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Published: November 19th 2017
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Alta 16th/17th November
We came, we saw and we were MESMERISED
Well, the time has come the walrus said - will we see the lights yes or no!!!
First a bit about Alta, and the county of Finnmark.
We arrive in Alta today Thursday the 16th, at about 1pm - 30 mins before sunset.
We have sailed from Tromso overnight having set sail at 4am, sailing through the Fjords around to Alta.
We spotted a few Orcas early on but sadly no humpbacks!!
Apparently there some but only feeding.
Alta is situated at the head of Altafjord and its main modern claim to fame is where the battleship Tirpitz and other German cruisers laid up in wait for allied shipping.
Following Germany's invasion of Norway in 1940 there were as many as 15000 troops based in the Alta commune.
In the latter stages of WWII the retreating German army with their scorched earth policy razed the town to the ground leaving Finnmark reduced to ashes.
So Alta is very much 20th century and little remains of the town before the war so
has little of historic interest.
The pier is about 4 miles from the centre, can be walked but not in these conditions, so definitely the shuttle bus!!!
Alta's wooden church was completed in 1858 but was badly damaged during the war and has been repaired and restored several times.
There is a museum with exhibitions on the Stone and Iron Ages and the Sami religion.
An authentic Sami Slida settlement on the banks of the Alta river gives a chance to see the life and culture of the Sami families.
The Sami are descended from nomadic peoples and should not be confused with Lapps.
Reindeer herding is still an important way of life.
So lots of things to do from reindeer petting to husky dog petting (not for us) or just hunting for those elusive Northern Lights!!!
THE MAIN EVENT
We had a lecture at 5pm from the MD of the tour company, Glodexplorer who run the tours for the Northern Lights.
Where we're going, optimum spots and camera settings etc.
Prepared and ready to go at 9.30pm, gloves, coats and tights on
(Lins) - well I wasn't going to get cold.
The temperature was forecast down to -15C.
Arrived at Solvang, just across the fjord from Alta about a 15 minute drive and coaches were laid on for the earlier tours to return if they didn't want to spend the whole 4 hours in the cold.
After finding a quiet spot and trying to keep away from the numpties who STILL used flash -
at all the lectures and talks one of the main points was
- TURN YOUR F*****g FLASH OFF
It disrupts everything
For the first hour, there was little activity but it was there and could be picked up on camera but not the naked eye.
But it was building and SUDDENLY it was there in all its glory.
You didn't know which way to look, the sky was bouncing, the colours changing from blue, green and white, wave after wave of colour!!
You can only stand in awe and watch nature take its course, these solar particles had travelled from across the universe from the sun for a few days
and been drawn into the earths magnetic field.
What a spectacle and what a show!!!
Only two or three minutes, but we were there!!
Right place right time!!
Time for hot chocolate and cake!!
Certainly that was the highlight because the activity calmed down after that and after another half hour or so it was time to return to the ship.
Yes it was cold but we have seen what we came for.
I don't think the pics do the phenomenon justice.
Sorry if too many pics of THE lights
Following on from our amazing night out hunting the lights unfortunately on the second night there were no sightings and some very disappointed passengers, over 400!!!
We must have been blessed Al & Lin x
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