The Sun Never Sets on Us in Northern Norway

Posted on by

Day 38, 2023 North Atlantic Adventure

Sunday, June 18, 2023; Alta, Norway.

In lieu of exploring the Svalbard archipelago, we are cruising through stunning scenery of the northern cape of Norway. It’s not a disappointing tradeoff.

The most awesome aspect of this journey for me has been the Midnight Sun – literally. Yes, I know that the sun doesn’t set above the Arctic Circle during the days surrounding the summer solstice (June 21). But knowing the fact and experiencing it are two different things.

We crossed the Arctic Circle on Saturday and received a certificate marking the occasion.

The blackout curtains on my window work very well, but bits of light do escape, especially when the sun is low in the sky on my side of the ship. My sleep mask blocks any remaining light. But when I wake up during the night, I cannot help but to peek out.

Yes, the crew does clean the window, but the salt spray never ends

It’s not the light of early dawn, but an extremely bright sky. The cloudless sky doesn’t even offer relief from the glare of the sun. Our next sunset won’t come before we get to Iceland. My weather apps reinforce this fact in several ways.

When I peeked out early this morning, snow-covered mountaintops seemed almost close enough to touch. We were cruising up the fjord to Alta, one of many towns dotting this northern landscape. Few cruise ships stop here, as it doesn’t have a pier or a large tourist infrastructure.

But the Northern Lights Cathedral makes up for the tender and shuttle bus rides into town. Opened in 2013, the building’s spiral steeple is clad in titanium.

Inside, the cast bronze figure of Christ looks up to God, and the backlit wooden beams suggest the northern lights. A gilded Jacob’s Ladder rises in the tower room.

Not only is it the parish church for about 16,000 people, but it also serves as a community meeting place and recital hall.

While we were in port, the sun only backlit the cathedral’s entry, but having the sun in my eyes as I sketched didn’t stop me. That’s the beauty of the sketch over a photograph. I can “move” the light and shadows to my satisfaction.

Had I chosen to take a bus ride out of town or a ship shore excursion, I could have visited the Alta Museum with its ancient (4000 BC) rock carvings discovered in the 1970s. But I took advantage of spending the morning and part of the afternoon on the ship, catching up on blogging, planning tours for future cruises and generally enjoying the surrounding landscape from the Crow’s Nest.

As we had only a short journey to our next port, we stayed anchored in Alta until almost 11 p.m. Usually when we stay late, many passengers enjoy a night on the town, but I’m guessing everyone was back on board by dinner time. The few shops were closed as it was Sunday, with the exception of the 7-23. I’ll leave it to you to figure out the name. (Someone will surely post it in the comments.)