Day 11 (20 March): Kirkenes & Voyage South, Day 1

In 33 days, we'll be boarding the Havila Voyages boat, 'Capella'. We chose this cruise line for two reasons: their excursions and their environmental footprint. Each of the Havila boats is powered by battery (up to four hours of emissions-free sailing) and natural gas, and has capacity for only 600 people. They recharge using hydropower on the quays, recover heat from the sea and the engines, and source all their ingredients locally for the food in their restaurants. As far as cruising goes, this one isn't too bad for the planet.

The Havila Capella docked in Hammerfest, set against the snowy backdrop of Norway's rugged coastline.

Although the boat doesn't leave Kirkenes until lunchtime, we've got our first 'excursion' booked for 9 am - we will be going dog sledding! 'Mushing' is the use of dogs for sport or transport and has been around since at least 6000 BC (evidence from Siberia). This spread to Western Europe over time, where by the First World War, dogs were used for ambulances and bringing war supplies to soldiers.

In this experience, we'll be meeting the dogs, given suitable clothing for going fast in cold places, and taking the dogs for a 5 km round trip. Once that's done, it's back to the boat and off we go!

We've booked an internal room on the boat, with a bunk-style setup. We don't expect to be spending too much time in the room, so we thought we'd spend our money elsewhere!

There are a few ports the boat will sail into on this day, although we'll no doubt be asleep for some! The ports this day include:

• Vardø (55 mins)

• Båtsfjord (30 mins)

• Berlevåg (10 mins)