At Sea

Aboard the MS Nordstjernen 

Svalbard

August 8, 2015

My friends,

Here are a few facts about Svalbard:

Svalbard formerly known by its Dutch name Spitsbergen is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole.

Svalbard is the northernmost settlement in the world with a permanent civilian population. 

At Sea

MV Nordstjernen

August 9, 2015  

“Logodile”

I first heard the word logodile on a motorboat trip on the New River in Belize.  Our destination was Lamanai, the archeological site of an ancient Mayan city deep in the jungle.  Along the jungle river route we encountered what you might expect at 17 degrees north latitude in Central America:  a thick green canopy of variegated flora and several species of birds. 

One bird in particular remains vividly in my memory:  a slight creature that gingerly scampers across the water atop the lily pads.  Who can remember the proper name of this species?  But the nickname is unforgettable: the Jesus Bird!

Plants and birds are fine, but somewhere out there lies an ancient, yet elusive reptile species.   We search and search and search.  Suddenly a passenger excitedly shouts, “I see one!  I see one just over there!”  The passengers scamper over to see.  The tour guide takes a look and calmly responds in his oft repeated nonplussed manner, “Sorry folks, it’s only a logodile.”  (A portmanteau word if there ever was one!)

There are no reptiles and nothing green here in the Arctic Ocean, at 78 degrees north latitude.  There’s plenty of black and white and blue - a very special beauty.   Plenty of sea birds too who make a living in the frigid north and surely some of the passengers aboard ship are counting and cataloging them. 

Binoculars, however, are mostly focused on the surface of the sea and on the distant shorelines.  We search and search and search.

Searchin'   The Coasters. 1957. 

Kirkenes

Norway

August 15, 2015

Hello,

So I leave my hotel and take a walk around the empty streets of Kirkenes, the embarkation point for my cruise down the coast of Norway.

Weather is still mild in this Arctic town.  A lovely church.  Flower boxes adorn the homes and businesses.  Boats in the harbor.  A War Memorial.  The Second World War was particularly harsh here.

Kirkenes is only 225km (140 mi) from Murmansk, Russia.  Signs here in Cyrillic.

Henningsvær

Lofoten Archipelago

Norway

I love taking photos at this fishing village.  (Population 440).

The sun is bright.  The colorful buildings along the inlet seem to be admiring themselves in an aquatic mirror.

Henningsvær is part of the Lofoten Islands chain. A good place to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Gjógv

Eysturoy

Faroe Islands,

July 24, 2015

Makiko and Hiroshi are excellent travel companions.  We meet by accident somewhere on the island of Eysturoy and since I am driving and they are taking the bus from place to place, they eagerly accept my invitation to travel together.

We decide that the town of Gjógv would be our intermediate destination.  The small town sits at the northerly tip of the island.  The map shows that there is a restaurant there.

Copenhagen

Denmark

July 22. 2015

Dear Friends,

As its name implies, Copenhagen is a town that has a long history of international commerce and trade. 

The name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning "merchants' harbour", or Hafn or Havn ("harbour").

Wherever I walk, I find water: rivers and canals and the open sea.