After our first night at sea, we docked in Molde at around 8am after another spectacular breakfast. Yesterday's post neglected to add that dinner last night saw us tempted into trying some more of the local foods. Bronnie braved the picked herring...Timmy tried whale meat (salami style), roast reindeer and some sheep head terrine. The whale meat was delicious as was the reindeer. The sheep head less-so. Hoping for three from three when it came to local protein delicacies, my hope was for lamb flavour. To be truthful, it would better have been described as like licking a sheep face then inhaling the smell from a sheep lung inflation during a science practical demonstration, followed by that unpleasant granular fat sensation occasionally experienced if the lamb roast fat wasn't rendered out properly during cooking. Oh well, at least it was tried.

Having missed out on booking onto the Atlantic Road bus tour when booking from Aus, we were delighted to manage to sneak onto it (courtesy of a well timed, pre-briefing visit to the expedition team). The photos will not do it justice! We boarded the bus at 8:30am, met by enthusiastic and proud driver and guide for the day. We drove north through a small town of Bud and onto the Atlantic road. Snow!!!!!! Never seen snow piled high on roadside like it. The scenery was simply unbelievable and can't quite believe I've made it here to see in person. The air is clean and clear. Along the coastline, the smell is quite different to Australia. The closest I can get to is something similar to the waters around Strahan in Tassie combined with below the waterline mark when collecting cunjevoi near Mowarry point when the wind is blowing and cool. Nothing like the more familiar marine smell.

The weather forecast was not favourable, but we were so fortunate that in the variable conditions of the day we saw some rain, some snow, some light breezes, lots of sky and a peek of the sun as it crept across the southern horizon between 10am and 3pm (daylight hours yesterday). As we push north these days will get even shorter!!!!

On return to Molde, we were treated to a beautifully patriotic rendition of the Norwegian national anthem in the bus by our driver. A brilliant end to a fabulous excursion. After getting off the bus, we had time to see some of the town of Molde where Bronnie bought a new scarf to go with her new boots, grippy shoe covers (for icy paths that we are slowly getting used to) and Norweigan head band (wool). A delightful extra was we went into the salmon farm information centre where we were shown through the process by an absolutely delightful Norwegian school student. She explained to us that this was part of a 6 week work experience process and that she hopes to become a marine biologist. A delightful young person with a bright energy that was so refreshing to see...there are young people on earth with a clean energy that is infectious. We are trying to work out how to send some sort of "congratulations" to her school or the farm! The process she described was similar to the one we heard of in Tassie. What we did learn is that the original brood stock were selected from rivers here in the 1970s and that despite all being salmon, they have characteristics of their local rivers that they return to for spawning. For example, a fish from a slower moving river will be longer, more slender and have a narrower tail than one that returns to its home river that might be steeper and faster flowing. Fish in these rivers are thicker tailed, shorter and more muscular.

The brood stock live 15-20 years and the initial artificial selection pressure was to find those fish that were least likely to try and jump out of the new enclosures!!! Then, growth rate, flesh colour and disease resistance. All fish are vaccination so antibiotic use is extremely low (only by vet prescription at a rate of 1%. sheep use is at 11% and humans 88%), with the main issue in the sea cages (that the smolts are moved to once they are big enough to go from fresh to salt water) being lice. They have used a biological control fish to keep these at bay. Recent techniques to keep lice numbers low, especially in autumn when the water has warmed over summer, is to lower the cages to 30m depth and place an artificial bubble underwater chamber thing for the fish to still be able to regulate their swim bladder whilst also being in cooler water that the lice don't like. Feeding is done remotely with underwater cameras detecting when the fish are full (cameras below the fish so when food starts to sink past that point = fishies are full). The fish mulm (poo) below cages is sucked out and used as pasture fertiliser. Side note: I was surprised by the amount of silage bales on the roadside during the bus trip.

Anyway, we boarded the ship again. Greeted by the news that my bag (tim) was here, but no luck yet with Bronnie's. We're getting by fine though.

Dinner again an interesting affair with Bronnie braving the beef bone marrow entree with crispbread and pickled vegies, then a reindeer shank with mashed potato. I had the local brown crab cakes and a beef burger, washed down with 2 local beers (brown ale and a stout). Early night again but loving the experience. Another night in the open ocean in sections ahead then a day to explore Rorvik. Christmas Eve in Norway is more important to them than Christmas Day...God Jul (Merry Christmas in Norwegian).