15 September 2023

We woke up in Trondheim and were in no hurry to get out of bed. We had been here a few days ago and didn’t see the need to rush. Until we did!!

Grahame and I decided to go for a little walk before breakfast. We ended up back at Nidaros Cathedral which was good for two reasons. 1. Grahame hadn’t visited it yet, as he was kayaking the other day , rather than touring the town.

2. It was early, and I should be able to get a pic with no one in the foreground.

There was actually a third reason for visiting, but it didn’t pan out. The little shop was closed. So no new pin for Emily.

At the cathedral, we checked the time and did the maths. The boat was leaving at 9:30. It was 8:45. Google maps told us our return trip would take 21 minutes. Better get our skates on. Grahame had already had one near boat miss (in this very town) and we didn’t want a repeat.

We power walked/ jogged back past the “Kissing Bridge”. Grahame yelled from behind asking if I wanted a kiss in order to keep our marriage alive. “Nah, don’t have time.!!” We made it back with a few minutes to spare. Maybe I should have said yes. We still have another 6 weeks of travelling!!

It was a quiet day on board today. There weren’t many stops. Our day was spent either out on deck soaking up the sun or up in the pointy but reading, blogging, listening to podcasts, and enjoying the scenery.

There has been a distinct lack of wildlife viewing to date, so when the Expedition Leaders announced a lecture on Orcas, Emily and I were down to the lecture room in a flash. If we couldn’t see them, at least we could learn about them!

Emily’s Orca knowledge far outweighs mine, but we both learnt something. For example, in the space of 15 years the local orcas had followed the herring further north to Tromsø (as a result of climate change) and have gone through several different methods of feeding. First there was the Carousel method (herding the herring into a tight ball and taking it in turn to eat while the others continue herding). Once the humpback whales caught wind of this, they took advantage of the Orcas’ hard work and would appear from deep, deep below and gobble the orcas dinner. Not to be outdone, the orcas moved their herding methods closer to shore to avoid any humpback surprises. Now the humpbacks got a little peeved and decided that if we can’t beat them, we might as well join them. The orcas reluctantly agreed to a truce and began working as a herding team. The herrings realised what was going on and decided to escape even further north, which wasn’t the wisest move, because this is where all the trawler fisherman were waiting. So the latest orca/ humpback whale feeding frenzy now occurs off the back of the trawlers, where the herring fall out of the nets, straight into their waiting mouths.

On one of my many circumnavigations on Deck 5, I came across this bloke and suggested he needed to back upstairs “keeping an eye on the road”. He assured me that the boat was in good hands and it was ok for him to be out getting some fresh air. Phwew.

Grahame and I had walked past the Icecream bar every day now without a sideways glance. But today was our last full day in board and we caved. It was the perfect conditions for Cloudberry and Vanilla icecream. So we did!!

Kristiansund N was our main stop of the afternoon. What a stunning place. We wandered the port area for an hour or so, enjoying the sunshine and admiring the views.

We enjoyed our stroll, looking at the shops, “smelling the roses“ and checking out the old boats.

Even the manhole covers were interesting.

What a picturesque town. So many photos!!

Back on board, we headed further away from the coast and the weather changed considerably. A few hours ago we were eating ice cream in the sun, and now we were up the pointy end, inside, riding the swell. We have become so used to sailing through protected seas, in and out of islands and fjords, that this sudden bumpiness (more rock’nrolliness really) came as a surprise. In the scheme of things the swell was pretty small, and our drinks didn’t fall off the ledge. (The barman did come and collect the empty glasses pretty quickly though).

Although it wasn’t overly pleasant, it certainly gave us an insight into life on the slightly higher seas.

There were a lot less people at dinner tonight. (Seasick?). Once again our meal was fabulous. Even the cheese plate for dessert was worthy of a photo.

The swell dropped in time for bed. We were much closer in amongst the islands and were more protected from the conditions. Fortunately!!

But one thing for certain, as we prepare for our last night on board, we sure had a swell time.