Saturday 19th June 2010
We had a nice breakfast spread. All the usual items although only one type of bread. However it was pleasant. I got talking to some of the other folk there. One husband, wife and young child are staying at the hotel while she waits for her baby to arrive, They live in a distant village and this is the closest medical centre. They have been here a week already, although the baby is only one day over due. Interesting talking to them and I notice that they are not around this evening, so perhaps the baby has been born?
There was also a older man from Devon who had arrived in town with no real plan but had chatted to the tourist centre for an hour and got an itinerary which involves a mixture of buses to remote towns where he hopes to find accommodation and renting a car for a while. He was complaining about the cost of living in Norway.
I wandered up a street for a short distance to visit the Andersgrotta, a large tunnel and or bunker, built during World War 2. I got mixed up with a German speaking tour. The bunker guide thought I had said I understood German but I had said the opposite although I did understand the question about could I understand. However in the end he also ran the video in the English version and gave me a quick run down on what he had said.
The tunnel was built over four years by the local residents who built it as protection against the bombing by the Russians. The town was as badly bombed as were Dresden or Munich except we never hear about it. There were 100,000 German troops in the town and it was a submarine base for attacking the Allies' northern shipping route into Murmansk. These supplies were helping Russian resist the German attacks. From Kirkenes the Germans headed towards Murmansk but the Russians held them off and in time reverse the advance and began to move towards Kirkenes. In 1944 the Germans abandoned the town and the Russians arrived.
There had been over 300 Russian bombing raids and most of the town had been wiped out. Every time a raid started the locals rushed into the tunnel, which being built into a granite hill was very resistant to the bombs. As soon as the raid finished the locals hurried out as there was no fresh air intake system.
It was an interesting visit and a cool one too as the air temperature was very chilly. It was certainly nice to feel the sun's warmth when I emerged from the bunker.
At 1 pm I was picked up with some others to go on a King Crab safari. King Crabs were introduced to the Murmansk area by the Russians and within a few years had begun to arrive at Kirkenes. At first the had no natural enemies in the sea here and the numbers grew rapidly, but now nearly 40 years later, an equilibrium has developed in the marine ecosystem and some fish such as the cod can swallow quite large crabs. The Soviets brought them across form the Pacific and they are the same as the Alaskan King Crab. Officially they are the King Red Crab.
We had an informative ride out to the Arctic Adventures base on a nearby fjord. The driver/guide pointed out iron mine rubble heaps, stopped at the boarder crossing point and even took us up a hill to get a view over the town.
I found the whole trip very interesting, helped by my sitting in the front seat beside the driver. This gave me a good view and not obscured by tinted glass and the chance to ask the driver questions. In the group were people from Luxemburg, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Norway. So it was a good mix.
At the tour base we had to put on insulated Arctic survival suits which were combined top and bottom overall type. Besides keeping us warm in the inflatable run-about we were to ride in, they would also act as life jackets if needed for survival in the sea. They certainly kept us warm. We did not travel very far in the Zodiac inflatable. Just down the fjord a little and around a point. This cut off the view of the base, so we couldn't notice how close we were and also gave us a distant view of the mouth of the fjord.
We nosed in close to some cliffs where the crabs liked to feed on the attached mussels and sea weed. The cliffs were nesting grounds for the Mollyhawk and we were able to see dozens sitting sedately on their nests. It was amazing at where the birds found a place to nest – on narrow ledges and in tiny crevices. We were able to spot little chicks steering out from within their mothers white down. There were some slightly old chicks standing beside their mothers. At the top of the cliff were old seagulls ready to swoop down on any eggs or chicks they could see unprotected. Apparently they have no concerns about eating their own. Falcons can also be around as predators as well, but I didn't see any today.
The tour's dive crew member spend this time underwater, emerging from time to time to hand up a number of crabs – much to the gasps and amazement of the tour group. At first we treated the crabs with some caution as they were moving and the claw was some what menacing. But in time some bravery returned and people started carefully picking some up. But not me, I preferred to photograph them. OK I did pick one up to pose with it once we were back on land.
Most of the catch were males which have a triangular shaped underneath shell. But there was one female in a later catch and the guide showed her more rounded shape and carefully pulled back her 'tail' to reveal a mass of brown eggs. Some of the group were convinced that this was the same as caviar and after tasting it announced that yes it was and it was good. I tried the tiniest little sample and can tell you that it had a salty fishy taste. Not unpleasant but I didn't feel like trying more. My sample was smaller than a match head so it was not much.
Once we had collected enough for a meal, the diver climbed back on board and we sped back to base.
After we had removed the protective clothing we went upstairs for coffee and to listen to a very knowledgeable talk about the crabs. There didn't seem to be much that he didn't know about the crabs. He ended up showing a YouTube clip of Gordon Ramsey's visit and swimming under the ice to catch crab. We had a bit of a laugh over this as having done the trip we could spot editing and comment hitches.
The guide said that in the 10 years they have been running about 140 film crews have been there. They tend to do the underwater filming for the crews. But he was fairly unhappy at the way in which the footage is edited to match the producer's preconceived ideas. He described how a TV programme showed shots of abundant marine life and then shots or a sort of marine desert with little life. This was presented as showing the impact of the crabs on the existing marine ecosystem. However, as the guide had shot the footage used he knew that it was all taken on the same day and not years apart. The full marine life shots were in shallow water and the empty shots were at a greater depth. He said that this was the way the sea was and it was like this long before the crabs came. The deeper you go the less there is there. So he felt that the TV channel was not really telling the truth at all.
After the lecture it was time to go downstairs and find a seat at the long table. Soon the trays of piled up King Crab legs arrived in. We were going to eat these with bread, butter, lemon and garlic sauce. But first we had a lesson on how to eat the crab. How to break it open so that the flesh pulls out and how to use the table snipers to cut open the shell.
And then it was all go. Empty bowls were quickly filled with crab shells and the full bowls removed, replaced with fresh empty bowls – and the whole cycle repeated itself. It was a very happy table of satisfied eaters by the end. In fact not all the legs were consumed. Most but not quite all. I now feel that I am an experienced King Crab shell breaker. The taste of the fresh tender crab meat was really delicious. Was it better than our crayfish? No, it was different. Crayfish has a different taste and a firmer texture. When you eat it you feel that you are eating flesh. With the crab, perhaps the freshness of it. Made it a softer feel in the mouth. Not poorer or anything like that, just a different experience.
I have no idea of what I paid for this trip as I paid for several items at the same time. I have a rough idea and feel that it was value for money. Something I had not done before, most likely will never do again. Memorable.
Perhaps tonight I will stay up and see the midnight sun. I had intended to do that last night but some time between 11:30 pm and midnight I fell asleep and when I came too it was 12:35 am and I just didn't feel motivated enough to make the effort.
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