Hammerfest & The North Cape

Last night there was another Northern Lights report, so we got out of bed just after midnight, dressed warmly and took the camera with us. Unfortunately this time it is less active than the previous night, but it remains a beautiful spectacle. After half an hour outside we were done, but the warm bed won over Aurora. Today we stop at Øksfjord, Hammerfest, Havøysund and a long stop at Honningsvåg. The intention was to visit the North Cape, but this long bus ride accompanied by a snow plow was canceled due to high winds and avalanche danger. As we write this item, the boat has left for Kjøllefjord, Mehamn, Vardø and our next excursion stop Kirkenes (to the ice hotel and a husky farm). A trip of several hours across the Barents Sea, not really a bad stretch of water. And that trip started turbulently, we were lying quite diagonally due to the wind and with the swell of the sea, the empty glasses at the bar fell over. Mmmmm we could be a little quieter. So far we have only had smooth sailing, but that seems to be over now. By the way, the perceived temperature in Kirkenes tomorrow will be around -23 degrees. Our excursion to the North Cape was canceled due to the weather. That's why we disembarked in Honningsvag to stretch our legs. We had spotted a cute wooden church upon arrival and wanted to see it up close in the absence of any other tourist attraction. When leaving the boat we received all kinds of advice from people who turned around at the end of the street. The wind with the blowing snow was unbearable, they were 'snow blasted', but we were nice and warm in our Arctic equipment. We quickly found the church, but unfortunately it was closed and because there were few alternatives we went back to the boat. Shortly after the boat left at 2:30 PM, the sun was setting and there was little to photograph due to the bad weather. We also had other plans for the afternoon because it turns out that a friend of whiskey Hans (a good acquaintance of Andries) is also making this trip. Contact was established between Wim/Karel through contact Hans/Karel and Hans/Wim. We had a nice chat this afternoon and the world is small because Wim is originally from Heemskerk and it turns out that today is also Wim's birthday! That should be celebrated. Wim and Reinske have lived in New Zealand for years (you meet those New Zealanders everywhere) and they also seem to know the Dutch shop near Mount Egmont where we once bought chocolate sprinkles (for Krista) and potters. The windows are so dirty from the seawater, snow and ice that we can't see if it is clear enough to spot the Northern Lights. According to the various apps, it is almost certain that Aurora will show up again tonight. After dinner we put on our North Pole gear again unless the captain announces earlier that there are Northern Lights, then everyone runs outside or he closes the doors if it is too dangerous to walk on deck.