8.8.11 DAY AT SEA - 9.8.11 ARKANGELSK RUSSIA

Photos relate to last post!!!

8.8.11 DAY AT SEA - 9.8.11 ARKANGELSK RUSSIA

Photos that relate to this post are on picasa and I cant them them to go through on this blog! I keep loosing contact! Trouble with satalite in down town Finnmark!! Hemmerfest NOrway 60 degrees!!!
Heading off out to sea for another day so not sure when I will be able to publish!!
Had a wonderful afternoon in a Sami tent eating reindeer and listening to their tales!!

8.8.11 DAY AT SEA - 9.8.11 ARKANGELSK RUSSIA

8.8.11 DAY AT SEA – 9.8.11 ARCHANGELSK RUSSIA

Feeling like shit after our big night the night,  the cup of tea was greeted with distain! But thank God for it or we wouldn’t have risen,  but we did and we went to the gym class of Pilates! It was hard going!

After breakfast I actually went back to bed and then Suzie came back into bed too!! Here we stayed all day like trolls not leaving the cabin and just having our meals brought to us and no alcohol!!

What a waste! By evening we decided to watch a couple of movies so we were feeling a little better!!

The sun setting after 11.00p.m. is loosing its appeal as I hate closing the curtains when it is still light but one does need sleep! I don’t cope with late nights!!!

We arrive at Archangelsk in the morning of the  9^th and so pleased when we go to our body conditioning class on deck 9 that it is warm!! Yippee !!! At last!!! Approx 16 degrees!

This city looks a little more appealing than Murmansk not so grim and depressing.

This am we do computer work feeling alive again after a day of rest !

Our tour to the wooden village was again so so boring, the village interesting  set amongst the  aspen forest, but after seeing this which took about half an hour they gave us an hour a half  free time!

No one had any rubles except me, so we were able to buy a roll as we had had no lunch .

No one else could, and no shops to entertain us so we just went back to the bus and waited!!!

Maybe I had chosen the wrong tour ,the city tour may have been better but after Murmansk thought this sounded more interesting!!

Well not coming back here again!!

Again the population is 350,000 same as Murmansk!

 Here it is the centre of the timber industry, hence all the wooden homes which are very distinct and quaint.  It is also  important for oil and diamonds!! Wished I seen some of them although I think they are mainly industrial.

Arkangelsk is also the gate to the Arctic and polar expeditions leave from here!

Back on board and decide to have the Pommeroy champagne on our balcony to make the most of the warm weather.

We also decide to have caviar as we are in Russia! This was divine sitting on the Neva River which I was on last year on the cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow !

Oh well with the world share market crashing around us yet again we have to make the most of this as we might not get away again in the near future! Pretty depressing but glad im not in Australia to get it 24/7 on the news and feel  10 times worse!!

Oh our invitation also arrived from Gianni Dotti for lunch on 11^th August!! Now will it be for 3 as requsted!!

We have dinner under the stars on the pool deck which is great just a simple meal of a perfect grilled steak and salad, sitting in the fresh air !

We are then told we will be leaving early tomorrow due to the currents and swell tomorrow!

Doesn’t worry us as we cant get off even if we wanted to as we don’t have visas  and who really  would want to get off!

 Its hard when you cant read a thing in Russian, no  English to be seen anywhere and I had experienced this last year while in Russia.

Well 2 very boring places not to put on your bucket list!!

But I guess both very important places for Russia

10.8.11  ARKHANGELSK – AT SEA UNTIL 12^TH AUGUST

Pilates and breakfast sitting on the pier looking at the Russians looking at us!! Leaving early !

 Eventually the engines are powered up and the Russians with their big green hats leave the ship and we depart!

I am sitting on our balcony writing this and it is very pleasant cruising up the Neva River passing timber mills and green forests and Russia Dachas ( timber holiday homes)

We are so pleased to have our balcony to be able to leave the door open and get the fresh air is wonderful.

The eye for maintenance on the ship is exceptional, when we came back yesterday a note was there for us to say they had re stained our balustrade .

Now the people on board, mainly Poms, then Americans, and a splattering of Europeans and as I have said before 17 Australians! Guess that is why it is so boring!! The Aussies are the only ones that have life in them !

I would say the average age is late 70s to high 80s so as you can see not much fun for the few younger ones!

  Manchu my kayaking mate who is with his Mum and Dad. Im sure his mum must have been a ballet dancer as her posture is amazing and she is so elegant! I bet he is bored too!!

The lecturers are informative but they have drooling voices that put you to sleep, the Pommie  professor at least has photos and the other an American talks with a few photos Oh well!!

Im watching the little Russian tug following us out to sea and after an hour the river is getting wider so guess we are getting closer to the ocean.

 It is very pleasant being protected and sitting on the balcony  listening too and watching the  thunder and light rain so maybe in for some bad weather!!

The scenery is just like my river cruise last year!

Farewell Arkangelsk!!!

Now the sun is shining and the deck even more appealing!

Another invitation arrives this time from the Finance Manager tomorrow evening! Well we wont be going to that as we are having lunch with Gianni and cant do 2 in one day!!

Susie polities decline!!

An early dinner at La Terrace, Karen the American asks us to join her and Art but we gracefully decline! We don’t want any grog and having just a main so hence cant be bothered sitting and making polite conversation with 6 people over 3 courses or more!

Im following my anti social routine as I don’t want any new friends!!!

ROGER GENTLEMAN HOST

7.8.11 MURMESH RUSSIA DELETE FROM YOUR BUCKET LIST! 10 DEGREES!

7.8.11  MURMESH RUSSIA DELETE FROM YOUR BUCKET LIST!!!  TEMP 10 DEGREES

Our arrival was greeted with grey and miserable weather, a depressing forbode! The scenery zero!

As usual we went to our class which is at least a great start to the day

Our tour wasn’t till the afternoon so we can take it easy which we are getting very efficient at doing!

We have to collect our passports and hand in to the very servere looking Russians before getting off the ship. As we have no visa we aren’t able to get off unless we are going on a tour, not there is anything to look at!

We then head off to our bus for the tour! The bus is pretty old and inside covered in stuffed toys as per  the photo  of Susie surrounded by her friends!

Murmesh actually is a very important city  and was founded in 1916. During the war it was important as the city of supply, the harbor here is the only one that does not freeze over so the only exit to the Nth Atlantic and the outside world .

Our guide told us of her grandfather who was in the navy that  his ship on 2 occasions was bombed in the Barren Sea, the 2^nd he was clinging onto a box and another man got to the box only to be gunned down from a plane splitting the box in 2 he survived ,  the other guy was killed, God know how he survived.

Apparently if a ship was bombed they said no other ship in the convoy could try and save them as they would never find the convoy again. Being out here and imagining how they all survived is pretty humbling! What brave men they all were.

On with the tour, momuments and more momuments, gardens not tendered, grey buildings, grey sky and cold!! All pretty miserable! Last winter is was 25-40 degrees below from October to 9^th May! No sunlight how do they all cope , we are so lucky living where we do

We end the tour with Russian pancakes! Divine with loganberry compote and sour cream!!

A highlight!!

Back to the ship and we need a drink!!

Go to afternoon tea, this is a first in all my cruising and will be my last!! Not for me!!

We decided to skip the cakes etc I might add it is done like high tea with cake stand and white linen clothes very nice but don’t need the cakes!!

We have a cocktail instead, (just as bad) then decide to go to the bar downstairs and  have another! Myra the bar maid comes to us and asks us on behalf of Gianni (Hotel Manager) to have cocktails and dinner with him tonight!

We have booked in La Terrace so no thanks and we don’t want to change and were’s our invitation!!!

Next the Maître de who is a very funny man comes to us and asks us again! We ask how many are going – 9 ! Oh no we say we only want to dine with him not 9 and we want an invitation!

 So he says lunch on the 11^th? OK only if we get the invitation!! This  is a day at sea so at least it will while the hours away!

Another cocktail and we are laughing, very funny! Susie looks up and Roger is heading for us!!!

 But as luck would have it someone stops him in his path to speak and with that we jump up and head upstairs to where there is some jazz music!! Whew!!!

Yes I will add a photo of Roger!!!

Have a champers now and laughing with some WA’s , boy but now we had better have dinner! We are feeling rather pissed!! Oh no! Not good , but the depressing city of Murmesh made us!!

Then we see Gianni with his group OMG how we were saved !! The old man with the frame and other really oldies, bet he wanted us to liven up the group!!!

Now dinner and bed, not feeling that good!!!

6TH AUGUST HONNIGSVAG, MAGEROYA IS NORWAY TEM[ 3 DEGREES

6^th AUGUST HONNIGSVAG, MAGEROYA  ISLAND  NORWAY  TEMP 3 DEGREES!!

Arrival at this remote place  35 km from the North Cape 17 ‘10’21 latitude we are greeted by extremely cold weather! Approx 3 degrees!!

We just don’t have the clothes and so cross with myself and Silversea for not preparing us for the extreme in temperature!

Yesterday it was 12 degrees but in the sun and no wind felt quite warm

This is a huge fishing town with 2,500 people but with many cruise ships arriving here can blow out to 8,000 at any one time. We are fortunate that we are the only ship here at the moment.

They export enormous quantities of fresh and salted fish to every where around the world.

We  head off first stop to see the Sami herdsman, the local Indians who graze the raindeer, there are apprx 5000  raindeer here on the island all owned by the Samis .During the summer they graze the rocky tundra then  just before winter they round them up for a long walk and a 2 km swim across the channel to the mainland where it is warmer for the winter months! Incredible!

The man is dressed in his national dress and they have a little shop selling souveniers. A tent showing how they use to live  even with the fire going, OMG how they did it not sure they must be so tough! But now they do have a house across the road that they live in!

After a 35 km drive through again extraordinary scenery   mist  and sunshine on the barren hills all of  which is typical of the north cape, a little like Melbourne, 4 seasons in one day!!!

We arrive at the North Cape  17’10’21’ latitude, to a massive North Cape Hall which is pretty impressive tourist centre, café, shops, elegant restaurant where we are taken for champagne and caviar canapés. Don’t have the champagne but head outside to view the vista of fog and ocean!! The northern most tip of Europe!!

I then grab Suzie under duress to take some photos of the world  sculpture, it is freezing and she didnt bring her head band we had bought yesterday!

Tough I told her 5 mins of discomfort as we wont be coming back here again! Get the photos and head inside! She was complaining I can tell  you!!

 How lucky were we ,as I said the fog comes and goes and the fog lifted and we  get some great photos of the steep cliffs and ocean but a little later on while we were inside the fog closed in and it was thick so  photos would have been taken!

Lucky us!

Bought postcards and sent them off as they will have the north cape stamp on them, coffee and then back to the ship. Again the undulating tundra with lakes and little bays, raindeers  and mist,   make for an interesting drive home but it is bloody freezing and this is summer!!

It makes you feel very inadequate when everyone here in these remote places speaks perfect clear English, puts us to shame.

Back to the ship and today we are moving cabins!! Yippee!! We are leaving 439 to go to 530 this has a balcony and although 439  was good,  and they are all the same size but some have balconies. We were able to negotiate a great price to be able to get the balcony, just great to be able to get fresh air and sometimes you just get that feeling of wanting to open the window and get fresh air! The temperature seems to go up and down a lot, one minute hot next cold or this our age!!!

So we have moved, well they move for you. Tonight we have to put our clocks forward 2 hours, yuck to get onto Russian time! Cant bear the thought!

Tonight reindeer is on the menu so I will be eating that!! Looking forward to tasting it probably the same as deer!

Glad to say haven’t seen Roger for a day or so great relief!!

Susie was feeling a little sea sick so we dined in which was great!! Didn’t have to dress up!!! We are getting lazier by the minute!! Just such an effort!!

So I  had reindeer Ragout with Lingonberrie comport! Delicious, served on mash potato!

Russia here we come!!

So good having the balcony and having fresh air and the sound of the ocean!!