Our next stop was at Vardo, the easternmost settlement in Norway. It is a small (2,300 inhabitants) fishing community located on an island not far from the Russian coast. Our first view of Vardo was this lighthouse on an outlying spit of land.
As we neared the harbor we could see on a hill overlooking the town a massive radar installation. Supposedly it is there to track satellites in orbit, but the Russians know better. Consequently, the Vardo installation has been a bone of contention between Russia and NATO.
It was late afternoon when we arrived and the sun hanging low on the horizon cast a dramatic play of light and shadows on the town dwellings.
Entering the harbor.
While our boat unloaded supplies we debarked and went for a short walk through the town.
The Vardo church with part of the radar installation in the background.
A turf roof -- not an uncommon sight in the northern latitudes.
Cannon on the Vardohus Fort. It dates from the first half of the eighteenth century and the guns have never been fired.
Then it was back on the ship and out into the Barents Sea.
Soon darkness fell and we were once again treated to a display of the Aurora Borealis. This time the lights were much less spectacular than they had been the night before, so I only took a few photos before heading off to bed.
As we neared the harbor we could see on a hill overlooking the town a massive radar installation. Supposedly it is there to track satellites in orbit, but the Russians know better. Consequently, the Vardo installation has been a bone of contention between Russia and NATO.
It was late afternoon when we arrived and the sun hanging low on the horizon cast a dramatic play of light and shadows on the town dwellings.
Entering the harbor.
While our boat unloaded supplies we debarked and went for a short walk through the town.
The Vardo church with part of the radar installation in the background.
A turf roof -- not an uncommon sight in the northern latitudes.
Cannon on the Vardohus Fort. It dates from the first half of the eighteenth century and the guns have never been fired.
Then it was back on the ship and out into the Barents Sea.
Soon darkness fell and we were once again treated to a display of the Aurora Borealis. This time the lights were much less spectacular than they had been the night before, so I only took a few photos before heading off to bed.
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