Spring Break - Part Nine
By Dave and Jaja

Easter Sunday. On Monday we would return to Svolvaer and reinstall ourselves ashore.

We had left Troll fjord behind, after a great day of cross country skiing, and we were anchored back at Store Molla. But this time it was a much different anchorage from Gullvika. Haversand had towering mountains on one shore, but the remainder of the bay was protected by a series of low islands rimmed with white sand. Bordering the sand was fresh snow. In the background, behind the low islands, Geitgaljen rose to an impressive 4,100 feet.

It was our ninth Easter aboard with our kids. When Chris was one year old we were anchored at Great Barrier Island in New Zealand. We’d forgotten to buy eggs and had only two on board. We boiled them and went to shore for an Easter egg hunt. By cleverly distracting Chris at key intervals he was able to find the same two eggs thirty times.

Easter in Darwin, Australia, when Chris and Holly were ages four and two, was unique. The 18-foot tides discouraged us from a shoreside hunt so we hid the eggs on deck early in the morning. A huge ship cruised by and left an enormous wake. I can remember sitting below listening to eggs rolling and banging around on deck. Later that morning, with a temperature close to 90° in the shade, the kids had their hunt.

"Mommy? Why are the eggs all smashed?"

Easter Sunday in Haversand looked tropical but it was 29° on deck. The white sand beaches glittered and the blue sky inspired. The bay was flat calm without a ripple. At ages eleven and nine, Chris and Holly had outdistanced the Easter bunny. But five-year-old Teiga was the perfect age and Chris and Holly helped with the deception. We had stocked plenty of eggs and the day before Easter we boiled them and the kids decorated them with crayons. During the night Jaja got up and hid fourteen eggs in the cabin and put out three chocolate bunnies, and assorted chocolate eggs.

Chris and Holly didn’t believe in the Easter Bunny but they still believed in the delights of chocolate. Teiga eventually found all the real eggs. I groaned inwardly; it didn’t take much imagination to guess what we would be eating for lunch over the next several days.

Easter Sunday was a real beauty and we knew we had to enjoy the day for all it was worth - the barometer was plunging and the forecast was calling for another gale with more snow. The changeable, springtime Arctic weather was as unmerciful as our impending menu.

Jaja called out from the galley. "Anybody want a hard boiled egg?"