Travelogue Norway 2017 - Whales in Andenes

Our journey from Nordkapp continued through Senju, the second largest island in Norway in the county of Troms, located beyond the Arctic Circle west of Finnsnes. In total, it covers an area of 1,586 km2 with a maximum altitude of 984 meters above sea level. Approximately 8,000 people live permanently on the island. Here we took only a short break in the camp Senja, which I do not highly recommend, if you like peace, because this camp is really big, noisy and if you come across a hot water in the shower, you are very lucky. On the other hand, we have to praise the mini zoo and playgrounds for children, and the fact that the camp is located near the water, the use is great and you will not be bored with children, only those nights are very noisy. Originally, we wanted to travel all over the island and visit the biggest troll in the world, but unfortunately, we don't have much time, so the next morning, July 9, we set off for the next point of our journey, and that is the northern Vesterals, Andenes. I note that we drive and do not use the ferry. We did not find all the necessary information about him and we could not afford to waste time.

I'm mainly interested in why whale watching takes place in Andenes and I read that this is because there is a land shelf, which is unusually close, about 15 km from the coast, falls sharply to a depth of several kilometers. It is in these depths that weeds seek out huge food. We would need to get to Andenes in time today, because we want to catch the last tour and it should be at 5 pm, according to information from the Internet (http://www.whalesafari.no/). We are on site on time, so we immediately go to book tickets for the information center. The lady at the reception explains to us that she doesn't know at the moment if the ship is free, but she finds out and calls us in half an hour if we can come or not. We agree and go to the next cafe in the meantime. We have espresso, Latte coffee and a hamburger for a total of 210 CZK and before we finish our coffee, the lady from the reception calls that we can arrive. We can not wait. After a while we head back to the information center, pay the entrance fee of 1990 NOK and wait for the guide and the captain. There are three couples here, of which two are Czech couples, which is a really nice coincidence.

We are quite surprised when they put us in some spacesuits and warn us that we will be really cold. We say that we will go on a nice yacht, where they will certainly be happy to make tea for us. I feel like a roadman and Peace like an astronaut from NASA. We have a good time until we head to the pier. The guide says that our boat is on the left side of the pier and we will shine in it, because it is the first beautiful yacht parked here, so we see ourselves there with hot soup and tea, as they promise on their website, by the way. But we will immediately smile when the captain points to our right ship. „They're kidding, we're going to ride this dick, aren't we ?!“ said my beloved, and I could burst out laughing. I had a feeling the whale had to overthrow us in this. It can be seen that we really have no experience… We sail about 25 km from the lighthouse and see a few puffins. When we are in an area where whales should be present, we stop and wait. Everyone is impatiently holding the cameras, but in the meantime they can take pictures of the seagull as much as possible, which is still circling around us and looking at us curiously. When the guide finally sees something, she gives the command to the captain and our boat sets off to full whaling to the whale. When we are relatively close, we see the back, it's Vorvaň, exhales for a while, then sinks and raises its massive tail. We're all waiting for this moment, so we're taking pictures at one hundred and six. After a while we are at the second, then the third, and when we set off back ashore, the guide sees a fourth. Unfortunately, it is the last. Vorvani were probably males, because females live in groups and rather in warmer waters, where males go to see them in the autumn due to mating. These males are usually 15 – 20 meters tall and it's a really big spectacle. We are excited. Unfortunately, we have to go back, and it occurs to me that what they say on the Internet is not true at all. We did not receive any certificates or refreshments and no offer at all that we could see the museum. Does not matter. I write about the certificate by email. Even so, it was an amazing experience and one of my fulfilled dreams that I will never forget.

Now we need to quickly find a place to camp. On the recommendation of our Czech fellow passengers from the whaling boat, we go to the Stave campsite, which directly captivated us, because it is located on a beautiful sandy beach with divine silence and beautiful nature. The price is a nice 170 kr, including two tokens for the shower. So for us this camp is definitely yes. Today the condition of our tachometer is 4231 km and only today's trip to Andenes lasted 5 hours 30 minutes.

observing a giant vortex in its natural habitat

The impatient expectation of another whale

camping at the Stave campsite by the Norwegian sea beach, photographed at midnight