We came to Tromso with only one agenda: to see the northern lights. However after reading through several traveler stories we found that the northern lights could be quite unpredictable so we heeded their advice of staying longer on Tromso to allow for Plan B (or C) should our first attempt to chase it does not yield the result we aim for. Luckily there were lots of activities to do in Tromso, hence it took us a bit of back and forth deciding our daily itinerary throughout our stay.

We booked our Arctic Nature Tour from Tromso via minibus through Viator. It would run for about five hours. We met our guide, Johanna, at ten o’clock in front of the Ice Bar at Tromso. As we loaded the minibus she explained what we would do for the day. Our route would be on to the Kvaloya Island, and we would be doing five to six stops at strategic locations to view the arctic landscapes, fjords, and hopefully see some wildlife. She said in her tours guests may see reindeers, seals, white tailed eagles and moose. We crossed our fingers to spot at some of them.

Our first stop was along the banks of Kvaloysletta, and from a distance, we saw a reindeer! It was by its lonesome quietly eating grass. Here we gazed at the Tromso winter skyline far ahead.

On our next stop we saw a couple of seals. They bobbed up from a distance to say hello.

We then drove off towards the Ersfjord view point. There was a bit of walk from the minibus to the viewpoint, and we treaded carefully on the snow. Our guide said this location was known for a good view of the northern lights display atop the water and in between the mountains. I imagined it definitely woule be! A tidbit I remember most from our guide was that if one looks closely at the top of the mountain at the far right, a face of a troll could be seen.

We then drove on to another lookout point where we gazed at aquamarine waters from above. I did not catch the name of the place, but what I remember from Johanna is that the houses that were built on its shore did not have any roads leading up to them and could only be reached by boat. She also explained that back then, the paint used for the houses were an indicator of the owners’ wealth status. Red is the most common paint used, while white was the most expensive paint to use. What amazed me was that all the paints used had fish oil as their component.

On our way to our last stop, we passed by a big frozen lake called Storvatnet. Then there was a small frozen lake called Litlevatnet.

Our last stop was at Grotfjordvegen. We set up a picnic here, where we got to know where the guests came from, shared stories as we enjoyed pastries and hot drinks.

Johanna introduced us to Skolebrod, a round pastry with custard filling and topped with coconut icing. She also shared Lefse, a flat bread that reminds me of a pita, which has a sweet buttery filling in it. I liked this more and urged D to get us a second serving.

We had tea on a wooden cup which were made by the Sami.

After our pastries and hot drinks we walked around the beach and took some wonderful shots.

On our way back to Tromso I was lost in my thoughts gazing at the arctic scenery from the minibus window. I’ve never thought we’d set foot in the arctic circle yet there we were. I was thankful we had the chance to see it with our own eyes. Definitely one of the highlights of our Norway trip. We were ready for more.