Sailing by Torghatten Mountain; later on shore we climbed through the “hole in the mountain.”
We sailed by Torghatten Mountain, known for a distinctive hole straight through its center. Seeing it from the distance was intimidating, as we had signed up for the ship’s Torghatten Mountain Hiking tour that mentioned that we would be hiking into and through this hole.
Once in port, we boarded a bus, and toured through the small town of Brønnøysund, with its brightly colored houses. As we drove to Torghatten, we passed green fields filled with grazing dairy cattle.
At the mountain, our tour guide estimated 20 minutes of hiking. Our group took longer than the 20 minutes but enjoyed the amazing views along the climbing path. (The tour was rated 3-man but should probably be a 4-man; regardless we loved it!)
After reaching the “hole”, you could actually climb down through it and hike over to the other side, which provided a “window” on the valley below and the waters that we had sailed. Everyone took turns taking photos standing at the edge.
As we were returning down the mountain, the sunshine suddenly turned to light rain which subsided by the time we got back to Brønnøysund. We left the tour at the downtown drop-off, and walked about 2 miles back to the port.
Swimming the Arctic Circle
Back on ship, we sailed over the Arctic Circle about 11 pm. 91 crazy cruise passengers jumped into the swimming pool during this crossing, earning ourselves “Successfully Swam the Arctic Circle“ certificates.