As I was thinking of my next destination for the coming holidays, I saw Bai, a dear friend post on her FB that she and her family are heading to Tromsø in two weeks time. I cheekily PM’d her and said “Let’s meet up in Tromsø!” She almost instantly replied “Let’s!”
Bai and I went to the same boarding school where for 5 years, we grew up together and formed the sisterhood bond. It’s been a year since I last met her and I just couldn’t wait to see her again.
The hotel Bai commissioned to stay in Tromsø was fully booked but luckily I managed to book the one next door.
Day 1: Friday, December 18
I arrived in Tromsø a day earlier than Bai. After a 3½ hour flight to Stockholm, followed by a 2 hour layover and another hour of connecting flight, I safely landed in Tromsø.
OMG! I just couldn’t believe it. I’ve longed to go to Tromsø for years and I’m now finally here, standing over 300km inside the Arctic Circle!
At the baggage collection area, Tromsø airport.
A 10 mins bus ride which cost 80NOK took me from the airport to the hotel, The Clarion Collection Hotel Aurora.
Day 2: Saturday, December 19
I spent the day mainly wandering around town. I’d love to be able to go on the fjellheisen, the cable car up Mount Storsteinen for a panoramic view of Tromsø but it’s closed due to reconstruction until February/March 2016. I’m out of luck there.
Much of the city centre is set on Tromsøya Island. It’s compact making most of the tourist attractions within walking distance.
The harbour
Roald Amundsen: The great polar explorer.
Polaria
Δ Lots of snow!
I HEART Tromsø
The wooden church.
Despite the Polar Nights, when the sun does not rise above the horizon between mid November to mid January, it is not totally dark during the day. There’s twilight. Looking back at the photos above, the town looks almost deserted and has an eerie sense to it. Trust me, it’s not. More and more tourist flock in to Tromsø every year so the town is bustling with activities. With the Christmas lights against the white snow, it felt magical.
Bai’s flight was scheduled to land at 20:00 so she wouldn’t be in time for the Northern Lights chase that night. I thought I’d try my luck and signed up for one with Tromsø Safari. Weather forecast was predicting cloudy all over but I was hopeful.
Back at the hotel, I made a stop at the dining room to make some waffles. This I love. The room rates come with breakfast, tea (where you can make your own waffles!) and light evening meal. Normally, when I travel, I like to dine out and sample different food. But in Norway where it’s super expensive, these all inclusive meals are a welcome.
At 18:50, I was in front of Radisson Blu hotel, the pick up spot for Tromsø Safari and a few minutes later, we were off on our hunt. Ricardo was our guide. We drove north-west but we got news that it’s cloudy all the way to the Finnish border so we turned back to the coast and headed to Sommarøya, which translates to Summer Island. There was a big explosion but because it was cloudy, we could only see the movements behind the clouds. But she was there.
# The Northern Lights dancing away behind the clouds.
Day 3: Sunday, December 20
Today we’re off to learn and experience a bit about the Sami life: one of Scandinavia’s indigenous people. We signed up for reindeer sledding with Lyngsfjord Adventure. The bus pick up is at Scandic Ishavshotel, where Bai’s staying, so we had a mini reunion before we got on the bus. Approximately an hour drive out of Tromsø took us to Camp Tamok.
Camp Tamok
There, we were given snow suits and boots to change into. They also provide gloves, socks and hats if you want to borrow.
Δ Bai and I, all geared up for reindeer sledding.
Δ Greetings from the host, Roar Nyheim and his wife.
The reindeers were selected and harnessed.
We were then split into 2 groups: one doing reindeer sledding first while the other was taken into a lavvu (the Sami traditional tent) to warm up and listen to stories about the Sami life. I was in the later group.
Roar, the host sharing a bit of his life story.
We then swapped activities.
I was excited as I got on the wooden sled covered with reindeer skin. The lead reindeer has the biggest antlers. The one pulling my sled has stubby ones. His must have fallen off a few weeks ago and new ones are growing.
FACTS: Do you know that reindeers grow new antlers each year?
The reindeers started to move, pulling the sled along. It was tortoise-like pace but that gave us the opportunity to simply sit back and marvel at the beautiful surroundings.
The leader.
My nose is itchy!
Reindeer sledding through the woodlands.
Don’t I have the best view?
A photo with Roar: taken when we stopped next to the frozen lake.
When we got back to the starting point, we unharnessed the reindeers and ushered them back into their fenced area. We fed them algae and lichens; a reward for their hard work.
Δ Feeding the reindeers.
We were then thought how to lasso, a method still used by the Sami to catch their herd.
Later, we were invited to a big lavvu where we were served hot drinks and tasty fish stew with bread. The whole day has been a bit wet so a warm place to dry and hot food were music to my ears.
On the way to the lavvu, we heard wolves howling, or at least that’s what I thought. They’re actually huskies taking visitors sledding.
After our meal, Roar asked me “Do you want to see the huskies?”
“Do we have time?” I eagerly asked.
“Yes, you have 2 mins” Roar said.
Well, our 2 mins became more like 15 mins but Roar did not rush us. He just stood to one side and smiled and let us pet and hug the huskies. They are well trained, adorable creatures.
We eventually made our way to the bus, sad that we’ll be leaving this serene place but feeling happy all the same. Roar proudly said that this is his home, his life. He would never want to trade it for the world. After only half a day at Camp Tamok, I can see why.
That night, we assembled in front of Radisson Blu to chase the Northern Lights. It has been raining throughout the day and the odds of seeing the Tricky Lady were slim. Still, we tried. It was a gamble that did not pay off. Not that there was no aurora. She was there. We just couldn’t see her behind the thick clouds.
Day 4: Monday, December 21
Bai and her family were off whale watching. I have a tendency for motion sickness so I told Bai I’ll pass. I have done whale watching in Brisbane and I figured it would be pretty cold out at sea for hours too. If you’ve never done whale watching, Tromsø at this time of the year is the best place to sight the big mammals. Bai talked so highly of the tour operator, Arctic Explorer. They spotted many whales that day.
I had my own agenda: snowshoe hill hike up Tverrfjellet in Kvaløya. Kvaløya actually translates to Whale Island but unlike Bai and her family, I didn’t see any whales that day.
I signed up with Tromsø Outdoor. Maybe it was because of the white Siberian Chic snow boots I was wearing that led Kasia to asked me, “Don’t you want to try the cross country skiing for beginners? What better time to try out Norwegians most favourite sport?”
She then added “The snowshoe hike is more physically demanding. The cross country skiing should be MUCH EASIER.”
I didn’t want to listen. So I told Kasia that my mind’s made up and snowshoe hike it is. Hey, I’ve got stamina. Yeah, right.
This is what happens when you don’t want to listen to the experts: I was ALMOST out of breath 10 mins into the 2 hour ascend.
§ The climb: All I see in this photo is the effort.
But I wasn’t going to give up. So I pressed on, even though I constantly had to play catch up with the rest of the group. “The Climb” by Miley kept playing in my head “Ain’t about how fast I get there…” Heh.
§ Yes, that tiny figure way in the distance is me.
I made it to the summit eventually. The fog came in a few meters before we reached the top so at first we could not see much of the surroundings.
Group photo at the summit.
As quickly as it came, the fog lifted and lo and behold, we saw this…
Snow covered mountains and fjords.
The descend was much easier. It was almost a jog down the hill and soon enough we were in the van on our way back to town.
Kinga, the guide and the rest of the group were very patient with me. Thanks guys!
Weather forecast, although much better than last night was still not that promising. Not knowing when, if ever will we be back in Tromsø, we decided to try hunt for the Dancing Lady one more time. This time we decided to go with Northern Lights Tromsø.
That night, we headed to Sommarøya with Stefán as our guide. Stefán was very good and things felt very organised. When we got to our destination, we were led into a big lavvu where there was fire to warm us up.
Δ Keeping warm next to the fire – with Nadia and Dania, Bai’s cute and chatty daughters.
We didn’t have to wait that long. Soon, Stefán called us to come out.
“The Dancing Lady is here” he said.
It was still cloudy. We saw a tiny bit of green but mainly it was the movement behind the clouds that we saw. Nonetheless, we went home feeling that we had seen something.
* She’s there.
* The camera managed to pick up what the naked eye could not see.
Day 5: Tuesday, December 22
Bai and her troops were heading to Bergen at midday. I had a 13:35 flight back to London to catch. But my gut feeling kept saying that I should stay for one more night. That tonight, the Dancing Lady will make her grand appearance.
I checked the weather forecast again. Still good.
Is there flight availability for tomorrow? Yes. Jeez, it’s going to set me back by £227! What the heck.
I quickly went down to the hotel reception and asked, “Can I extend my stay for one more night? Yes.
IT’S A SIGN. Everything’s working in my direction. So I stayed another night.
I texted Bai to tell her of my decision and said that I’ll pop by her hotel in a few minutes so that we could say our farewells.
Since I now have the afternoon free, and going to the museums didn’t appeal to me, I went back to Tromsø Outdoor.
“I want to sign up for the cross country skiing please, if there is still availability for today” I said. Like Kasia said yesterday, what better time to try out Norwegians most favourite sport, right? Plus, it’s from 13:00 to 16:00 which fitted into my schedule perfectly.
I never would have imagined that cross country skiing could be fun. Kinga was again our guide and thought us the basics of cross country skiing. Every now and then, some locals would whoosh by on their skis. How I wish I could be as good. One day.
At certain points, it snowed and I was worried that my attempt at chasing the Northern Lights one last time may just be futile.
§
§ Don’t I look like a pro? Yea, yea, it’s a bunny slope.
The area where we skied. It’s like a postcard.
§ Group photo – in the snow.
Back at the hotel, waffles in my tummy, I went up to my room to change and headed for the rooftop jacuzzi. My muscles needed it.
Simply heaven until…
I had the jacuzzi all to myself until two Chinese couples came and the guys started to lit cigars. Are you BLIND? Can’t you see the NO SMOKING sign? IDIOTS.
At 19:25, I was at the hotel lobby. Stefán was again the guide and even the bus driver remembered me from the night before. Our destination was again Sommarøya but this time the Dancing Lady was anxious to make an appearance. We were about ½ an hour drive out of town when we stopped by the roadside to witness yet, another amazing gift the Creator has bestowed upon mankind.
Fourth time lucky. I feel blessed and humbled by the whole experience.
*
*
*
*
The Northern Lights starting to fade away…
The Dancing Lady lit up the sky for nearly an hour and all of us managed to get some great photos to share with friends and families.
That night as I was taking some last minute photos of the harbour and the Arctic Cathedral, the Northern Lights graced its presence again. What luck! Despite the light pollution in town, the colour was very strong and as I looked up at the sky, I wished that Bai was next to me so that she too can see this magnificent phenomenon.
Please excuse the quality of the picture. In my haste, I neglected to change the setting.
The picture really didn’t do it justice.
The Arctic Cathedral at midnight.
Day 6: Wednesday, December 23
An early morning start to catch my 08:00 flight. I leave Tromsø with beautiful memories. Yes, like myself, many people come to Tromsø in search of the Northern Lights but this city has so much more to offer. Depending on the season, you could go hiking, cycling, whale watching, skiing/snowboarding, reindeer and huskies sledding, snowmobiling and lots more. This is where nature meets adventure and if you are an adventure seeker, you’d definitely want to add Tromsø to your list.
My view from seat 27D, cattle class.
Bye-bye Tromsø. Maybe next time I’ll come to see the Midnight Sun.
—-
Norwegian fly non-stop to Tromsø on selected days, a 3½ hour flight from London Gatwick.
There are daily flights to Tromsø from London but majority require connecting flights. I flew SAS and Norwegian, with a layover each way.