Saturday – Later…
The Marco Polo does seem to have a habit of drawing attention to itself. Within an hour of it being confirmed that we’d managed to go and get ourselves embarrassingly stuck on a mud bank, a helicopter flew overhead and, by all accounts, local residents were driving down to the harbour to have a good ol’ gander at the stricken vessel. How did they know? Turns out not a lot happens in these parts, and we were headline news on Norway’s National Television (hm… sounds familiar…). Question is; who’s to blame? The Captain or the Pilot? As Richard, our Cruise Director was heard to say; that is something that will, no doubt, be argued out in a court of law…
Due to the delay, extra coaches and guides were drafted in to help clear the backlog of excursions; our excursion was to a Viking Musuem, with a photo-stop along the way.
To be honest, this wasn’t a tour that we’d necessarily have chosen for ourselves. We have been given some good escorting duties over the last couple of weeks, though, so escorting on some of the less popular ones is par for the course. Despite it being in the ‘less popular’ category, it was quite an enjoyable tour. The photo-stop was stunning, and the Viking museum had its interesting moments. We were all issued with headphones and a little gizmo that ‘synched’ with videos and exhibits on show. We were mostly encouraged to wander around freely, to enjoy the exhibits at our own pace, and in whatever order we wished. The two exceptions to this was, firstly, when we all had to sit through a short video in a small cinema, about the Vikings, and then, in the Chieftain’s house, when the guide (who I thought was a little bit strange), gave us a long, protracted talk about life in the building that had been reconstructed on the same site discovered by archaeologists in 1990. The smell of wood smoke and the impressive show of Viking artifacts was enjoyable. They were quite happy for us to sit on the throne, put viking helmets on our head and pose with viking swords. Animal furs hung everywhere, and despite lots of passengers wandering around everywhere, the atmosphere it created seemed quite genuine.
Back at the quayside, we took a tenderboat back to the ship, which at that point, was still stuck. A tug had failed to shift us this morning, and a large coastguard ship had been drafted in to be at the ready for high tide later. Divers had been down to have a look at the hull of the Marco Polo and determined that no damage had been incurred, to either the hull or the propellors. The good news is; we didn’t have to wait until high tide (which was due to be around 7:30) to be freed; by dinner time, we were on our way.
The going has been a little rough this evening. It’s raining, and the skies are very cloudy, so sightings of the aurora are looking increasingly unlikely. It was the Carmen duo’s turn to perform their classical concert in the Show Lounge (piano and violin). The performance was top-notch; unfortunately, there were a couple of occasions when the wobbly sea made its prescence known, tipping a couple of passengers unceremoniously out of their seats, and sending a few glasses crashing to the floor at the bar.
