself and then even more so when it was landed and pronounced edible. It was destined for the table that night and would be my first halibut to catch or indeed eat. We motored back to our Skjervoy base and from the fjord had a wonderful view of the mountains that ringed the bay-particularly those that formed a backdrop to the fishing village of Havnnes , the northernmost operating trading post in Norway, with some peaks rising to 1500m, covered in snow and simply majestic. Havnnes town is a small, beautiful , white wooded, fishing village and trading post , seemingly floating on Lyngen fjord and has an extraordinary history dating back 6000 years. It is an absolute gem and at one with its environment, peaceful and elegant.
After a long day on the fjord doing little but dragging in the odd halibut, watching Orca, taking in the breathable crisp cool air and drifting into a torpor, free of the sounds and strains of modern city life, I found my mind drifting, inevitably, to dinner and drinks. Tonight we were to âvisitâ the Sami culture and to this end we were to congregate in a traditional Sami lavvu or tepee, conveniently erected on the premises. We were to start with drinks around an open log fire inside the tent- my first lavvu party as such. There were a couple of new guests that appeared for drinks, this time from Italy, Milan to be precise. The open fire and the cups of mulled wine locally called âGloggâ â another night on the glogg I thought- made for a relaxed mood for the brief but extremely interesting talk on the local Sami culture. The Sami people faced similar pressures to most indigenous cultures today â physical dislocation, cultural disregard, language destruction and ultimately loss of identity. They went from being a nomadic people following the migrations of the reindeer herds, fishing and hunting and eventually farming and then civilisation simply caught up with them. According to our Sami expert , there is now fortunately a greater understanding and acceptance of the Sami culture and people and they are now seen, as are our own first people, as protectors and custodians of the environment. The earthy odours of the Lavvu and the softness of the light inside the tent, the many cups of Glogg , created a unique sense of calm and well- being.
Our next step into Sami Culture was to experience traditional Sami food. Our wonderful chef de cuisine, Aud , prepared a Sami feast of significant proportions-reindeer stew served with cabbage, potato and carrot. This was preceded by a very unusual flavoured salted fish balls in a delicious broth , mopped up with âlefseâ a traditional Norwegian flat bread , and of course finished with more wonderful cake and ice cream. I had visions of obese Sami elders having similar difficulty to me in rising from and leaving an empty dinner table, nightly.
Again we struggled to the deck after this hugely satisfying meal to again witness a light show to surpass the wonders of the previous night. We were again in a very talkative mood, as this place, subconsciously seemed to act like a positive mood enhancer. The Milanese couple had a âgloggâ glow and were quite forthright about the advantages of free range reindeer stew and how they could identify the difference in flavours to farmed reindeer stew. Que! They now sounded like a Sami couple extolling the relative virtues of local reindeer cuisine. This was an interestingly esoteric discussion that intrigued our French friends, always the cuisine, bemused the New Yorker as he was moved to float the âreindeer burgerâ option to the horror of the French, roused the Scot from his whiskey stupor to nod and speak unintelligibly for an eon on Scottish cuisine- was there such an animal ? It sent the Colombians to bed as they like me were leaving the next morning.
I stayed on for a few more gloggs and silently watched the never ending light show, at peace. I slept very well that night.
I thought about my experience on the next day as we boarded the ferry for Rotsund and readied for drive to Tromso. I determined that it was simply the almost total immersion in this strange and beautiful environment with the horizon framed mountain vistas, the eerie silence of the Lyngen fjord , the unearthly stillness that envelops you and actually induces a hypnotic calm that intensifies your experience. I had been there for a total of 48 hrs and already was regretting my departure and wondering how I would re-enter civilization.
