Tonight, on the way between Stamsund and Svolvær we went out on the back deck / helipad / night observatory and saw the Nordlys. Unfortunately they were not bright enough to appear green to the unaided eye but they were there and we saw them. The camera is much better at seeing color at night, particularly when you use a longer exposure time.
Last night I was able to get a few pictures of a “quiescent homogeneous arc” with both green and a little red but it was so faint I couldn’t see it with my eyes, just the camera. Tonight was much better on the first outing as I said above. After the stop in Svolvær we went back out and there were some lights again but they were less visible. We also the ship into the Trollsfjord; that being a narrow fjord with an entertaining history about a battle fought between fishing boats over access rights. It is narrow enough that the ship only just fits into it and because it is dark and windy they just positioned us at the opening and used the spotlights to let us see into it. We also walked through a couple of the little towns we’ve visited which was nice. We tried to find the state liquor monopoly store in Bodø but were unable and that’s probably just as well because the tax on alcoholic beverages is 80%.
Today was also the day we crossed into the Arctic Circle. We went up on the top deck at 7:00AM to watch the ship pass the marker and have a glass of breakfast champagne. Then we ate breakfast and I went back to sleep for another four hours, completely missing the visit from Neptunus Rex. Despite my inexcusable absence, mom and I still received certificates proclaiming our legendary adventuring prowess for having crossed into the Arctic. They’re signed by the Captain and everything.
All-in-all, a pretty exciting day.