This port was unusual in that we were due to arrive
at 6:00 p.m. in the evening. We actually got there early and as we came
in were surprised to see the Ocean Princess docked there. She was possibly
on the "Land of the Midnight Sun" cruise. We were reminded of the time we
were on that cruise and could not dock due to the wind, so we had to tender in for
the bird watching trip to Gjesvaer and
Stappen Islands. She pulled up her gangway at about 7:00 p.m. but
didn't leave until about 9:00 p.m.. I went on the King Crab experience
excursion which was quite eventful.
We firstly had to don survival flotation suits then clamber
aboard a 14 seater RIB, 12 passengers and 2 crew. We sped
off to the crab pot and pulled in a good catch. They
kept 4 and put some back (ready for the next tour). We
then continued to a landing stage at Sarnes where we were introduced
to the crabs and shown how they were prepared. We then
went to a Lavvo which could hold 60, they sometimes had coaches, so
there was ample room for the twelve of us seated around a log fire on
benches covered with reindeer skins. In the middle the log
fire had been started and there was a cauldron hanging over it with
water in to boil. The logs were a bit damp and took some
persuading (almost a whole bottle of lighter fuel) but eventually got
going and brought the water up to boil.
The prepared crab then went in for cooking.
We had complementary tea and coffee and could buy beer or wine.
When the crab was ready we all had a plate with a leg and piece of body
(although we were told most of that has no meat), some mayo and two pieces of arctic
bread. It didn't seem much, but then they brought round seconds,
thirds, and it just seemed to keep going. Eventually people began
to give up, but one brave soul was persuaded to have the last piece.
There was certainly plenty for all. I am not a sea food person, so
I brought mine back in a plastic bag for Carol, who had had to miss the trip.
She reported that it was the best crab she had ever tasted. I had a
taster and had to agree. We came back a slightly different way, he
hugged the shore to get the shelter of the mountain sides but it was more or less
the same route. I only tracked it one way. We made it back
to the ship with 5 minutes to spare, but the boat didn't leave on time anyway.
I saw the statue of Bamsa on the dock having heard the story from
Stuart Usher in his lecture the day before. This one is a replica
of the original at Montrose.
On our way back from Murmansk to Tromso we passed by the North Cape at lunch
time and the Captain did a loop coming in as far as was safe so that
we got a view of the sea birds nesting on the cliffs.
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