The captain came over the loudspeaker at 7 am this morning: “In ten minutes we will be passing a globe which you will see on an island on our port side”. As promised we saw the globe and passed north of the Arctic Circle. Given the warmth of the Gulf Stream, the temperature hovers around 32F. However, when on shore, if one leaves the water behind and climbs to any elevation, the temperature drops quickly.

This region along the Norwegian Coast is starkly beautiful. The mountains come right down to the ocean, and the land is severe. Birds have been few and far between. We are entering an area where white tailed eagles are supposed to be numerous. I will keep my eyes on the cliffs, but today’s bird is another male Common Eider which I spied in the Bodo, Norway Harbor.

Norwegian Arctic Circle Sunrise

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Common Eider in the harbor of Bodo, Norway

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The Polaris, our sister Hurtigruten ship steamed alongside us after sunset last night!