Current catalogue Flight Center - Valid from 01.04 to 31.05 - Page nb 72

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and Idyll IS Frivers enya a) We'll sail through the night from Tromso, arriving at Finnsnes very early inthe morning. A quick stop here and then it'son to Harstad, located on Hinnoya, the largest island of mainland Norway. Our popular “A Taste of Vesteralen” bus excursion de- parts from here, driving through beautiful scenery to Sortland. As the third largest city in Northern Norway, Harstad’s history is connected to her- ring fishing, the military, and in more recent times, oil. You should be able to spot the white walls of Trondenes Church, the world’s northernmost medieval stone church, on the 72 peninsula tothe north. Next is Risoyhamn on the island of Andeya. At 200 in- habitants, it is our smallest port of call. Our founder Captain Richard With moved here in 1875, spending the next few years having sand dredged from thenearby Risoyrenna chan- nel to expand it. Thanks to his efforts, our ships were later able tosail here to support the local villagers. The ship now heads south to Sortland where the landscape slowly transforms from hills to steep 1,000-metre-high moun- tains rising up from the ocean. Sortland is sometimes called “The Blue Town on the Sound” thanks toa local artist’s idea to have many of the town's buildings painted shades of blue. Stokmarknes on the north side of Hadseloya is where Captain Richard With first began The Coastal Express back in 1893. Takea short stroll from the port to Hurtigrutemuseet, a ship- in-a-bottle building that chron- icles our legacy, centred around retired ship MS Finnmarken. On ourway to Svolver, we sail along Raftsund and pass Raften at around 4-4:30pm. Locals and any camping guests here normally like to wave to us from shore. This is something that always makes our Captains and crew proud, and just goes to show how much our ships are appreciated. Trollfjord is well wortha detour if weather allows. It'sa breath-holding momentas the Captain skilfully manoeuvres the ship to enter the tiny, narrow fjord. The mountain walls will look so close you'll think you can reach out and brush them! To exit the fjord, the ship will rotate on the spot by 180 degrees, then sail back out. Remember to look out for sea eagles here too, after catching your breath.