Day 9 – An infinite day

Today is our second infinite day. We remain above the Arctic Circle, so no sunrise or sunset. The midnight sun is caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis and the fact that the axis, during the annual orbit of the earth around the sun, continues to point in the same direction. Within the Arctic Circle, the sun stays continuously longer in the sky as one gets closer to the pole. At 70° north, this is for about 76 days,at the poles themselves, the sun does not set for six months. The name midnight sun was first used by Paul Belloni Du Chaillu, a French-American explorer who had traveled through Northern Europe during a long period in 1881, and published a travel story under that title.

Last night we started heading south again. It will take us two days at sea to get back to the south of Norway. That means two days on board, but there is plenty to do.

First of all .... sleeping in. Although this happens involuntary. Because of the darkness  in our room, you have no time reference, and then it turns out to be already later than you think. It also works in that direction. We are still in time for breakfast which is served until 10.30 am today.

It's overcast above the sea, the sun occasionally peeps between clouds and it's a little sad that you can not actually see the sun more clearly. It remains dry and that is the most important, the sea itself is wonderfully calm. It is the first time on this cruise  that we sail on the high seas, with barely a ripple in the water. Many people on board here are really really pleased. Many activities are offered on these days at sea. The sad thing is that these sometimes overlap, and that it is therefore difficult to make choices.

At 10:30 am a  golf putting tournament is organized. When I see the first participants play semi-professional, I decide to only watch. At this moment I had hoped for a wilder sea. Then my fumbling had not been noticed - :).

At 11.30 am HAL organizes a look into the future with the cruise offerings until 2018. We dream of a trip of fun in the sun in the Caribbean, the beautiful autumn of Canada and New England, the white beaches and palm trees of the Polynesian islands, world destinations on world cruises, the end of the world in Antarctica, the natural beauty of New Zealand, classics around the Mediterranean.

I am not really hungry at lunchtime, our late breakfast has  something to do with that.

The casino on board is in full swing. There are repeatedly tournaments organized and  today it is a  blackjack tournament . I pop in and then hurry  to the Digital workshop for a follow-up session of learning how to edit pictures. Today we are all very creative making collages and panorama pictures. This session is followed by a update on Windows 10.

From all this info we get thirsty, so time for an aperitif in the bar. And then time for dinner, in the dining room our servers are already waiting for us.

At the World Stage theater tonight,  a ballet performance is scheduled in which each dance represents a musical instrument. A dreamy performance.

We conclude this evening in Billboard on Board with a session of the 60’s.

We are preparing for our last real midnight sun ...