We awoke to some big bumps in the ocean with the swell from an approaching large storm system during a stretch on the open seas (much of our trip has been in sheltered, less bumpy fjords) between about 5:30am and 8:00am. Undeterred, breakfast gleefully consumed on onto planning the day.

In the hour or so leading up to docking in Alta, we were treated to an absolute spectacle in the sky. Whilst the sun doesn't come above the horizon, it does lighten the sky. In between low and fast moving clouds, we were amazed by the appearance of the sky with colours like nothing we'd seen. It looked as though there were faint rays of sunshine illuminating the underside of stratospheric clouds in colours of pink, purple, green and light yellow...all pastel. Quite a spiritual experience and one I won't forget in a hurry.

Just as the sky began to turn yellow near the horizon, looking towards our destination city of Alta as we approached from the north, I spotted a large dorsal fin off the right of the boat, and thought maybe it was an orca. We kept looked and saw it a few more times. The boat announcement said that there were some in the vicinity and so suddenly hundreds of others joined us on the deck!!!!

On arrival in Alta, at 70 degrees north, the sky was already starting to dim at 1pm, and we were told that shuttle buses were available from 2pm to take us the 3km into the centre of the town. Undeterred, we decided to have a crack at walking there through the snow. A great adventure with our snow shoes and layers did the trick nicely. Unfortunately, I've got a little bit of a cold that certainly made for plenty of sneezes and a running nose, but not too bad. Without getting too lost, we arrived in central Alta at a bit after 2pm. Being the 26th December, shops were mostly closed but still nice to look around. We found a local street fire, stocked with birch timber that warmed us beside an open air ice rink where small children were learning to skate.

We walked on ahead to the Cathedral of the Northern Lights; the main attraction of the town. A beautiful structure that at times forms the backdrop for the night time spectacle. It was actually a bit touristy and despite being pretty, the large number of people clearly not well adjusted to the cold made for a bit of a scrum getting in and out!

So, we decided that Bronnie would bus back and I wanted the extra walking (given the vast quantity of delicious food being consumed...you gotta move a little more Timmy). Finding the buses was a chilly challenge and with only a short detour for Bronnie to purchase some of the local choccy candies, we eventually found their departure point.

I have discovered a physiological anomaly the past couple of days. When I go from warm to cold, I get a significant urge to pee...not always convenient when in public, although the dark skies and snow piles have provided the necessary privacy (twice yesterday!!!!).

So, we returned to the ship to be notified that our next stop cannot be reached as there is an approaching hurricane to the west of here with high winds (180kmh) and seas (12m swell) making the sailing and the docking in Honningsvag not possible, so the alternative more protected location of Hammerfest has been chosen. It is the northern most city in the world, and despite missing the opportunity to travel to the very tip of europe, this traveller is more than happy with "near enough is good enough".

Excitingly also, is that the time aboard ship has seen Bronnie digging back through her ancestry (looking for the origins of her Scandinavian genetics). Previously she had run into dead ends, each time in England with no real evidence of names or locations of ancestors that show a clear connection to this part of the world. However, through her mothers line, she has been excited and able to find that she has extensive links back to royalty both in England and Scandinavia including Rollo (father of William the Conqueror), numerous Kings of regions in England, Sweden and so on, plus one line that also has connections with Iceland. Extremely exciting and interesting to find!!!!

We dock in Hammerfest at midnight tonight and the forecast is for extreme wind for much of tomorrow so it might only be a short trip off the ship. I'd love to go for a walk up into the landscape but the weather is what it is.