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True, we spoke a lot about it with Leen & Andre.   The point is that It’s a fishermen hotel, and the owners are not present in the lodge as it is the case in the great Hotel Pantanal Norte. Unfortunately his owner close during the rainy season 

Nice trip! I had this on my wishlist for many years now, it`s just plain lazyness that i haven`t done it yet, I mean, it`s a 2 hours flight away :-)  what airline did you use from Oslo, Gardermoen, SAS? Sounds like they messed up a bit with their crew. It`s true that pilots must pass special training to be able to fly to Tromsø, it`s quite challenging and unpredictable in wintertime. Hungarian airline wizzair who tried to establish themselves and fly domestic here in Norway, actually had to fly back to Oslo many times when flying to tromsø because of lack of experience in those kinds of conditions. Did you get to see the northern lighst while up north also? If you plan more trips here and need tips or help with anything, just let me now :-) 

What’s your opinion on the Santa Rosa Hotel?   I think it just shouldn’t exist there and it was one of the worst managed hotels I ever stayed at.

24th November   We started the day with beautiful clear skies,  flat seas and were really hoping our luck was changing for the better. Yesterday we'd seen quite a lot of orcas, today would we actually get to snorkel with them? Hopes were high, but desperation was starting to set in, we only had today and tomorrow left!    IMG-20211124-WA0012 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240273  Norway Scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240301_01  Norway Scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240308  Norway Scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240315  Norway Scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240332  Norway Scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240339  Norway Scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240342  Norway Scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240367 Beautiful scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   PB240411 (2) Beautiful scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Things started slowly though as we only reached our first group of whales at 10.50. But these were humpbacks, and although we had some nice views of them close to the rib, we were not encouraged to get into the water with them, I think this was due to the speed at which they were travelling..   IMG-20211206-WA0019 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG-20211206-WA0018 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG-20211124-WA0002 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   We then spotted a research boat that was out tagging orcas, we follwed for most of the day, hoping to catch up with the orcas.     IMG-20211206-WA0086 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG-20211206-WA0071 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG-20211206-WA0083 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG-20211206-WA0084 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG-20211206-WA0039 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG-20211206-WA0002 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   They were constantly on the move, keeping ahead of us for the majority of the next hour. Around midday the pod seemed to be moving at a more relaxed pace and our guide, Sven felt it was worth trying to get in the water with them. Well suffice to say this did not really go so well. On his instruction we got mask, fins and snorkels ready, at which point I found that the fins I had been given had been swapped with another of the guest and were too small! I managed to get them on with some help and then on command we all dived over the sides of the rib into the fjord.    IMG-20211124-WA0019 by Jo Dale, on Flickr     It was surprisingly comforatble in comparison the the ambient air temperature, the cold barely registering as I struggled to get my bearings. "Look under water, look underwater" Sven called from the boat, as our group, now spread out all peered into the blue in the hopes of glimpsing something, anything! But we were quickly called back to the rib, the orcas were not in a curious mood and were rapidly moving on.  It was only when I got back in the rib that I realised both my fins were missing as my boots had slipped off my feet! We tried in vain to find them, but they were lost to the drink.   Once everyone was back on board we tried to follow the orcas, watching them from a distance as long as we could but never actually getting the opportunity to get close enough to try again. But at least I had stayed dry - unlike one lady who unfortunately discovered her drysuit had a leak!    IMG-20211206-WA0060 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG-20211206-WA0067 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Back at the harbour later on we all decided to take a walk around the village as we tried not to feel too dejected that we still hadn't been able to snorkel with the orcas yet. Well tomorrow was our last chance, would it deliver? Time would tell...   IMG-20211122-WA0007 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG_20211124_171740_1  Local scenes by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG_20211124_171807  Local scenes by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG_20211124_171908  Local scenes by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG_20211124_172049  Local scenes by Jo Dale, on Flickr   IMG_20211124_172707 Local scenes by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Our guide Sven aslo gave us some very informative talks about orcas during the avernoon down time.   IMG-20211122-WA0010 by Jo Dale, on Flickr    

@AtdahlI think Norway is probably the only place where you are legally allowed to snorkel with orcas as a tourist. Although how long that will be allowed/able to continue I don't know. In fact it has got quite bad recently with a lot of unregulated operators of whale watching and snorkeling outfits that there was a big meeting when we were there because they was some mumbings that it might be stopped althogether. I don't think anything was decided in that respect. 

Rainy season is nice but hard. You will see less cats on the river for two reasons: the prey are widespread in the marshes and flooded areas, sometime far away from the river, and when it's raining, cats are inside the thicket. And bugs are voracious and difficult to handle. In Santa Rosa hotel, where we stayed, we couldn't even go out of the room or the restaurant. There were thousands of mosquitoes

thank you for such an awesome job in detailing all the necessary information in the current fluid conditions once again, and such a meaningful, poignant remembrance of Jane.   

Thank you, Biko. Though i am afraid, losing weight is by no means an easy task. Due to my hospitalisation, i had lost 21 kgs- and i resolved not to let it go to waste- but the resolve lasted just as resolutions do. A month at the most.:-(

The problem with the crowds is that to avoid them in a normal year one has to go during the rainny season, I don´t think I will do that.   I´m looking forward to see the end of your TR, I´ve been following it.

Thanks @jeremie, those are also my favourite pictures of the kill.