September 20th we made a 2 hour stop in Stokmarknes, the 1893 birthplace of the Hurtigruten Norwegian Express.
From its beginnings as a consolidated shipping service that linked ports along Norway’s 60,000 mile coast, Hurtigruten has grown. It continues to serve its original mission at nearly 70 ports, 365 days a year, but its ocean going vessels now also serve the needs of tourism, and adventure tourism.
At Stokmarknes we were treated to a tour of the world’s largest “ship in a bottle”. A huge glass fronted building holds in display Hurtigruten’s 1956 ship, MS Finnmarken.
Retired from service in 1993 this 266 foot long vessel could transport up to 585 passengers along with freight and mail. It is the centerpiece of the Hurtigruten Museum.
Leaving Stokmarknes we embarked upon a cruise through some of Norway’s many fjords.
Our ship, the MS Trollfjord, is 445 feet long with a 70 foot beam.
The Captain piloted the ship through narrow cliff-walled passages with mere feet to spare.
At one point we came to a dead end where the Captain caused the ship to turn on its axis for 15 minutes, thus allowing passengers a leisurely opportunity for pictures of the surrounding mountains.
We felt as if we could reach out and touch the cliffs.
I am writing this post on September 21st. We are on the home stretch of this remarkable 15 day journey. Our final stop is the morning of the 23rd, Bergen, where it began.
I can safely say that in some respects this has been more of an adventure for me and Christine than for any other of the ship’s passengers. Thanks to the ship’s crew, health care professionals aboard and ashore, and accommodating locals who gave assistance to us, “our adventure” never became “our disaster”.
With Gratitude, Peace Everyone. Pete
PS. Earlier today we saw another “Eye of the Needle”, Torghatten Mountain.
This from Wikipedia: “Torghatten (846 ft high) is a mountain located along the coastal area of northern Norway that features a distinctive natural tunnel passing completely through it. According to legend, the hole was made by the troll Hestmannen while he was chasing the beautiful woman Lekamøya. As the troll realized he would not overtake her, he released an arrow to kill her, but the troll-king of Sømna threw his hat into the arrow’s path to save her. The hat turned into the mountain with a hole in the middle.
The tunnel measures over 500 feet long, with an average width of nearly 60 feet and an average height of 130 feet, and sits about 350 feet above sea level at its midpoint.
