I think this is my favorite city in Norway!

It could be that we've had perfect weather, but I think it's more than that.  Bodo is just a really pretty city.  The landscape around it (the mixture of mountains and sea) is beautiful, and the city - right next to the harbor - is very pleasant:  Like every city in this part of Norway, it was almost completely destroyed during the war (bombed on May 27th 1940 leaving only a few buildings).  

 The new architecture is definitely 1960's cement - but maybe because it is so prettily set on the water, and the streets are nicely laid out with cafes and shops, it seems to work.
This is the new cathedral, with very nice stained glass windows and architecture that fits well with its surroundings.

 

 It is surrounded by residential neighborhood  consisting of pretty wooden houses that were also rebuilt after the war.

We walked around the harbor where, if we so wished, we could have bought some whale meat for diner at this boat (note the harpoon launcher in the front of the boat).   We did not, but our guide was very indignant when we suggested that it may be controversial (she said that the whales they eat are not endangered, and besides, she likes it!).

Also got a look at the remnants of the fortress built during the Napoleonic wars, when the Norwegians worried that the English would come and take their fish!  (apparently, the Brits did not care for the fish as they never showed up....).

We had lunch on top of the new Scandic hotel - 17 floors high and providing yet another beautiful view.

 In the afternoon, we took a RIB tour (because we like tourist stuff that forces us to wear silly suits..... we really need to start acting our age .....).

The boats left from the Hurigruten terminal - which I did not know about.  But Joe - who is apparently more sophisticated then me - did:  it is the cruise line that follows the old mail ship route up the coast, making the same stops as it used to - but now for tourists.  

 Here is a relatively good picture of one of the vortices.  We learned that the currents and maelstrom is created when the tide from one fjord - which is 450m deep) flows to the other fjord - which is 650m deep- through a channel that is only 26 meter deep - thus creating the fastest tidal current in the world.

On the trip, we also got to see some nesting sea eagle (not great picture because I only had the iphone with me), and the intriguing rocks on the side of the fjords (these where pushed up with the American tectonic plate clashed into the Eurpopean one).

  

  For dinner, we had another very typical Norwegian meal:  Boknasik - dried cod (boiled) served with bacon, potatoes and carrot bechamel - very unusual (at least to us), and very good!

The land of the midnight sun.... and moon

Since this is just so exciting to us, I decided to have midnight in Bodo be it's own post, rather than just tag it onto another day.

If you type "sunset Bodo" on google, here is what you get.  Note not just the time, but the day....  sunset in at 12:42am on Tuesday, July 14th......  So we had a good window of opportunity to catch it, particularly since the weather was so nice!




Maria, Joe and I went to an overlook, from which we could take a 1.5miles trail to the top of a hill with a wonderful views.  It was remarkable to me how many people are out hiking, jogging and just enjoy the weather at midnight!  No wonder the town seems so sleepy until about 11 in the morning......
So here are a few picture of the midnight sun!  (and of the moon, because it was the full moon too - we were very lucky!).

There were other enjoying the sunset (from the mid-way point, where a lot of people where taking pictures) - there were also a lot of people at the higher point, just hanging out, waiting for the sun not to set.....

And then, as an extra treat, here are picture of "the midnight moon" - when the fool moon was rising at the same time as the sun was "almost" setting.

Maelstroms, fjords and fish!

 What a busy and beautiful day we had!

It started at the cabin by the fjord, with this view (above).

Then we went on to Saltstraumen, just down the road from the cabin.  I did not know about Saltraumen, the strongest tidal current in the world, causing the strongest maelstrom (the one that inspired Edgar Allan Poe's short story "a decent into the Maelstrom", which I read as a teenager and which really freaked me out). 

 Joe knew about it, because it is a fisherman's heaven:  the vortices pull in tons of fish, and you can see them jump out of the water in the hundred on the edges of the vortex.  Is is very difficult to give an idea of what it looks like with pictures from the shore.

 From the top of the bridge, one get a better view of the multiple vortices that form and move continually.

 You can also see the sea gull riding of them, waiting for the bits of fishes.  It is spellbinding.  One could spend a lot of time just looking at it!

 Fisherman (hopefully experienced at timing the currents), ride around the vortices, which is the best place to catch the disoriented fishes.

This new bridge makes it possible to go to Bodo without having to take a ferry across, which mus have been quite a ride......
Below, from the other side of the bridge, we can see Bodo, where Maria, Remi and Ellio live and where we will be spending the last part of our Norwegian adventures!

 We could have spent a long time just staring at the changing current and forming vortices, but we had a busy day, so we went on - first to another pretty hike leading to a beautiful water fall,

 (Maria and I - I deep discussion in the stunted beech forest leading to the waterfall.....)

and then to fishing with Remi and Elliot on the fjord.

 Elliot and me, reading to board!

 We used hand lines (like real men!) to hook about 15 pollocks (we needed a lot, because the liver is prized, and they have small livers...  I have to admit that although I enjoyed the fish, I did not try the liver......).

I let the guys do the dirty work of cleaning the fish (I'm a wimp....  I'm happy to hook them, but would much rather not get them off the hook, kill them and clean them....  I was happy Joe and Remi were up to it- Elliot too - because he is a real little Viking, and at not quite 5 years old, will kill the fish in the bucket - I was impressed!).

 It was a lot of fun to catch dinner, plus it was just so beautiful on the fjord, that I would have been happy just spending a couple of hours on the boat looking around.  We even saw a few sea eagles flying over us!

So of course, we had the freshest sea food possible for dinner - what a treat to share it with the entire family - Elliott (who speaks very little English - he is not yet 5) decided I was his best friend, because I sang "old McDonald had a farm" with him on the ride and was willing to make very silly animal sounds...  It was a lot of fun to hang out with him! (I had to sing a lot of silly songs, because we managed to tangle the fish line in the boat motor, so I was trying to entertain him while his father was working at getting the line back and the engine started again.....)
We really lucked out with the weather and it is perfect weather to go and look at the midnight sun.  We are going for a hike up the hill soon to take pictures!  The midnight sun will deserve it's own blog post- coming later today.

We made it to the Arctic circle!

 Today, we had planned to continue on the coastal road, but decided instead to take the easier E6 road to Bodo.   Remember the E6?  That THE major road in Norway?   Here it is....  I really should not make fun of Norwegian road, because they are in fact marvels of civil engineering.

 Even roads linking small islands
to the mainland have magnificent
bridges, and cross roads have at times truly impressive tunnels (the one between Sandnessjoen and the E6 is a 10km
straight line through the mountain).

 So, in between the bridges and tunnels, the roads are small, but I think that it is the right priority.

 Right before this particular bridge, we ran again into this tough dude:
He is doing the same coastal road we've been doing - on a bike!!!!  We saw him yesterday waiting for the ferry -
he just took out his fishing pole and started fishing...  caught an impressive bass while we were getting bored....
We choose the E6 because the coastal weather was so-so (it was nice on the other side of the mountain), because we were tired of ferries (they are pleasant, but requires a lot of planning, and/or waiting, and because the itinerary that our
awful travel agent had planned was simply not doable in one day, particularly on a Sunday when there are few ferries.
Let me not start ranting about the travel agent....  let me just say she could give lessons on how NOT to plan a trip to Norway.....  but we clearly are managing to have a perfectly good time anyway.
The last reason we took the E6 is that I really wanted to stop at the Arctic circle visitor center,
because I was very excited about crossing that line.  I know that a lot of people live up here above it, and a lot of people drive up and down that road all the time, but we had not!  so that was a milestone for us!

The E6 is actually a very beautiful road up here, going through the mountains, up above the tree lines, along beautiful rivers.  And the weather was really pretty, so we definitely choose the right path.

On the way, we stopped at the Stravisen national park, hoping to hike to the glacier (the 2nd largerst one in Norway).  However, to get there, you have to take a short boat ride across this green lake (really unusual color!

the river that flows down from it shows it even more strongly),
and the boat only shows up ..... when it show up - which is not very often.... (and you CANNOT find the schedule, not for that matter where it is anywhere on the internet- go ahead, I challenge you to give it a try!), one of the other quirks of the Norwegian tourist industry:  they really would like you to visit all these pretty places, but not enough to make it easy......) .

 We did see the glacier in the distance, and  had a nice picnic by the lake, enjoying
the sound of water falls.

 Most importantly though, on the drive to the park, we finally saw a couple of moose!  It was funny, because it was basically on the only road that did not have a "moose crossing" warning sign.  Also, Joe must have been channeling the moose because just as we got to the clearing where they stood, he said:  "If I were a moose, this would be a nice spot.....".
We did not not have time to take out the good camera, and I was so excited that I did not do a great job at capturing the moment .  Still, here they are (on the 2nd picture, you see the butt of the first one - I think that was the mommy)!

 I got almost as excited by the little lambs and their mommy by the road (it takes little to entertain me......).

We continued North until we reached the Arctic circle, stopped at the visitor center,
and took the obligatory pictures (see picture at top of blog).  (It's OK sometimes to just do
what everyone else is doing, because we are all excited about the same thing),

 and then walked around the mountain behind it, where people have build thousands of little cairns.  I would have done one myself, but it's hard to find rocks by now, and I felt bad using rocks from other people cairns....  Some poeple clearly use these as little memorials.

The vegetation is very sparse up here:  the altitude is not very high - only 690m- but it is very north, so mostly little scrubs and moss.  Still, there were these lovely flowers.  It never cease to amaze me how life find a way!

The road follows a lovely stream, where you can still detect some of the green color that comes from the glacier...









Then on to Saltstraumen ( the highest current in the world - more about it tomorrow!),
where we met with Maria and went to her's family lovely cabin:  the view on the fjord is awesome,
but we'll post that tomorrow.
We had a great dinner of local seafood, and are hoping to catch our own dinner in the fjord tomorrow!

We also got to hang out with their 2 little terriers.  Do you think Joe misses his dogs?
Now that we are in the land of the midnight sun, it better get VERY sunny!
Because it's hard to see the sun NOT set unless it's sunny!
(so far, the forecast looks good).