Taste of Vesteralen

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Just north of the Lofoten Islands and the Arctic Circle, the archipelago of Vesterålen reaches out westwards from mainland Norway and into the Atlantic Ocean. Since our ship was Hurtigruten MS Vesteralen, we had to sign up for this optional excursion.

Harstad - Trondenes Chruch 

Our tour started with a short sightseeing jaunt through the streets of Harstad before traveling by bus to the Trondenes peninsula. The first stop was at Trondenes Church, a white medieval church, one of North Norway's premier cultural heritage sites from the late Middle Ages.


Trondenes Historical Center


Set in historical surroundings on the Trondenes peninsula, just outside Harstad center, is the Trondenes Historical Center.

After visiting the interior of the Trondenes Church we walked along the pathway to the center building. The sun glistened on the water and snow making for some great photo opportunities.

Once inside the building, we visited an exciting exhibition complete with sounds, smells, and original objects from the region throughout history from the Viking and Middle Ages through today.

Hinnøya Island & Crossing Gullesfjord by Ferry

Our bus tour continued across Hinnøya Island, where we viewed beautiful fjords, steep mountains, and large fertile agricultural fields. We continued through the winding roads until coming to the ferry boarding location.

Our bus pulled onto the ferry, we unloaded, and went upstairs to a cafe where we enjoyed a hot drink and some freshly baked cakest.  It took about 30 minutes to cross the Gullesfjord by ferry, and then we drove off to continue our tour.

Sigerfjord to Sortland 

The tour then continued along the Sigerfjord to Sortland. We stopped at a scenic overlook and then proceeded through the region, where we rejoined the ship. This was a very enjoyable excursion.

For those that opt to stay onboard the ship instead of touring, the island groups of Lofoten and Vesterålen offer some of the most stunning scenery you see during the entire coastal cruise. The Lofoten region is renowned for its natural beauty with steep mountains, wild nature, and small, picturesque fishing villages. The daylight sailing route through the Lofoten Islands is a highlight for many of Hurtigruten's guests.

Additional photos can be found on our Norway Shutterfly page

Harstad
Trondenes Church
Trondenes Historical Center
Hinnøya Island
Gullesfjord by Ferry
Sigerfjord to Sortland





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Penguins of Punta Arenas

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Mission Accomplished

All my life I've had a fascination with penguins.  Growing up in Chicago, I had the opportunity to see them at the Shedd Acquarium.  When we went on our Galapagos Xpedition Cruise, there were some penguins on the rocks that we could view from our zodiac.

I've seen a few penguins in captivity on other cruises as well.  The thought of being amongst thousands of penguins is what drove our decision to book this South America cruise.

When we think of penguins, we often picture ice and snow. But only a few species of penguins live in Antarctica and withstand that continent’s coldest temperatures. Most penguins in the world—ten out of seventeen species—live in temperate areas and never see ice or snow.

Penguins First Look

Day 6 we arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile early in the morning.  The captain had been concerned the day before that we might not be able to get into port due to forecasted high winds.  The safe wind speed for port operations is 35 knots and the forecast was for 50 knots. Fortunately, the weather was better than expected and we arrived on schedule.

After breakfast we went to Wheelhouse Bar to get a tender ticket for our tour.  When we arrived at the bar, they had already begun staging the groups in the theater, so we got our sticker and proceeded to the designated section for our tour.  It wasn't long and our row was called and a guide escorted us to deck 4 and a waiting tender boat.

It was about a 15-20 bus ride to the dock where we'd catch the ferry boat which would take us to Magdalena Island.  The ferry ride took about two hours.  As we boarded the ferry, we were given lunch bags.  They consisted of a sandwich, cookies, juice box, bottle of water, cup of fruit, and a cereal bar.   Most passengers opted to save it for the return trip.

Magdalena Island

The island is located in the Strait of Magellan.  The rockery on the island is one of Chile's largest and most important Magellanic penguin breeding sites.   Currently there were 65,000 pairs along with growing baby penguins who were shedding their fuzzy skin.

We disembarked the ferry's ramp directly on the shore.  After a short walk, we were greeted by the first penguins who were going about their daily routines without paying much attention to us.  The pathway, marked by ropes on either side, cuts through the colony of burrows many of which contained breeding penguins.

About Magellanic Penguins 

These are the largest species of warm-water penguins. They have a white chin-strap marking, a pink line at their lower jaw, and a black bill. They are a noisy bunch, especially the "babies" who greeted us with squawks and shrieks.

Magellanic Penguins were named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who was the first to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in the mid-1500s through what is now called the Strait of Magellan. A temperate species, Magellanic Penguins are usually about two to two-and-a-half feet tall and weigh between six and fifteen pounds when fully grown. Their closest relatives are the other temperate penguin species: the Galápagos, Humboldt, and African Penguins.

Our Visit

We meandered along the trail stopping to observe and photograph these cute penguins in their natural habitat.  It was quite windy, so we opted to only go about half-way along the trail which was flanked by the sea on one side and the burrows on the other.  One could visit the lighthouse to view an exhibit.  We decided we'd rather enjoy the penguins that look at an exhibit.

Our intention was to observe the penguins enjoying themselves for as long as possible.  In fact, we were the last ones to return to the ferry.  The guide told us we had to leave, otherwise we could have stayed there all day.

Do you like Penguins?

We highly recommend adding a Southern South America cruise to your bucket list.  The season is short (January - March) so you'll probably need to plan it for next year at the earliest.

I don't like to do much promotion in our blog, but Princess Cruises has an Anniversary Sale through the end of February which includes itineraries in South America.  You might consider booking now to take advantage of the extra onboard spending money.







Related Albums:

Punta Arenas Penguins


Note:  we will be adding to these albums as we continue our journey.

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NCL Dawn Bermuda - Crystal & Fantasy Caves

The Crystal & Fantasy Caves of Bermuda topped our "must see" list as we left for our 7 Night Bermuda Cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. This attraction is accessible from either Hamilton or St. George, Bermuda.

After arriving in King's Wharf (Dockyards), we disembarked the ship and stopped at the Tourist Information booth at the pier. We purchased 3 day passes for the Sea Express Ferry and Public Buses. The cost for the 3 day pass was $28 each. We weren't sure if we'd need the pass for all 3 days, but decided that if we didn't want to walk in Hamilton, we'd be glad we purchased it ahead of time.

The attendant told us where to board the ferry (across from the Bone Fish Bar & Grill) and we headed that direction. Upon our arrival there were two ferries boarding. One ferry was headed to Hamilton and the other to St. George. Originally we had planned to take the ferry to Hamilton, but after talking to the attendant at the ferry, we decided to take the St. George ferry instead. It would be a shorter bus ride to the caves from there (only about 10 minutes instead of 45 minutes to an hour from Hamilton).

Arriving in St. Geroge about 30 minutes later, we discovered that there were two other NCL ships in Bermuda. Due to the large number of tourists in town, the bus company had put extra buses into service. We walked from the ferry dock down the street about a block and boarded one of the special buses to the caves.

Upon arrival at the caves, we purchased the combo ticket for both Crystal and Fantasy caves. Each cave takes approximately 30 minutes to tour. It is worth seeing both of the caves.

Let's turn back the clock to 1884 when the Wilkinson family, owners of the property, learned about the cave. They immediately set about exploring the cave (which is known as Crystal Cave today). Their fourteen year old son, Bernard, crawled through a small hole with only a bicycle lamp. He had 140 feet of rope tied to a tree as his only life line. It was dark, damp, and cold. He could only see a few feet in front of him as he carefully crawled through the cave.

(Resetting the clock to today) You enter the same cave, but today you enter through a doorway. A cement stairway with a guardrail replaces the dirt path that Bernard used. Electrical lights light the path instead of relying on a bicycle lamp. It's a little damp and cool, but you are quite comfortable in your t-shirt and shorts. You walk along the pathway and are surrounded by stalactites hanging down from the ceiling of the cave.

The tour guide turns off the lights for a few minutes (after warning us).
We can now imagine what Bernard saw when he crawled into the cave.

Taking pictures with your flash in the total darkness produces fantastic photos. (click this link for our Crystal Caves photos and this link for our Fantasy Caves photos).

We retrace our steps and exit the Crystal Cave. Our new guide greets us and directs us to the entrance of the Fantasy Caves. There is a steep staircase that descends to the floor of the cave. For safety reasons, our guide asks us not to take any pictures until we are all safely at the bottom of the staircase.

Fantasy Cave is very similar to Crystal Cave, however it's the interesting shapes that makes it unique. One can use their imagination to "see" various shapes in the stalactites and stalagmites. If you've seen Pirates of the Caribbean, you might notice a familiar shape in the second collage above.

Another thing that makes Fantasy Cave different is the various colored lighting that accentuates the various shapes in the cave. We made our way to the rear of the cave. Since there isn't a lot of room in some spots, only a few people continue at a time. The guide repeats his narrative as often as needed to be sure everyone hears about the various fantasy shapes. Once again the lights are turned off for the full dramatic experience of the cave.

We were certainly glad that this was our first stop in Bermuda. We would not have wanted to attempt this on the Hamilton port day. There was still plenty of time for other sightseeing following our visit to the caves. In my next post, I'll continue with some other attractions.