Deep in the heart of the Melfjord we examined the micro and macro scale of how the famous Norwegian fjords came to be. Each person picked a rock at random from the beach and studied its textures, angles and colors. To gain a broader perspective each rock was passed around the circle until it rested in the hand of its finder once again. Holding the rocks up against the landscape around us we sought out similarities between our samples and the immense gray walls towering above us. Sure enough, the same subtle differences we found in our own collection were there in the walls of Melfjord: shades of pink on one rock face, bands of darker rock running through lighter rock, vertical fractures filled with waterfalls, and exfoliating sheets of rock beginning to peel-off like giant onion rings. No longer a uniform body of granite carved into u-shaped valleys by ice, the visible landscape had become as varied as the history of our individual lives.

Later in the day we anchored our ship and went ashore at Vikigen, a small island situated on the Arctic Circle and adorned with a large wire globe perched at its top. Barbecue and glug fortified us all in the gray, misty weather, and especially those brave souls who accepted the challenge of the polar plunge. Demonstrating not only bravery but also a temporary loss of sanity, they leapt from the Zodiac, “frolicked” in the frigid 45 degree F. water, and rapidly clambered out with the helping hands of the expedition staff. Brrrrrr! A hot sauna on board culminated the invigorating experience and official Polar Plunger certificates were issued to all.