Today, the Hurtigruten stopped in the remote municipality of Træna, just south of the Arctic Circle. This tiny archipelago is made up of hundreds of rocky islands, though only the four main islands are populated. We anchored off Husøya, the largest settlement, with a population of just 405. When passengers came ashore, we nearly doubled the town’s population!
Once off the ship, I set out to explore this tiny island on foot. I covered more than 13,000 steps (yes, I count them!) while wandering around town and taking in just how quiet everything was, even with gale-force winds howling around me.
I visited two churches: the typical-sized Træna Kirke and the tiny historic Peter Dass Kapellet. Along the way, I came across a neatly kept graveyard with a tiny, church-like building. It turned out to be a cemetery chapel. It took some digging to find its name, but it’s called Træna Gamle Kirkegård. And, for the record, a cemetery chapel is simply a small chapel used for burials or funeral services.
Getting to Peter Dass Kapellet required a fairly steep hike uphill. Once I reached the summit, I stopped to take some photos. From up there, it seemed I could see forever; there were endless rocky islands rising from the sea in every direction. Far below i saw a fish farm, a fishing trawler, and a handful of compact modular accommodations set apart from the main village.
Directly ahead, the island of Sanna rose dramatically from the sea. At its summit on the peak called Gompen sits a radar station 243 metres above sea level. You can actually hike up to it along a construction road, with a scenic natural feature along the way that includes an unlit tunnel. The hike is about 5 km round trip, but you’ll need a headlamp to navigate the pitch-black 700-metre tunnel.
Back on board, there was plenty of excitement about crossing into the Arctic Circle, and we gathered on the top outdoor deck for a celebration. Once the ship’s crew had been introduced and deployed to their stations, loud music started playing and shots were handed out.
I spotted my friend Diane, a fun, independent, like-minded traveler, and we escaped down a couple of decks to the wonderfully quiet lounge (everyone else was still up on deck celebrating). The singer was amazingly talented and hilarious, so what was supposed to be an early night turned into one that lasted until almost midnight.
Another big day tomorrow!
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