Island life,
Norwegian styleCecienne makes
the most of the
glacial watersD
on’t miss puffi n arrival day! the website
had screamed at me when planning
this trip. “On April 14, 200,000 puffi ns
descend to nest on this small grass-
covered island.” It now being April 29,
Lovund became another essential
stopover on our route north on board
my Princess V39 Cecienne. It was late
in the evening when we tied up to the visitors’ pontoon, so at
dawn the next morning we started hiking, following the signposts
towards the puffi ns. About a mile or so along the road we checked
with a passing islander that we were going in the right direction.
Yes we were – but there was nothing to see. The puffi ns hadn’t
arrived. Whether it was because they simply didn’t know they
were expected on April 14 or the stocks of the sand eels in the
seas around the island on which they feed had collapsed, we’ll
never know, but for some reason they hadn’t shown up yet.
As we got closer to the Arctic Circle, we started wondering
exactly what it was. The fi rst intriguing fact we discovered is that
although its given latitude is 66° 33 ́ 39”, this isn’t actually fi xed.
It’s position depends on the Earth’s axial tilt, which means that
it is currently shifting northwards at a speed of about 15m every
year. But a more pressing concern for us was would we recognise
the moment we entered the Arctic? It proved not to be an issue- a monument on a lone rock showed us that we were crossing
the Arctic Circle. High fi ves all round, and keep running north.
PRINCESS TO NORWAY