Day Seven at Sea - Alta
Well, we were to arrive in Kirkenes , on the Russian border, today.. until we had a briefing - in which the captain, and a couple of other officers, explained to us just how bad the weather conditions were going to be up there in the next couple of days, a storm causing winds of Force10-11 on the Beaufort Scale , and 40-foot waves. With the 10-foot waves we had over Christmas, which caused a lot of seasickness, nobody was going to disagree with the captain's decision to avoid it - particularly when he pointed out that it'd last for 48 hours. No, we skipped Kirkenes entirely, taking shelter in Alta . It's their standard safe haven, apparently - and lo, they advertised last-minute excursions there, so I booked onto the city tour. I had to finish breakfast early - we had a 9.30am start! And I have to say, I wasn't mad about the organisation of this tour - we were told to meet on the pier, but the guides were actually up on the main road with the buses! ...