Tromsø day 2: Free smoked salmon and possibly the best aurora ever

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Free salmon. A shop giving out free samples of smoked salmon. And cheese. And fruit. My favourite shop in the whole world. Tesco take note!



The alarm went off at 7 so pretty much a lie-in for us on holiday. We had a tour booked for 10am and we wanted to take a leisurely walk into town. The view from our room is stunning looking over the lake with snowy mountains all around as well. Walking also gives you the chance to take in more about the local way of life and check out things like houses and stuff.



What's good here is despite the snow and ice, things still keep going. Back home we only need one snowflake to fall and the schools are shut, cars are abandoned and anyone who can get their car moving seeks out a queue to sit in even if the queue is heading away from where they want to go. It's a British thing.



In Tromsø the buses still run, people go out jogging and the kids stilł get an education. The pavements are gritted as well as the roads and life just goes on. Apparently down in Oslo they verge on being as hopeless in snow as the Brits and the northerners take the mick out of the softy southerners here too.



Later we find out that a bit of potty mouthed banter is more acceptable in the north here than in the south. This story came from our guide as she explained that in the north is is okay to call a policeman a f***ing horsed*ck whereas you can get locked up for that in the south. We're not sure if foreigners can get away with it and maybe it's best not to try. Maybe....



We set off on our first trip from a very expensive looking hotel and nipped in to use the fancy loos first. May as well. We then set off on a fjords and sightseeing tour with just four of us in our minibus and an excellent guide and driver. The other minibus had a full of fun guide as well and they made for a great day.



First off we were passed a bowl of biscuits and sweets and later a bowl of fruit was passed around. We had hot drinks on the beach, the aforementioned free tasters at a rest break (we literally stopped at a supermarket to pee and take free samples!) and then were feeling quite full. So later we stopped for a barbecue on the beach. And managed to eat plenty of that too. There were even veggie sausages for Claire so she had something to eat as well.



Oh yeah we saw some sights too.



And how amazing they were! Spectacular scenery with ice, sea, lakes, snow and mountains and places where it must be almost impossible to take a bad photo....he says bravely.... We sledded down hills, walked along a frozen lake and even stopped off to take some photos of some wild reindeer.



The first group of reindeer were up a steep hill which was quite difficult to climb in the ice and snow. Getting up was hard but getting down looked highly precarious. The easiest way appeared to be to get on your back and slide down. Which was okay until somehow I managed to cut my hand in a few places. Yes I know I maybe should have had some gloves on but I rushed out to photograph reindeer, priorities!



By the time I got to the bottom there was plenty of blood mixed with snow so it looked like I'd dipped my hand in strawberry slush. Sadly it didn't taste the same and, with the aid of some tissues and one plaster we managed to obtain the bleeding eventually stopped i have been knon to cut myself shopping so Claire wasn't surprised. The tour was really good and they even droppd us at our accommodation too which was very helpful....



.......as it gave us time to get fully prepared for our next trip less than two hours later!



We walked back into town to find an equally posh hotd and begin to chase the Northern Lights. Yes I know we're old hands the old aurora now ut maybe, just maybe, we'd see them again and do it in a more photographic setting.



Maybe....



Our guide was a professional photograper and took us to his house for a pre-aurora briefing. He went through settings we should use in both English and Spanish which was very impressive and then made sure everyone was sorted for equipment.



Tripods were offered that looked very impressive. I said I had one but it wobbles. He quic kly takes it apart, pops in some Loctite and actually repairs my tripod for me! I stilluse his though as his looks better. It turns out to be really ease to use and sturdy so I might look at getting one....someday.... First though we will be purchasing some Loctite.



And off we went! To the beach. It was a very rocky beach and quite slippy but we finally made it to the water's edge without too many injuries. While we waited for someone to switch the lights on we took some slow shutter speed shots of the water and the mountains. And right from the off there were bits of green in our photos and we started to get excited (well, more excited anyway).



And our excitement was not in vain. And our trip was not in vain. And the waiting became worth it as the most amazing light show took place above our heads. It was absolutely stunning as lights danced across the sky. They'd fade a bit and then come back in a different formation. Patterns, shapes, swirls and spirals all took turns and with a town, mountains and the sea as foregrounds it was just one incredible photo after another. Well hopefully....



In a slight lull we sat around a camp fire and had some hot vegetable soup later followed by some biscuits. I like how you get food included on your tours here, especially with food being so expensive.



We couldn't sit still for long though as back out came the lights and we tried various shots in different locations by the beach and in the woods just above. We then drove for a bathroom break before heading into the mountains for another location. The mountains were stunning in themselves but when there are dancing green lights all around AND a lonely tree to include in your shots it's hard to stop taking pictures. So we were there a while. Actually there were more than green lights as various other colours joined the party as well.



I saw a shooting star and the lights were so amazing at one point that people stopped taking photos and just lay on their backs admiring them. Superb. They don't get displays like tonight very often and our guide was very excited and taking lots of pictures too. He reckons after all our efforts we deserved tonight and who are we to disagree. I guess it was all building up to this and hey, we had some great fun along the way too.



It's now 2:30am and we are on our way back to our accommodation. Our tour tomorrow starts at 10am and yes we have to walk into town again first. We know how to live! It's been a fantastic day. I have many photos to look through when I get home and I'm quietly confident (for once) that lots of them will be at least good.

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