Beats Santa’s sleigh anyday!!!!

I’ve saved the best bit till last……..

We disembarked the Hurtigruten ‘Richard With’ at 11pm, had a one night post cruise stay at the ‘Radisson Blue’ hotel again in Tromso, and grabbed a few beers at the bar attached to the hotel.  We met some fantastic locals who were enjoying their evening so much that one of their party decided to attach their friend to a pillar in the bar with the resident musician’s gaffer tape as he was so inebriated that he could not physically sit straight on his stool.

The following morning before heading to the airport we had just enough time to fit in a ‘Husky sleigh ride’ which was definitely the highlight of my trip.

We arrived at 8am just in time to hear all the Huskies waking up which was a phenomenal sound. As they stretched their hind legs, pointing their snouts in the hour the howling became infectious and before we knew it we had 200 huskies all singing in unison getting so excited, hoping to be picked for the first run of the day.

Being a dog lover I found it interesting to talk with the local guides about their training and diet, and found that many of the dogs competed in competitions throughout the year and had won several medals. The main question we all had was, did the dogs really enjoy what they did? We were assured they did and they all looked healthy and happy. They were also so friendly from meeting many different people every day.

I headed to our sleigh with my cabin mate Catherine, snuggled under the seal skins blankets and before we could catch our breath we had 8 huskies racing us over the ice and snow. The scenery was fantastic and the best bits were when the sled took flight over small ramps of ice, the dogs were so excited at times I think they had forgotten we were attached to the back of them.

We also got to meet the husky puppies which was great fun; I’m surprised I managed to get away with my gloves as they took a great liking to them.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Arctic but being vegetarian I am glad to say I will not be missing the Reindeer cuisine, not even the delight on offer at Pizza Hut at the airport.