We docked in Honningsvag at 7 p.m. We have a view of the town and fjord from our balcony. There is a cliff overlooking the port and we noticed two white animals on the cliff face. Were they sheep? goats? A look through the binoculars confirmed that these animals had antlers! Our first sighting of reindeer. I didn't realize reindeer had white coats in winter. Most of the ones we saw later were very shaggy as they were in the process of losing their winter coats.
After an early supper, dressed in long underwear, and our winter coats, hats and mitts, we hopped on a bus to the Nordkapp ( North Cape). Neither of us was prepared for the stunning scenery during our hour bus ride. The land is desolate and wild. The road took us up and up as we passed huge cliffs that plunged into the sea. The views were magnificent. We also had our first glimpse of the Sami people or Lapplanders. They live in either tepees or sod houses much like people did on our prairies.
It was a rare weather moment at the Cape - we had sunshine. According to the guides, there is usually a sideways rain. The winds were very strong so there was a wind chill factor. Inside the modern building, we watched a film showing the four seasons of this beautiful land. We took a shuttle bus back to the ship where we encountered the same ill-mannered teenager who gabbed in his loud voice all the while the guide was telling us interesting facts about life here. I hope he is not on another shore excursion with us. We arrived back at the ship near midnight and poked around in the souvenir shop foor awhile. It is amazing how unsleepy one is when it is so light out. Our ship's information channel tells us that the sun sets at 2 a.m. and rises at 2 a.m. The sun just goes around the sky in a circle rising higher in the sky throughout the day.
This morning we are looking forward to another bus ride to catch our boat for our birding safari.
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