Yngve Ask
Sónia Arrepia Photography
It becomes much easier to acclimatize to the darkness when you realize the stars are so close above you—it imparts the feeling that the distance between earth and stratosphere is traversable, just a 50 km drive upwards. It is no doubt for this experience that cruise ships continue to float down the fjords of northern Norway throughout the season, providing tourists and stargazers a taste of the night while not subjecting them to the full four-month battery of darkness.
Arriving at our destination, a stone house with a bright red door, we are greeted by glasses of straw-coloured spirits and a warm fire. The man who had run the marathon, dusted his clothes off and walked towards me. I cannot remember his name. Had we even talked? The house has had at least fifty people stream through it in the darkness, and everyone was pairing up in conversation. Was he a friend’s friend? Did he speak English?
We make our way to the house next door, guided by glass lanterns, and holding each other’s hands so we don’t get lost. Some of us are more experienced with the extended night than others—the man beside me had run in the popular half-marathon in Tromsø that annually celebrates the polar night, while the woman leading the way looked somewhat disoriented.
He walked past me, stopping at the buffet table. Picking up two sandwiches, he smiled and walked past me again to sit in front of the fireplace. I sat down beside him, next to the fire and introduced myself. He handed me a sandwich. It turned out he spoke no English, had slow hands not made for gesturing, and we stayed together in a comfortable, still silence until the band had grown tired and been replaced by another shift.
It’s not always easy to stay in good spirits in the absence of daylight. People avoid the nature reserves and fisheries, and head towards the city lights and universities. It was this impulse that drove us from house to house. Surrounded by people, and music, and delicious food, whole days pass ensconced with lively conversation, warmth, and revelry.
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