Our second day in Tromso was a relatively early start. We took the 9am shuttle from the ship to the city center, where we waited for the minibus for our Nature Tour.
When we got off the shuttle, I went ahead to drop some postcards in the mailbox that I had found the night before. On my way, I found the Tiki Bar right across the street. Had I noticed it the night before, I could have had a drink! But alas, a picture will have to suffice.
Mom spotted a sign on the side of a building and insisted I take a picture of it. Some readers will get the reference.
We then boarded the mini bus with Simon from Poland, as our guide, and driver. Our first stop was at an old fishing village.
We drove around and made several stops. At the next stop, we did end up seeing about 8 seals in the water. And Simon told us he had gone snorkeling the day before!
We proceeded on and my sister, ever the wildlife spotter, say 3 reindeer on the left hand side of the road. Bear in mind I was in the window seat, and these reindeer were up the hillside. Simon stopped and backed up to an area we could pull off the road. Some people got out, but on the left hand side of the bus, we could see them just fine (and stay warm).
At another stop looking over 18 houses along the shore, my sister with the observant eye spotted a surfer headed out! We did see them catch a wave while we were there.
We proceeded a little further, and stopped by another body of water for our snack. It was a little rough going down, but someone had carved out some stairs in the snow. Simon had tea, coffee and hot chocolate for us, and had a pastry. After that, and before we journeyed back up to the mini bus, we took a group selfie.
Back on board, we returned to the area where the surfer had been at to use the facilities.
And then we started out 1 hour drive back to the city center. Simon then dropped us off at the ship, so that we didnt have to wait for the shuttle.
Our parents attended a non-denominational service, while my sister and I once again took in the spa. The sauna, cold plunge for her, sauna, snow grotto, vitality pool, and finally hot tub.
Then it wad off to dinner. Dad found shrimp cocktail and mom found chicken wings.
We were leaving Tromso that night, were scheduled to arrive in Narvik the next morning. My sister was going to do a snow shoe excursion, but upon getting back to our stateroom, discovered it has been changed to another location. She was able to get refunded. And our parents would be going on the Artic Train. You may see the foreshadowing here.
After we said our good nights and returned to our respective staterooms, there was an announcement by the captain. Due to an approaching storm system, we were going to have to skip our day in Narvik. The storm system was expected to bring 30 ft seas to the area, and he wanted to get out ahead of the system. So a little bummed we weren’t going to have another port of call above the Artic Circle, but it did mean we could sleep in and have a leisurely day.
