The Magerøya strait, Norway: between night and day

While we had been sailing onboard the Norwegian Coastal Express for several days, the experience of passing through the Magerøya strait  (70º58’N), just a few kilometers from the North Cape, felt like being on the North Pole on a beautiful winter’s day.

We were in the middle of the polar night. At this time of year, the sun never rises above the horizon. The light was low, muted, and dusky. 

The entire Norwegian coast was covered in a thick coat of downy white and the wintery landscapes glided by before us on our journey north. Snowy hills and mountains, towns and villages where the buildings looked like frosted gingerbread houses during the day, and little dancing candles as soon as it got dark. The colors would go from black, grey, and white, like a Japanese woodblock print, to shades of blue, ranging from ultramarine to glacier blue, and pale warm tones, from pinks to golds.

The ever-present large quantities of snow added to the wintery charm, made for sharper contrasts, and brought more light to the landscape.

That day, our ship was slowly making its way between the rounded mountains, which were cloaked in a thick layer of immaculate white.

If we didn’t have watches, it would have been impossible to tell whether it was morning or evening, dawn or twilight. 

On the port side, we saw the perfect full moon hanging in a blue and lilac sky, reflected in the water’s surface in golden hues and highlighting the snowy peaks.

On the starboard side, intensely warm shades of orange and pink set the hazy sky ablaze. The mountains on either side of the strait looked like giant meringues that were several hundred meters high. 

Not a hint of vegetation, as trees don’t grow this far north. 

Not a single house. Nobody lives here, not along the water, nor on the mountainside. The only human presence apart from our ship was a tiny fishing boat, all alone at the far end of the sound.

The temperature remained below zero, but thanks to the Gulf Stream, the cold wasn’t too extreme.

Despite having wrapped up in layers and layers of warm clothes, the polar winds whipped at every part of our faces that was still exposed. The landscape was so incredible that we hardly noticed the icy cold stinging our cheeks.

In just a few steps on the outside deck, we could go from the port to the starboard side, from the pale gold of the full moon to the warm light of the sun from below the horizon. 

It felt like being in a dream, suspended between day and night. The experience was intense, and the sight was striking. 

The feeling of gliding silently on the water in the freezing cold while admiring the immaculate beauty of untouched nature, was just breathtaking.

You can catch up on our full article about our trip on the Norwegian Coastal Express right here!