Alta, Norway is as far north as our cruise will take us. We arrived to clear blue skies and a balmy 1 degree Fahrenheit. I was very excited for this particular day, as we’d get to see reindeer! We travelled about an hour outside of Alta to Maze, the Sami reindeer herders area, and we saw a moose and her calf along the way as well as frozen rivers and lakes (6 feet of ice deep!) and gorgeous snowy landscapes. Alta is known as the City of Northern Lights as it’s the home of the first Northern Lights observatory established in 1899. They get more sun than other cities and have better chances of observation because of the clear skies.

Sami are the indigenous people of Norway. Upon arrival at the Sami camp we were met by the patriarch of this clan, Johan (pronounced you-wan), who introduced us to his family; wife, son, daughter and granddaughter, wearing traditional garb and even reindeer coats and shoes. The shoes were fascinating; hooks on the toes to be able to quickly get in and out of wooden cross-country skis when herding reindeer on snow. The soles, also of reindeer fur provided for traction and brake, based on the direction of the fur, and were sewn together with homemade thread made from reindeer leg tendons which expand when wet creating a seal against the snow. They stuff the shoes with dried grass for comfort, and if they do get wet they can easily dry the grass quickly over a fire. Try that with socks. 

It’s uncouth to ask a reindeer herder how many reindeer they have; it’s like asking how much money you make. So we have no idea how many reindeer there were, but we only saw the few used for sleigh rides. Supposedly there are a couple of numbers, one is what they tell the Norwegian Government for tax purposes, the other is the true one…

The sun on the snow, the funny, beautiful reindeer and the fun (and sometimes exciting ride) made for a great experience! After our ride we ate reindeer stew in a traditional Sami tent called a lavuu. The fire felt great and the stew was delicious. And cloudberry whipped cream and cake for dessert!

That night we ventured by bus to Mount Paeskatun where the clear skies provided us with an amazing light show. Warming huts, a sweet little shop with souvenirs of rock carvings of reindeer and Sami, a lavuu with a warm fire, an igloo and an outdoor fire pit under the stars and an almost full moon. Amazing.

I hope you enjoy this slide show of our day.

Deborah