Sommaroy - Up in the Arctic Circle

Sommaroy, Norway

When we were talking about what we might like to do over the next few years, one of the things that regularly came up was seeing the Northern Lights.

We had read that the lights have a cycle of when they are at their best, and that 2016 was towards the end of the current good spell. Not wanting to wait another five years or so, we decided to go pretty much as soon as we got back to Europe.

Sommaroy, Norway

Now the Aurora Borealis is one of those things that you can aim to do, but there is never any guarantee that you actually will, especially on a short trip. So we decided to spend a week on the little island of Sommaroy, in Norway, at the start of March.

When we told my mum that this was our plan, she dropped some remarkably unsubtle hints, so she came too.

Sommaroy, Norway

We booked an Airbnb on the island, but in deference to both my mum's uncertainty about staying with strangers, and the fact that we were expecting to be coming and going at all hours of the night, we opted for one where we had a flat to ourselves.

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy is only about 96 acres in size - which is about the same as fifty professional football pitches, and has a population of not that much over 300 people. It is a little over twenty miles from Tromso, which is where we flew in to, and is well within the Arctic Circle.

Sommaroy, Norway

Our host collected us from the airport, and stopped at a store on the way back, so that we could stick up on provisions for the week. There is a little grocery shop on the island, but whilst it has all the basics, it is quite limited.

Sommaroy, Norway

There isn't a great deal here of course, but that wasn't really the point. all the paths and roads were covered in snow and ice, so we weren't going to be going anywhere quickly, but we tottered our way around to see what was there.

Church, Sommaroy, Norway

We found the church, and a little shop that sold locally made woollen items, like the traditional fit-either-hand gloves.

Sommaroy, Norway

We popped along to the little café a couple of times for lunch, and went along to the one hotel for dinner one evening, where Nic and I tried the local reindeer.

Sommaroy, Norway

We also walked up to the end of town, and peered over the bridge to see if we could spot any whales. We knew we were a bit late for them, but you never know. We didn't see any though.

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

 

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway

Sommaroy, Norway