What a splendid day in Honningsvag! We awakened to bright sunny skies with some light clouds. There was high anticipation for the day and our excursion with 71North and their Crab Safari! This by far has been one of the best excursions we have taken and I highly recommend it, especially if you love ribbed boats, like Zodiaks, and King Crab!
We jettisoned out on a 12 passenger ribbed boat sitting astride seats similar to a saddle in our float suits. Accessing the boat can be a bit awkward, but the crew are there to assist. I would not recommend this tour for anyone with severe mobility issues.
As we zoomed toward the King Crab baskets the wind whipped in our faces. We sat behind the navigator so there was a nice wind block, which I would advise. On the return trip back to the boat we sat up front and the cold wind was a bit biting, but we were nice and toasty in our float suits.
Suggestion...don't over dress. Check the weather. We had beautiful weather and it was in the mid-60's. I overdressed with a flannel/fleece L.L.BEAN shirt and a fleece jacket. I looked like a stuffed sausage in my float suit. In retrospect, I would have opted for a light weight shirt and light jacket. One gal on our excursion wore a tank top and was comfortable.
We rode for about 15 minutes to the King Crab traps and the two young crew hoisted the basket up onto the boat. There were about 15 huge crabs in the basket and we ended up taking 13 with us to shore. The other two were thrown back into the sea.
Once we got to shore and disembarked, most of us took off our float suits and left them on the pier for our return. Much more comfortable that way. Try taking your shoes off when donning or removing the suits. It's a whole lot easier.
Next, came the history and ultimate demise of our crabs. It was swift and humane. These King Crabs originally came from Russia and even though the crabs are now in Norwegian waters, the Russians still control the quota of crabs fished. Our tour company has a special exemption and whatever they catch they must use with the tour and any leftovers have to be thrown away. We made sure every single claw and leg was devoured.
I was surprised to see that we would be eating our crab in a teepee! A really huge teepee! Inside the wooden benches were strewn with reindeer hides and a big fire was going in the middle with a big black pot full of seawater. The tour guides cooked the crab in the pots and once done, prepared them for our feast.
The end result was amazing! So sweet you didn't need to add a thing. They also served pita type bread, lemon wedge, and a bit of mayonnaise. I just squeezed a bit of lemon over mine and all was good.
After our amazing feast we got back into our float suits and climbing down aboard our boat and zoomed back to the Viking Sky. The driver of the boat did a little showboating and flew over the wake of the other boat and did some hairpin turns to our delight! I know a few of my friends who would love this ride not to mention the King crab!
It was a day worth remembering and it was all part of our cruise, Into the Midnight Sun, aboard the Viking Sky!
Happy travels to all....until next time! Thanks for stopping by!
~ Cindy
#MyVikingStory #VikingSky #IntotheMidnightSun
We rode for about 15 minutes to the King Crab traps and the two young crew hoisted the basket up onto the boat. There were about 15 huge crabs in the basket and we ended up taking 13 with us to shore. The other two were thrown back into the sea.
Once we got to shore and disembarked, most of us took off our float suits and left them on the pier for our return. Much more comfortable that way. Try taking your shoes off when donning or removing the suits. It's a whole lot easier.
Next, came the history and ultimate demise of our crabs. It was swift and humane. These King Crabs originally came from Russia and even though the crabs are now in Norwegian waters, the Russians still control the quota of crabs fished. Our tour company has a special exemption and whatever they catch they must use with the tour and any leftovers have to be thrown away. We made sure every single claw and leg was devoured.
I was surprised to see that we would be eating our crab in a teepee! A really huge teepee! Inside the wooden benches were strewn with reindeer hides and a big fire was going in the middle with a big black pot full of seawater. The tour guides cooked the crab in the pots and once done, prepared them for our feast.
The end result was amazing! So sweet you didn't need to add a thing. They also served pita type bread, lemon wedge, and a bit of mayonnaise. I just squeezed a bit of lemon over mine and all was good.
After our amazing feast we got back into our float suits and climbing down aboard our boat and zoomed back to the Viking Sky. The driver of the boat did a little showboating and flew over the wake of the other boat and did some hairpin turns to our delight! I know a few of my friends who would love this ride not to mention the King crab!
It was a day worth remembering and it was all part of our cruise, Into the Midnight Sun, aboard the Viking Sky!
Happy travels to all....until next time! Thanks for stopping by!
~ Cindy
#MyVikingStory #VikingSky #IntotheMidnightSun
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