Day Four at Sea - Christmas Eve - Bodo
Today, I was supposed to be on a Sámi adventure - including feeding the reindeer! But I got a cancellation notice with my welcome pack, saying they'll refund me. A lot of fellow passengers are miffed about that too - one remarked that she was told they never do that excursion in winter anyway! In which case, why advertise it..? Now, it seems Christmas Eve is the main celebration here, rather than Christmas Day - which is a more plausible explanation. Still, a major mistake on their part, not contributing to the goodwill..
Saw something interesting at breakfast:
We stopped off at Ornes shortly afterward, but only spent 10 minutes there, so no sightseeing allowed. Still, I made my way up onto a very windy Deck 7 after breakfast, for a "crossing the line" ceremony - we crossed the Arctic Circle, early this morning. The views as we sailed away from Ornes were spectacular:
Well, the crew were out in force, jollying up the crowd by putting on a speaker with popular songs as they rigged up the scene. And then our VIP arrived - Njord, God of the Seven Seas!
And behold - as I'd already seen online - the ceremony consists of pouring ice water down some poor soul's back.. starting with the person who won the competition to predict what time we'd cross at! Helpfully, a seat is also set up right in front of the hapless victim, in which sits a photographer to capture the moment..
The icy victim does get a warming drink - I passed, and legged it back to my cabin. The scenery is beginning to be gorgeous:
I tell you what though, there's a great lack of snow.. only visible on the high hills, or in the distance. Temperatures where we are are chilly - particularly with windchill, which can be severe - but still, with rain today and forecast for tomorrow too, temperatures are staying in high single figures, up to 8 degrees..
Lunch started early, what with a proposed church service in our next stop, Bodo, which would use up the latter part of the timeslot. I scored a decent view:
They had turkey.. with mushroom sauce! No stuffing, mind.. the pumpkin soup was lovely, now that I've finally noticed where they keep that. And I had a decadent glass of chardonnay (sauvignon blanc not being available), and some cheesecake for dessert. As well as the company of one of my dinner companions, who came to join me, and wanted to hear about Vancouver, where I lived for a while.. Oh, and when I returned to my cabin, my polar certificate (to say I've crossed the Arctic Circle) was waiting for me outside..
(My cabin, BTW, is somewhere at the red stripe level - but around the other side.)
And of course, the cathedral is just across from it:
I got as far as going in, but could see someone handing out orders of service, so at that point returned to the ship.. glad to get in from the biting wind!
Planning to go to a lecture on Vikings shortly..
On St. Stephen's Day (AKA Boxing Day), I'll be at the North Cape (Nordkapp) - weather permitting. Seas are rough up there.
I arrive in Kirkenes, on the Russian border, on Saturday - apparently we can take photos, but can't cross! ;-)
We're in Hammerfest on Sunday.
And I'm at a midnight concert at Tromso Cathedral on Monday.
So, Christmas and New Year's on the boat! Just what I wanted. Back on New Year's Day - not as early - and taking the next day off, because it's a Friday - and back home to Ireland for the weekend, because it's been too long. The next two days are with CT - on the 5th, I'm back at the Hen & Chickens for Shake It Up: The Improvised Shakespeare Show.
And on the 6th, I'm at a comedy show - Live Next to the Apollo, at Riverside Studios.
On the 7th - my first Meetup of the year - I'm back with the Horror Book Club - assuming I get the book read in time! It's The House on the Borderland - and they're meeting in the Prince of Wales, as usual. Now, considering the lack of progress I made with Hogfather for my work book club.. we'll have to see.. I did at least finish the sample.. it's over a year since I was last with them for a book review! (As to Hogfather, we met last week (me virtually - I stayed at home because of my cough), and it turned out I was one of the ones that read most.. I had a last-minute sprint, and got to 71%..)
The next two days, I'm with CT at the Backyard Comedy Club.. again, it's been a while!
Then, four days in a row of Meetups, including five in total. On the 10th, two Meetups.. firstly, a walk titled Southwark: Seedy and Sublime with none other than Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies, yay! Haven't seen him since September, would you believe..
And that evening, back with The Hideout for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Venue and timings TBC, but it'll be somewhere around Leicester Square.
On the 11th, back with London Museums A-Z for T is for Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, an exhibition at The Wellcome Collection. Advertised, would you believe, while I was looking at my phone but not especially busy, in The Rockingham Arms recently - and this being the next unscheduled date in my diary, I was one of the five to snap up a place in the first minute!
On the 12th, with Up in the Cheap Seats again, for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo - a dark comedy set in Iraq - at the Young Vic. Booked for Bar + Block Southwark beforehand. Ooh, another place I haven't been in an age..
And on the 13th, I'm back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group for The Makropulos Affair, by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, at the Barbican - one of the group with a wildcard ticket couldn't go and kindly offered it for free, so I snapped it up. Eating at Cote Barbican beforehand. And gee, you guessed it.. Haven't been there since September, but was with the group slightly more recently, in October..
Comments
Post a Comment