Havila 1-15 September 2024 9 September

During the night, our ship makes brief stops at the ports of Kjøllefjord, Mehamn, Berlevåg, Båtsfjord, and Vardø. In the morning, we reach Vadsø Vadsø (Norwegian; pronounced [vɑdˈsø] , Čáhcesuolu (Northern Sami; pronounced [ˈt͡ʃaːht͡seˌsuo̯luː], or Vesisaari (Kven) is a town in the municipality of Vadsø in Finnmark, Norway. The town serves as the administrative center of both the municipality of Vadsø and Finnmark, and is the second largest town in East Finnmark. The town is located on the southern coast of the Varanger Peninsula by the Varangerfjord. A part of the town is situated on the island of Vadsøya. It is connected to the rest of the town on the mainland by a bridge. The town covers an area of 3.43 square kilometers and has a population (in 2023) of 4,654, which corresponds to a population density of 1,357 inhabitants per square kilometer. [ 2 ] In the town, you can find the church of Vadsø, which is the seat of the dean of the Varanger Deanery (a deanery) that is part of the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. The “midnight sun” shines above the horizon from May 17 to July 28, and the period of continuous daylight lasts somewhat longer. The polar night lasts from November 26 to January 17.                       In the late morning, we reach Kirkenes. We make use of the time to explore the city with a hike to the viewpoint over Kirkenes. On this hike, we meet Hans and his German partner, who are featured in a documentary about Hurtigruten.🤗🤗

At noon, we leave Kirkenes in radiant autumn weather, which is also the turning point of our journey.

Through beautiful landscapes, we head to the next port, Vardø, where we take advantage of our short stay to visit the church.

Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway (and all Nordic countries) and is located at 31° East, hence east of Saint Petersburg, Kyiv, and Istanbul. The eastern part of Finnmark is in the same time zone as the rest of the country, but the time difference to daylight savings time is more than an hour.

The largest economic sector in the town is fishing and fish processing. There is a good harbor in Vardø and another in nearby Svartnes on the mainland. The town is connected to the mainland via the Vardø underwater tunnel, which is part of the European route E75. Vardø Airport, Svartnes, is located at the other end of the tunnel on the mainland.            Our journey continues towards Honningsvåg, which we should reach tomorrow morning. During the night, our ship briefly stops at the ports of Båtsfjord, Berlevåg, Mehamn, and Kjøllefjord. But as early as 10 am, there is an aurora alert in Berlevåg. Everyone is back on deck to admire the beautiful natural spectacle.

In Honningsvåg, it is time for us to leave the ship, take a bus to the Nordkapp, and then continue with the bus along the impressive coastline to Hammerfest, where we will board the ship again for our onward journey.

Enjoying the Nordkapp in beautiful weather, almost just for us, with a very fine breakfast overlooking the globe, is simply a gift🤗🤗 The entire trip to Nordkapp is an experience, as is the coastal journey to Hammerfest.

In the afternoon, we continue to Øksfjord.

Øksfjord has a ferry connection to Bergsfjord, Tverfjord, Sør-Tverfjord, and Hasvik. There is a fast boat service to, among others, Hammerfest and Hasvik, and additionally, the Hurtigruten ferry calls at this location. The nearest town is Alta, which is about 120 kilometers from the town. County Road 882 provides a road connection to European route 6 in Langfjordbotn. The road was built in the 1960s.

In Øksfjord, there used to be a herring oil factory, which closed in the 1980s. On the site, there is a feed factory and a fish farm. The Øksfjord Church was completed in 1954. During a Norwegian raid on April 11, 1941, the machinery of the Njord herring oil factory was blown up and destroyed. Øksfjord has 496 inhabitants.

Øksfjord was one of many villages in Finnmark that were burned down during the German evacuation in 1944. 3

In the evening, we reach Skjervøy.

The economy of the village is based on fishing. The Hurtigruten fast boats regularly call at the village's harbor. This village also has the historic church of Skjervøy. The village is connected to the mainland by the Skattørsundet Bridge (which leads to the island of Kågen and the Maursund Tunnel (which connects Kågen to the mainland).

At midnight, we arrive in Tromsø, with wonderful northern lights; even upon entry, the northern lights show is ongoing.