Saturday – Oops! (Leknes)

Today, we arrived in Leknes, what appears to be a beautiful place in the Lofoten Islands. I say ‘appears to be’ because, despite the time coming up to 11am, no-one has left the ship yet. An announcement was made quite early on telling us that, due to strong winds, we would not be able to tie-up alongside the quayside; instead, they would be operating a tender service. Unfortunately, we’ve managed to get stuck on a mud bank, and no amount of pulling by a local tug, or winching (a long rope attached to a buoy) has been able to shift us. An announcement by the captain a short time ago confirmed all of this, and explained that we would not be able to move until later this afternoon, when there’s a high tide; local tugs would then try again. Right at this moment, they’re just gearing up to try and get everyone off the ship for their tours. Ours is supposed to be leaving at 1pm, and we’re meant to be shoreside roughly half an hour before that…it’s now 11:15… watch this space. There are some beautiful-looking mountains, though; not as huge as what we’ve seen in the last couple of days, but beautiful nonetheless, with snowy peaks and bathed in the warm sunrise.