ALTA – AURORA HUNT

Today we arrived in Alta.

It was a long, slow arrival, heralded by several magnificent hours of what the captain described as ‘scenic cruising’. First we had to pick up the pilot from one of the outlying islands, and then sail our way down the length of Alta Fjord, much of which happened while I was running my line and wash classes in the morning and afternoon. In fact, as I was teaching, seeing the snowy mountains pass by close to the ship, and the hordes of passengers enjoying the fresh air out on deck, and an opportunity to photograph said mountains, was more than a little frustrating.

The good news is; by late afternoon, all my classes were complete, and I was able to join Tracey out on deck for the very last part of the dramatic sail-in.

Alta is located inside the Arctic Circle, and while not being the most Northerly or attractive port in Norway, it certainly has one of the most dramatic backdrops. The mountains were quite magnificent, and as late afternoon turned into early evening, the long shadows and last glimmers of light from the sun increased its impact.

At 5:30pm, we attended a short lecture in the Playhouse Theatre from the managing director of the company responsible for the coming evenings ‘Hunting the Aurora’ excursion.

Soon afterwards, we went up to The Grill for dinner, with plenty of spare time before having to be back in the Playhouse yet again, to await the start of our evenings excursion.

Over the two eveings that we are here, there are two such trips scheduled, one starting at 7:15pm and the second starting at 9:15pm. We’d opted for the later one.

I think it’s worth saying that these trips, on other cruise lines, can cost well over £100 per person. Essentially, they take you out to somewhere remote and dark, the location, chosen from several possible alternatives, being based upon the most recent Aurora forcast. The signs were looking good for this evening, and there was a tangible sense of anticipation as we set out in the coaches. One of the jobs of the earlier lecture was to manage expectations; build the event up naturally, but also temper it with the reality of just how much of a gamble the exercise is, and always has been.

Along the way, we pulled over briefly so that everyone could pile out and see the faint beginnings of an aurora, building up the expectations by small degrees. After all, everyone was dressed in multiple layers for the experience. I had a full thermal layer of undergarments, a t-shirt, fleece, a thick outdoor coat, a waterproof overcoat and a hat and scarf to top it all off. It was warm inside the coach, so most people had taken a few layers off, and it took several minutes to get re-togged in readiness for the low outdoor temperatures.

The lights weren’t much to shout about at that point, but we were constantly being told that they were – hopefully – gearing up for the big one later.

Once at our final location, folks dispersed into a large space allocated for prime viewing. Adjacent to this, fire pits crackled and passengers huddled around them, awaited the appearance of ‘the big one’.

Sadly, it never came.

For such a supposedly remote and dark location, there were many light-based distractions. The bright headlights of cars appearing over the brow of a distant hill seemed to be specifically located in order to de-train the eyes. If that wasn’t enough, the moon shone like a huge bright beacon on the horizon behind us… I don’t think I remember ever seeing the moon quite so bright.

Despite the aurora no-show (other than some vague wisps similar to that shown above), we still enjoyed the outing. The drive out took just over an hour, as did the return journey to the port, leaving roughly an hour for us to stand around togged up to the nines like Michelin Men with cameras poised and ready for action. The surrounding mountains were spectacular by moonlight and the glow from the fire pits added extra ambience and a sense of adventure. Some passengers grumbled, naturally… but then some passengers will grumble at the slightest thing.