Crossing the Arctic Circle
Introduction
Growing up, I imagined that crossing the Arctic Circle and reaching the lands beyond was a journey complete with dangers from the severe cold, snowstorms, icy wilderness and its extreme remoteness. I sought out the stories of the great Arctic explorers from the sixteenth century like Hugh Willoughby, Martin Frobisher and Willem Barents through to William Edward Perry and John Franklin before the early twentieth century quests of Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Matthew Henson and Robert Peary to find the North West passage or reach the North Pole. Even though I never had any extreme adventurous or expeditionary thoughts of my own, there was a mystery to the archipelago of Canada’s northern islands. What was Ellesmere Island or Svalbard really like? How did Greenlandic people manage to live in such an extreme climate? What lay in the secretive lands of the former Arctic Soviet Union with its gulags and military infrastructure? A burgeoning wish grew within me to experience the polar region one day.
As a student I lived in Canada but never found the opportunity to venture to its far north. Later I had two ‘near misses’. Firstly, when staying in northern Iceland, I didn’t take a boat trip from Akureyri to Grimsey island, the only place in the country straddling the circle; and secondly, in Alaska when instead of continuing north from Fairbanks, I travelled south east along the Alaskan Highway towards Whitehorse in the Yukon. As a result, the intrigue of what it was like on the other side of the imaginary circle stayed with me!
Norway – train to Bodø
Our decision to take a trip to Norway in the summer of 2011, was an ideal opportunity to satisfy this latent fascination. As part of the trip we had booked to travel by train on The Nordland Line from Trondheim to Bodø, during which we would cross the Arctic Circle. When the moment arrived, we were able to board the train well ahead of departure time, allowing us to settle in and become acquainted with our overnight sleeper.
In the immediate aftermath of that journey, I wrote: “Our carriage had a bit of an ‘old world’ feel to it with reclining couches in our own ‘sub-cabin’ which could be cordoned off with a curtain. Blankets were also provided, making it generally comfortable, enhanced perhaps by it raining steadily outside. The train left three or four minutes late and in the early dusk made its way out through the industrial zone and along the shore of Trondheimfjord. With the passing views becoming increasingly grey as the evening gloom descended, it wasn’t long before we began dozing off in our reclined positions, content that we were on our way to the Arctic and the Lofoten Islands!
Crossing the Arctic Circle (marked by cairn and visitor centre) - view from train
May have slept until about 3.15 am. In the half-light, the train continued its steady pace through the taiga (part of the great boreal forests of the northern hemisphere), where every so often there would be a clearing with hay fields, perhaps a few cattle and farmsteads, and on through this sparsely populated country until reaching the industrial town of Mo i Rana.
From here, the train climbed back into thinner vegetation until reaching a plateau area that looked rather bleak and peered towards Sweden in the distance. By now we were enjoying an early morning drink in the buffet car. As it was not busy, I was able to speak with the guard, who told us that this line was heavily subsidised and was kept open all through the year. At about 7.30 we crossed the Arctic Circle, marked by a building (probably a visitor centre or service stop) on the nearby road that at this point was running parallel to the railway with small cairns closer to the railway itself. So, without much fuss and fanfare, we had moved into the Arctic, the furthest north either of us had ever been. Having been close in Iceland, I had now reached it.
Reine in the Lofoten Islands
With the train braking hard on its descent from the plateau, we looked out across Skjerstadfjord and Saltfjorden with distant views of snowfields and sharply peaked mountains as we undertook the last leg of the ride into Bodø, arriving on time in the early morning. After this memorable journey, we now had time to look around the town before catching the afternoon ferry to Svolvær in the Lofoten Islands.”
Lofoten Island beach looking out towards the Arctic Ocean
I remember having a special sense of arriving in a land that was in some way different. There was an extra dimension or magic to it. Perhaps it was because it was the first time I had crossed into the polar region. May be because Norway shrinks to its narrowest width during this train journey, it felt as if we had traversed a tenuous link between the more temperate, southern part of Norway and its Arctic region. The railway line appeared to be all that linked these two parts. Looking back, these feelings still remain a little ill-defined, but what was certain was the excitement of achieving a personal goal that had lain within me for many years.
Greenland - ferry to Ilulissat
Sarfaq Ittuk ferry leaving Ilulissat and heading out into ice-filled Disko Bay
The opportunity to repeat the experience came when we decided to visit Greenland four years later. We had booked our place on the coastal ferry ship, the Sarfaq Ittuk, and boarded it at its southern-most port at Qaqortoq for the three and a half day’s journey northwards along the west coast to Ilulissat on the shores of Disko Bay, renowned for its population of icebergs. En route we sailed through sheltered coastal waters, avoided myriads of small islands, gasped at dramatic mountains, viewed tongues of the Greenland ice cap in the far distance, hit occasional bands of sea fog and stopped at small communities. Contrary to common perception (well, mine at least!), the southern ‘tip’ of Greenland is further south than the whole of Iceland, Bergen and even the Shetland Islands! Upon arrival in the capital, Nuuk, one could be forgiven for thinking it was very much like any other modern, small city with its modern buses, roundabouts, cultural facilities, and people meeting and sitting out in the sun for Friday ‘after work’ drinks.
Crossing the Arctic Circle off the Greenland coast - view from cabin
After calling at Maniitsoq early the following morning, we passed among dramatic higher and steeper peaks before emerging into more open waters. A few hours later as we rested in our cabin, and after two and a half days at sea, we crossed the Arctic Circle. We went back out onto the rear deck to enjoy the afternoon calmness and sunshine, before eating an early dinner ahead of our evening stop at Sisimiut, Greenland’s second biggest, and most northerly town to be ice free all the year round.
In truth, the actual crossing was a bit disappointing! The voyage was never just about crossing the Circle, but coming to see and understand what this environment was like where large icebergs calve off, whales can commonly be seen, and gaining an understanding of a culture where for some, hunting continues. All the same, I don’t recall any great fanfare being made of it – perhaps due to this also being a working coastal ferry for locals? There was no ceremony similar to what traditionally happens at sea for those crossing the Equator for the first time. In some ways crossing the Circle at sea did not seem so meaningful as being on land. Was this because there was no marker or signboard of any kind, or would it inevitably never feel as special the second time? Nevertheless, it did not detract from what must rank as one of the great voyages in the world, even though relatively unknown, and all the better for not being a formal cruise. To have completed the full length of the ferry’s route remains one of my best and prized travel memories.
Ice floe filling Ilulissat harbour brought in by the tide
During our time in and around Ilulissat, we visited an exhibition devoted to the Danish explorer, Knud Rasmussen, who undertook several Arctic expeditions in the early twentieth century. Following his visits to the Inuit peoples of Arctic Canada, Alaska and Siberia a key outcome was being able to prove that they were really one linked people. His travels helped Greenland in particular to be declared one people and one political entity, namely a colony of Denmark, by the International Court in 1933. This finished Norway’s territorial claim to at least the north eastern part of Greenland. The impression generated by the exhibition was that Rasmussen had tried to ensure the Inuit people were treated and traded with fairly. He had a unifying effect, providing a foundation for the movement for greater Greenlandic autonomy, and leaving a legacy that found its later expression in the establishment of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) in 1977. This was later granted “Consultative Status” at the United Nations under the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and has since continued to work within various UN forums.
Reflections
Eqi Glacier (north of Ilulissat) - horizontal ‘line’ on left of picture marks the earlier height of glacier providing evidence of its retreat
The Arctic has become a place of greater strategic importance and geopolitical tension, as increased activities by NATO, Russia and China testify. Ice free waters have opened up viable sea routes around northern Russia reducing the shipping time for trade between east Asia and Europe, allowed cruise ships to navigate the North West Passage and Arctic Canadian waters, and aided the continuing exploration and exploitation of oil and minerals across the region. These provide major challenges for the region. The risk of pollution and the impact of any disasters pose great risks to the fragile Arctic ecosystems, as the increase in wildfires and the recent Russian oil spill illustrate.
Sunset trips among the icebergs in Disko Bay, near Ilulissat
Having seen retreating glaciers, experienced warm Arctic summer temperatures and heard clearly divided attitudes among local Greenlandic people, I realise that as much as the wonder of the Arctic land- and seascapes will always attract visitors it is not easy to see how one can easily tread lightly on the Arctic. The romanticised fascination of my childhood for the Arctic now feels diminished by the impact of climate change. If scientists are correct in stating that the Arctic has warmed at a rate of twice the global average during the last thirty years, then how much have visits such as mine and others been part of the problem? This has to be the time to re-evaluate and curb our wanderlust in these regions.
Even if one’s own footprint is comparatively small in the context of other global contributors driving climate change, the cumulative pressures of building demand for easy access to these relatively remote places, whether by plane or ship, must be considered. How much can demand be configured as a benign form of eco-niche tourism that supports the economies of Arctic communities. We need to ask ourselves whether there are good choices to be made? Simply carbon offsetting one’s trip seems to miss the point. Rather, a responsible traveller should question whether it is appropriate to book an Arctic cruise, for instance? Or does the experience of witnessing first-hand the changes occurring in the region lead to visitors becoming all the more determined to fight the climate crisis? The moral crevasses are clearly hazardous!
My own experience of the Arctic has been limited to the few weeks spent there in summer conditions. Nonetheless, our time spent around Disko Bay and the Lofoten Islands still provided an Arctic experience every bit as captivating and magical as I had imagined growing up. Now though, I’m left wondering how appropriate it is to consider returning to these Arctic lands?
Links
The Nordland Railway operates between Trondheim and Bodø
Greenland west coast ferry is operated by the Arctic Umiaq Line
Further reading
Prior to the COVID-19 the British Museum intended to hold a major Arctic cultural exhibition. A blog to accompany the exhibition remains available.
Michael Palin (2018), Erebus: The Story of a Ship, Cornerstone, ISBN: 9781784758578
