Into the Polar Night: A Quest for Enchantment
Happy Tuesday, folks! Hope you are all doing well, and thank you for being here, supporting, and showing your love for this publication. I want to welcome all the new friends who joined recently and also let you know how much I value you all.
We are now leaving the cold season, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, but before we soak in the warmth of spring and golden sunlight, here is the amazing article by Tamara about her Arctic adventure in Norway. A new episode of My Travel Diary Chronicles.
Take a seat in front of the fireplace, have a hot coffee, and enjoy!
Our adventure begins on a sled pulled by huskies: once aboard, the dogs go wild, barking and dashing across the frozen tundra with contagious enthusiasm. An overflowing euphoria contrasts with the quiet stillness of these icy lands, where snow covers everything with a white that shines under the dim light of the few hours granted by the Arctic night.
The next day, the landscape transforms: in Skjervøy we board a rubber boat, launched at full speed in search of whales. The sky is tinted with an arc of colors reflecting off the scales of a cobalt-blue sea; then, one spray, then two, then three… finally, the queens of the seas emerge, grand and majestic, silently wandering in search of herring. The icy wind cuts across the face, hands freeze, yet the spectacle continues to enchant, like an ancient siren’s song.
On the third day, we meet a group of Sami, reindeer herders who have learned to live in inhospitable lands by following the migrations of these animals. Boarding the sled, we set off at a slower pace than the dogs, and the fairy-tale charm of their way of life transports us to a world where feeding the reindeer becomes almost an infantile delight.
The fourth day continues with a trek to Mount Storsteinen. The icy trail, tackled with crampons, leads us upward, where the sky takes on an intense blue during the “blue hour”; then the light increases and the colors explode: purple, pink, orange, yellow… the white of the snow transforms into countless shades until we reach the summit, from where the view of Tromsø is simply magnificent. The light of the polar night is unparalleled, while the darkness is so deep it swallows everything except the stars.
Then, sometimes, “the lady in green” suddenly appears, slicing through the black cloak with her emerald lights and a surging force that seizes the soul, becoming the obsession of every night. We are tired, but the enthusiasm to chase the northern lights is overwhelming, and every evening at 6:15 p.m. we are punctual and ready to depart, even though the next morning we must leave for Svolvær with only three hours of sleep.
The Lofoten Islands welcome us with a blizzard, forcing us to postpone the photography tour. Eric, our guide, leads us through surreal panoramas: white mountains plunging over a petroleum-green sea with drifting chunks of ice, and, like mirages, the appearance of small red rorbuer villages. The ancient fishermen’s houses, built by King Øystein in 1120 for those who, venturing into those desolate lands, found shelter only in their overturned boats, tell of a world now distant, crystallized in a silence almost primordial that saddens us as we must leave when, on January 5, we set sail on the Hurtigruten, the historic ship that for over 125 years has connected the south and north of Norway.
After a night aboard, awakening among the fjords leads us to Tromsø, the northernmost city in Europe, the last bulwark before the vast icy lands of the North Pole. In the late 1800s, Tromsø was the recruitment center and the starting point for great Arctic explorations; even today, its colorful ancient wooden houses and pointed roofs, framed by mountains and fjords, maintain a timeless charm.
On the final night, we do not give up the chase for the northern lights. The forecasts are not promising, but whether they appear or not, “the lady in green” will give us a precious lesson: some things cannot be controlled, bought, or demanded. So me gifts come selflessly, and we can only accept them with gratitude.
Take care and talk soon!
Beautiful
Stunning!