Looking for adventure, tourists swim on the edge of the Arctic Circle

Cold showers are meant to be good for your health, but some people are taking it a step further: swimming in the frozen waters near the Arctic Circle. That experience, along with walking on the ice, is part of a mini cruise growing in popularity among tourists looking for something fun. Between Sweden and Finland lies the Baltic Sea. In its northernmost part, it’s mostly frozen from the end of November until the end of April. To get a taste of a polar expedition, tourists can book a day cruise on board an icebreaker boat. It departs from the Swedish side of the border with Finland. Named Polar Explorer, the boat is co-driven by captain Frank Hammerø, who used to work in the Coast Guard and then the oil industry. Originally built as an industrial icebreaker, the boat has been repurposed for the tourism industry. Crew cabins were ripped out to create more seating for guests. And the captain is now spearheading mini expeditions with a lot more people on board. During the few hours of the cruise, people can brave the cold temperatures to admire the views from the main deck. And if it’s not too cold, guests are invited to get in the water. “Normally, everyone swims. Even people who are not considering it in the beginning. They think, ‘No, that’s not for me. It’s too scary, too dangerous, too cold.’ When they understand that it’s not scary at all and you don’t have to have swimming skills, you cannot drown in these suits, and they are very warm, we’re dressing them over the normal clothes, it’s not the bikini,” says Olga Robacha, the managing director of Polar Explorer Icebreaker. Finland’s province of Lapland is expecting a record tourism season, with more visitors willing to spend more money to make their trip unforgettable. The three-hour Polar Explorer cruise is priced at 285 Euros ($313) without lunch nor shuttle service to and from the closest main cities. The company expects to see between 15,000 and 18,000 people on board the Polar Explorer this winter season. This article was provided by The Associated Press.