Winter storm

What a day!

This morning we were actually wondering why we couldn't go out on a orca safari on the ocean today... the wind wasn't bad at all and it seemed really calm..

An hour later we were very very relieved that we didn't go out on the ocean :-)

The waves in the sheltered harbour were pretty hig and all the boats were jumping up and down, back and forth so rough that we almost got seasick just by watching them..

all the boats, ferrys and charterboats were cancelled today, but WOW it was beautiful!!

Mother nature showed herself today, fierce and powerfull!!

So of course I had to go out and take pictures on the most windy place I could find, behind a construction site, up a cliff, and I had the most spectacular view of the ocean where I also got some powerfull shots...

All in all, today has been a fun, different day, and I will keep a positive mind for tomorrow on my final orca safari on this trip..

We will be going straight from the boat tomorrow afternoon to the airport (hopefully we will make it in time for our flight!!)

Keep your fingers crossed for me so I can get some good shots and sightings of the orca's!

I am starting to look forward to coming home and see the sun..!! It hardly get up over the horizon here.. :-)

Let it snow let it snow let it snow

Once again, the day brought strong winds, snow, snow and more snow!

Damn it is cold up here!!

The days here are very very short and the sun hardly gets up before it starts to go down again. The nature is striking, rough, and very beautiful! The daylight begins at around 9.30 am and at 2-2:30 the darkness will come sneaking up on you again so it's all about getting the most out of the light while it's here.

In a few weeks, the sun won't come up at all..

All in all I am a bit disappointed of the lack of orca sightings, but it is still a good experience and i am making a lot of networking for the next time I am coming here :-)

We went out on a bigger boat today, fingers crossed, high hopes, and positive minds... Memories and the disappointment of the past day erased and really feeling it: today is the day we see the Orca's playing around, jumping out of the water, showing themselves off to anyone willing to watch.

That is the reason we are here..
Not long after leaving the harbour the waves were getting pretty wild and we realized quickly that this was going to be quite a lively day on the ocean..

After a couple of hours with snowstorms and strong wind, we finally found an Orca pod...
Unfortunately the pod was either searching for heering or they were resting, which means that you will only see a fin once in a while and very scattered..

They can stay underwater for about 10 minutes at the time..

The seasickness began to hit a lot of the passengers, the boat was lying 'still' for about 45 minutes to locate the orca, but they diasappeared just as quickly as they turned up..
So no orca photos today but a lot of beautiful scenery with dramatic clouds and a rollercoaster ride in the boat...

We have cancelled our orca trip tomorrow beacause the forecast says snowblizzard,

with hardly any visibility, no reason to go on the ocean..
We will catch a trip sunday just before we head home, so fingers crossed for sunday everybody!!

I tried to upload a movie...it will have to wait til my return to Denmark..

Day 1 - Snorkeling... or not...

Today has been a very interesting day...
We started the morning with watching a video learning all there is to know about Orca and... heering!?!
We then went to the 'suit station' where the snorkeling team had to get suited up..
It was a very difficult task to actually get the drysuit on..
I was lucky to get a size Large so I had room for another person in my suit...
a very hilarious sight for everybody else!!
We left the harbour - full of anticipation, hope and normal body temperature...

And looking like this!!

We searched and searched, no Orca's, no whales, no fish no birds...just water and more water...

After about 3 and a half hour on the wavy ocean in a zodiac, we were all wet, cold, and not so optmistic anymore...
On our way home to the harbour, we were told that the orca was here but another direction so we held on to our hats and snorkeling gear and full speed ahead!

We reached the orca swimming around the fishing boat with tons of heering splashing on top of the water, just before the sun went down and caught a few glimpses of them and all of a sudden - out of nowhere - we were attacked by a fierce snowstorm!
Needless to say that we DIDN'T go in the water (to my big disappointment!!! - I WAS READY!!)
and all that was left to do was to find shore..
Our GPS was broken so we had to follow a rescue boat to find land..in a blizzard..in a boat filled with people that looked like we were in a James Bond movie.. It was hilarious to...and only tpo me...I was laughing my head off while the other people on the zodiac were almost apathic from the cold..

A bit disappointed we came to shore, got out of the drysuits that were a bit wet, and had some Gin&Tonics to get warm..

Thankfully I discovered that the northern light wish was a bit easier to fulfill, so I got some great aurora borealis shots (with 13 seconds shuttertimer) and that kind of saved the day that I was lucky enough to see that.. I will attach a selfportrait :-) and the aurora borealis on top...


I am hoping for better Orca search tomorrow, I will be ready with my camera!!

The trip goes to..

From now on I will be writing in english on this blog since
my english speaking 'audience' has grown..

It's time again..Another adventure..

This time the travels will lead me to a place far up north in Norway, north of the arctic circle (between 67. and 68. latitude) to a group of islands called Lofoten.

And perhaps you are wondering what could be interesting that far up north this time of year...The answer is very simple; Orca - you may know them as killerwhales - Northern Lights which I have never seen with my own eyes, and a rich fauna of wildlife. It is well known for its exceptional natural beauty within Norway.

I am hoping that the weather is on my side so I can jump in the water and swim with the orca and experience how the act in their own environment instead of only seeing them when they jump, skyhop or flap their tales.

Many people have asked me if this will take place in a confined spaced controlled by people and to that I can happily say no. This is the wild mother nature that I will be taking a part in, if only for a short period of time. That's why I can only hope that the weather will be on our side.

I will post pictures if I can find a computer ind internet connection, or else you will just have to wait..
If you want to know more about the place I am going to: www.orca-lofoten.no

Cross your fingers for me!