We sailed up the coast of Norway on the Hurtigruten ship and ended up in the way way north of Norway in a little town named Kirkenes. The farther north we went the farther we were from civilization – well any civilization we’ve known.
We entered the Arctic Circle midway through the cruise and noticed as the conditions became more harsh. Cold Arctic blasts of wind blew all around the ship. Certain times the wind was so strong it could blow you over. And this is only October! I can hardly imagine how it would be here in the winter months.
Check out our pictures and what we’ve been up to in the Arctic 🙂 
We’re north of the red line people!! At 71 degrees N latitude – Key West, Fl. is 24 N for comparison
I felt the need to give myself a little geography lesson of where we are and how it looks on the globe
Northernmost chapel in Europe – Thanks Asgeir for the heads up on this little gem 🙂 
Northernmost jumping!!!
Northernmost selfie 🙂 Oh, and here’s a little video I did for you guys at the North Cape. It was really freakin’ cold, so I didn’t say much, but here ya’ go! http://youtu.be/NacKVfQy5kg
Awe, cute reindeer we visited on our trip to the North Cape
We visited a Sami village – these people are indigenous to north Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia
Here’s an interesting link that will answer all your burning questions about the Sami people… LOL No seriously, it’s interesting people, check it out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people
Barren, desolate lands spanning as far as the eye can see – on the way to the North Cape
Jack M. we found your next car – it’s the mini version of the smart car!
Mom getting initiated into the Arctic Circle club 
The Arctic Circle celebration commences!
Sunsets were pretty incredible!
And, the Ms. Arctic Circle beauty award goes to….. NOT US! LOL
Tom, meet everyone – everyone, meet Tom. Tom made sure we had a safe boat ride for our excursion, and lucky me, I got to ride copilot! Felt like I was at home in Florida being on a boat – well, sort of – no bikinis here!
J.P. this was in the guide book, but I did it anyway 🙂
Why would someone want to live here? Inquiring minds want to know!
Northernmost Arctic Circle Mandala? Maybe 🙂
That’s all for now folks… Who wants to guess our next location? XXOO to you all from inside the Arctic Circle 🙂
Oh, and how about some northernmost donating at Nolan’s Way for my cousin 🙂 I know you guys are probably tired of reading about this, but we’re still raising money and sharing his story – we also accept long distance cosmic hugs and prayers! We’ve already raised over $13,000 thanks to generous supporters like you! We are humbly and eternally grateful!
The Critical Path 
I’m having a great trip thanks to you and your Mom – love the double jump!
XO to you both. AC
XO to you AC!
Love the pictures you are sharing, makes me feel as if I am with you and your mom. Continued safe travel 🙂
Cindy
Thanks for checking in Cindy. Hope I get to meet you when I return 🙂 I have a cousin in your area that I visit that also knew Mary Jane, maybe we can all get together. Take care… xo
Years ago, when I was a teenager backpacking through Europe, I made a similar journey along the Norwegian coast and traversed the Arctic Circle but traveled by bus and train in the spring. The scenery was spectacular. I repeated that journey, again traveling by bus and train in the late fall/early winter, when I lived and worked in continental Europe. That’s when I learned to admire and appreciate the aurora borealis or “Northern Lights.” Congratulations!!
What does the rest of your itinerary look like? I was hoping that we might Skype again before you send Mom back to the “land of round door knobs.”
Hugs and stuff from Franny and me … Your Abba.
Well, we saw the northern lights, but they were faint and fleeting, so we didn’t capture them on photo and only saw them once 😦 We were a tad early in the season and the weather was very cloudy so made them hard to see, unfortunately. Yes, we can Skype this week if you like 🙂
Oh, I really want to be with you. Such adventures. Crossing the International Date Line, The Equator, and now up to the North Pole!!! All around the globe. What a dream come true. Take pictures of the Northern Lights for me if you see them. That’s a dream of mine. Hug and love.
Yes, I’m getting around, that’s for sure! Sorry I didn’t catch the NL for you 😦 I really was on the look out for you! xoxo
Erin, my husband, Bob, and I met you on the boat (ship). Just wanted you to know we think you are very courageous and adventuresome. Wish we could have done what you are doing at your age. We loved meeting you and your mom, loved the Viking Feast, loved the swaying of the ship and loved the scenery best of all. Your photos are awesome, if I paint one of them I will send you a print once you are settled in one place. You have images of places we have never seen — we didn’t go on all the excursions you and your Mom did. Your photo of the reindeer swimming looks terrific now that I can see them up close on my Ipad. You are doing a tremendous job of documenting your journey. After we left you in Kirkenes we flew to Oslo and met up with Bob’s cousins for dinner. Had my very first (and probably only since it is illegal in the states) whale steak, it was yummy!
Hi Diane – Great to hear from you, and thanks for checking in! I’d love for you to paint one of my photo’s, when you’re done with it, please email me a picture and I’ll feature it on my blog 🙂 that would be kind of cool. The reindeer picture didn’t turn out that great, I was a little late getting up on deck and zoomed in as much as I could. Oh well, you can’t catch ’em all. Hopefully you’ll have a chance to look through the rest of the blog. Some people are reading it like a book a chapter at a time, if you have time, you might find it interesting. It’s sorted by date so easy to start from the earliest post and read up 🙂
Glad you and Bob had a great cruise and visit with the cousins. Mom and I are in Russia currently and will conclude her time in Germany. Stay tuned for more pictures and adventures. Hope to hear from you again soon and feel free to share my blog, the more followers I get, the better 🙂 Take care my friend