Posts Tagged ‘ Northern Lights ’

Tax rises (here and in Greece) Christmas markets and the Northern Lights all go to make up some of the smaller news stories of the week.

The organisers of the dog sledding not only provided exemplorary customer service but went above and beyond making that holiday one really to remember.

Sue Aiken – one of the stars of the gritty reality-doc, ‘Life Below Zero’ which follows seven people who live in the wilderness of Alaska, hundreds of miles from civilisation – shares her travel stories and experiences with Just About Travel readers

Just About Travel tells you what’s hot and what’s not in the travel world

Once again a good viewing winter of the northern lights – the aurora borealis is expected. One place that should be able to consistently deliver is the Yukon.

Luis Rubén Cuevas, director of Mexican travel magazine – Travel Times – talks travel

Mark Middleton from Oasis Overland Adventure Travel on Europe, Ethiopia and why Iran is underrated

Seeing the northern lights is, for many, of the holiday experiences they have to do. But whichever country you go to, the key is getting away from light pollution. So what better way than by staying in a travelling hotel?

“They” say that this winter could be one of the best for seeing the northern lights. Quite who “they” are never seems quite clear as I’m sure last year’s winter was supposed to be one of the best. And the year before that.

Egypt may have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons this year (the clashes in Cairo earlier this week killed 25 people and injured more than 300), but the Egyptian pyramids remain the sight most people want to see before they die.

The last but one day of our journey.
When this saga (a good Scandinavian word) began eleven days ago, it was with the hope of seeing the northern lights. To have seen them for 4 nights in a row when so many see nothing of them is great. That we have cameras inadequate to the task of capturing pictures of them is annoying. But then, the colours that the camera show isn’t what the eye sees.

There are fewer than 200 passengers on board now and even the crew has become a bit depleted. After this voyage ends, the ferry sails to Denmark, I am told, for its annual service. Many of the people who have been here from the beginning have become nodding acquaintances as have the crew. For some we know of their families and jobs, ailments and holiday history. They borrow camera chargers from each other and notices go up seeking this or that item. More got off when we reached Bodo in the wee small hours.

People have read their camera manuals. Lots more people were happier with the photographs last night. During the day there had been even more conversations between the camera elite and some had exposure settings down to as little as 4 seconds. But there were moans about those who used automatic cameras and who couldn’t disable the flash. It was claimed that the onset of the flash ruined the shoots being taken by those with the more sophisticated cameras. All this was way over my head so I left them to it.

After the excitement of last night, there weren’t that many people having an early breakfast. When they did drift in the conversation was largely about what had been seen. Or photographed. Hardly anyone has managed to get decent pictures. Those that were the most knowledgeable; those with tripods, were unsuccessful as well as us more amateur ones. Why? Because the motion of the ship meant that they couldn’t get a long enough exposure or steady exposure

There was no call overnight so most of us just slept. As we are reaching the turning point of the journey I am beginning to think we won’t see the northern lights on this trip. At breakfast there was still optimistic talk of how this is the best year to be able to see them; the solar activity is just right and so-and-so knows a man who knows a man who says… You know how the story goes.

An early start as we reach Hammerfest at 5.15 in the morning. Thank goodness we dock here in daylight on the return journey. My “12 Days” tells me that this was a German naval base during the war. In October 1944, all the inhabitants were removed and the town was razed to the ground. If I could only see in the dark it is probably only modern buildings that are out there. Few people were up to see us dock or leave. I wasn’t there. When I went up we had another snowy squall and you couldn’t see far at all.

At 7.19am we crossed the Arctic Circle. All of a sudden hardy souls were out on deck with all manner of cameras, tripods and professional kit that made me feel just an amateur. But what was there to see? A light. And if someone moved it 100 yards as a joke none of us would have known the difference.

We sailed and the first panic has set in. The wifi doesn’t work. But yes it does, but only on one deck and you need a password. So you will be able to read these scribbling after all. People stayed up to watch the sailing and celebrate the voyage with expensively purchased beer, wine or coffee. There is a deal on board. For 209 Norwegian krone, (NKr) about £21, you can have as much coffee as you can drink over the voyage. Considering that coffee and tea are NKr 25 each in the café, it’s not surprising that you see dozens of people carrying around their plastic mugs.

For many years, my wife has wanted to see the northern lights, that sparkling shower of light that you see in the night sky up above the Arctic Circle. In just about the only holiday that we have ever planned and paid for months ahead – ours are mostly decided at the last minute – here we were in Bergen in Southern Norway waiting to catch the ferry that would take us to the northernmost tip of the country. In 11 days there should be a fighting chance of seeing the lights, we thought.