Oriana - In Search of the Northern Lights 6

Thursday 20 March – Alta

We woke after a deep sleep – the cold is apparently good for sleeping well. Got up, had a quick hot breakfast and got the shuttle into Alta. All but the church was destroyed by the Nazi Occupation in WW2 when all residents were deported, so the town is modern and uninspiring – except for the Northern Lights Church. This opened in February 2013 and the design is a spiral shape representing the Aurora Borealis. There is a huge gilded statue of Christ above the altar and beautiful modern stained glass. They were tuning the organ as we arrived. The church is only open 2 hours a day as builders are still working. The entry was 50NK.

 

We wandered round the ice sculptures, now covered in fresh snow and so unrecognisable as to what they were supposed to be!  The shadows were long even at noon.

 

Got the shuttle back and had a quick lunch before going back for our tour to Sami camp at Maze (pronounced Marzay). This was the second highlight of my cruise and the only tour I booked instantly. I have loved the music of the Sami – the Yoik – since I first heard it at the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics at Lillehammer. We drove through another magical black and white landscape past frozen rivers and waterfalls, towering mountains and across stone bridges – for over an hour. You could see animal tracks in the fresh snow – wolverine, elk, etc The drive alone was worth the high tour price.  As we arrived we walked down a steep slope (thank goodness for the ice grippers on my boots!) to where the reindeer and sledges were waiting.

 

The group was divided into two and we walked off round to board our sledge. It was wooden - low and flat and lined with reindeer skins. I fell in and moved across so my friend could sit next to me. She kept sliding down though and we were all laughing so much, including our Sami helper, our reindeer looked round and lay down! Eventually we set off through virgin snow fields. Our reindeer was pure white and looked so small to be pulling us but we were told they could pull heavier weights than us! The animals were harnessed so that the reindeer of the sledge behind us was next to me. She was the only one with a full set of antlers and they came worryingly close to my face at times! 

The first reindeer was led by Johann, head of the Sami family we were visiting. This was the way the Sami of old travelled over the tundra with all their possessions and herds. The only sound was the swishing of the sled runners and the bell round the reindeer’s neck. Halfway we stopped for the reindeer to eat snow (drink). I took a picture as the nose of the one next to me was covered in snow!

 

 

 

Then we carried on back to the camp. We then had a lesson in lassoing a reindeer (using skulls with antlers, fixed to a fence). Then into the Lavvu where Johann’s wife and daughter were brewing delicious coffee over a roaring log fire. The floor and benches were all covered in skins. Thankfully there were some garden benches and chairs at the back as the benches were very low. Inside we were joined by Johann and his son and they explained about their traditional life, clothing (with a lasso and a knife they were self-sufficient), jewellery, wedding proposal customs, and finally sang some Yoik. We all had to sing one before we left. As I passed Johann I said how much I loved their music and he looked totally surprised and thanked me.  

 

 

We boarded the coach for the drive back. The sun was setting as we retraced our route and by the time we reached Alta it was dark. Norwegians do not use curtains and put lamps in their windows. so the landscape looked even prettier.

 

Back on board we wolfed down dinner in the Conservatory and dressed to go out on deck again to watch.  The sunset was beautiful and lingering but I only saw a very dim view of the Aurora due to cloud cover. Those who we out on the Lights Tour were very disappointed.