The generator problems have not caused any other of our stops/itinerary to change at all. Ins & outs to all three stops since starting - Skjolden, Olden, Trondheim - were all to published times of in at 8am, out at 4pm. We pushed off on time on all 3 so Im guessing we had no holding up departure. And arrival, after yesterdays at sea day, into Honningsvg is happening on time at this moment.
Breakfast arrived to our cabin on Tuesday as booked, around 6.45am, slap in the middle of the chosen slot. All was fine with it. It was worth getting up early to watch the fjord pass by whilst breakfasting on our balcony.
Monday nighy I left my phone on to charge without switching it off or setting to airplane mode/data roaming off. In the morning I noticed that I had had 3 messages from my mobile provider. The first told me that they had detected that I was accessing via a ships WiFi link, and listing what various activities would cost. There were 2 other messages telling me I had incurred
costs of ~£5 and ~£9. Oh well, a learning point - remember to engage airplane mode/switch off overnight. We had clearly moved far enough off shore from phone signal!
Wednesday was Olden. Slightly bigger that Skjolden - 500 people - and with a small shopping centre for those so inclined.
We World Market breakfasted this morning, early, ~ 6.50. We still continue to be impressed by the available range. We seem to keep finding things we havent noticed before eg grits (sorry, urgh) and biscuits with gravy which to us brits looks like scones with a white sauce ?. Each to their own.
Again, no trips away for us - we are only doing 2 tours on the cruise - to the Northern Cape, and the Lofoten Islands.
First walk around 2 miles through and beyond the village for a couple of miles to the new church. Then after an ice cream stop another 2 miles northwards, half way towards Loen. Around 6 caches some during the walks.
On the way back to village centre we side tracked to the Singer home. American William Singer was an heir to the Singer fortune, and a painter.
He fell in love with Norway, particularly for the fishing - one for Will Millard there - and set up home in Olden. He was a generous benefactor in the area.
On our walk around we twice came across another couple from the boat. During conversation Pip became increasingly less impressed to find that he came from Kidderminster and had a passing knowledge of a certain Robert Plant but was quite dismissive of him. He - the boat man, not Robert - also did beagling (hunting with dogs) and had no time for left wing wokes.
On a better note Pip was fascinated to find that the lady in the couple, through links via her sister, was able to reel off a list of names from Pips time at Kidderminster High School.
Weather looked a bit drizzly at first but we were soon dropping layers. The boat was berthed just north of town centre so in passing through after the church walk we dropped into our cabin to leave some clothing behind.
sit and look across an arm of the fjord towards the Loen Skylift. Dont know what it is actually like at the top, and I think there are some nice walks and treks up there, BUT its £50! And it doesnt go very high, probably no higher than the Heights of Abraham in Derbyshire.
When we had finished walking Wednesday we had done 8 miles, again. We had a soak, therefore, in one of the hot tubs above the Retreat Pool - we are on deck 17 just outside the Retreat Pool, with the level above having 2 hot tubs. A Medallion order for 2 glasses of Prosecco for delivery to us in the tub was delivered in a couple of minutes. The tub was very warm, almost too much so, but a dip in the Retreat Pool afterwards was refreshing. That pool temperature was very pleasant - than the pools we had in holidays earlier this year in Lanzarote and Egypt - and refreshing after the heat of the hot tub.
were very nice indeed. Tasty, nice crispy edging. There is an outside eating area but not in use at the moment given the weather.
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