Day Thirteen: At Sea in the Norwegian Fjords

This was probably our most uneventful day thus far.  There are almost 1,200 fjords and over 50,000 islands in Norway.  Because of all of the islands, there is over 50,000 miles of coastline.  So it’s quite beautiful to sail here, as there is always scenery rather than open sea.  A lot of travel in Norway is done with a coastal boat they call the Hurtigrutin (sounds pretty much like it sounds, with some major throat clearing when pronouncing the U’s).  The Hurtigrutin run all times of the year as the Gulf Stream keeps the sea from freezing.  Because some trips are several days or even a week or longer, this ship has a combination of day passengers as well as overnight passengers.

They supply bathrobes in our room, one sized for women and one sized larger for men.  Yesterday I saw a man in the spa who had on the women’s version.  He was a huge guy, so it was most indecent.  No picture because believe me, you don’t want that image floating around in your head for all time.

Along the Norwegian coast there are many circular structures in the water.  These are salmon farms, usually lined up in groups of three or more.  There are wild salmon here as well, but the rise in salmon as a popular entree has caused more demand than can be met with the wild population.  The main problem is that farmed salmon are subject to sea lice and may weaken or even die if infested.  When wild salmon (as in the Northwest) swim up fresh water to spawn, the sea lice are knocked off.  This, of course, does not happen with farmed fish kept in cages.  So, if you love salmon, even the Norwegian variety may have actually come from a farm where they use fish food and chemicals.  Lovely thought, I know!

I sat by Nancy (aka Gloria Swanson) at the “Polar Plunge” today and felt shamed that I had no makeup on.  I told her I just got up and threw clothes on (at least I wasn’t wearing a bathrobe).   She told me she always dressed before going out.  Of course.  The woman must have six suitcases to hold all of her paraphernalia.  

You are probably asking yourself, “What the heck is a Polar Plunge?”  Well, they throw a bunch of ice in the small pool to bring it to 32 degrees.  Then participants (stark raving idiots, in my book) plunge into the icy water.  After that, they get a stiff drink, a towel and blue paint on their nose that they are supposed to wear all day.  

A passenger on the ship had a major medical issue tonight and they had to airlift him and his wife off the ship onto a helicopter.  The ship never slowed down.  How scary would that be?

No pictures today, but I’m adding a few pictures I took of signs in different countries.