Havilla 6-19 January 2024, 13 January

In the morning we reach Vadsø, a small fishing village with 5800 inhabitants. In the 19th century there was a large wave of immigration from Finland. In 1875, 2/3 of the inhabitants were Finnish-speaking. Even today, Finnish is still taught in schools. The airships Norge Amundsen and Italia each made a stopover in Vadsø before setting off from Ny-Alesund to the North Pole. The anchor mast has been preserved to this day. We continue to Kirkenes, the turning point of our journey.

The nature in and around Kirkenes is different from that in the rest of Norway. There are many eastern plant species that are rare or non-existent elsewhere in Norway. The forest in Pasvik comes from the Siberian taiga, the world's largest continuous forest area. Even the fauna has eastern elements, especially in bird species. In the municipality you will find all the large predators. The most famous is the brown bear: there are about 20 animals in the Pasvik valley. Kirkenes is also home to wolverines and lynx. Wolves are rarely seen. If they are, they are stray animals from Russia. The chances of seeing a reindeer or moose are much better. The Barents Sea is home to the giant king crab. Our ship sets off back towards Vardø, Batsfjord, Berlevag, Mehamn, Kjøllefjord, Honningsvåg.