Posted by Seth on July 20, 2009 under Uncategorized | 
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| The waterfalls got larger the more we headed inland |
The last two days of the trip brought us deeper into the fjordlands. Sure, we had been in fjords of some sort all along, but the last two days were where we made it all the way to the end of the line at Geiranger. The last two days were also where we saw the most waterfalls and the most ships – many of them large cruise ships that seemed ambivalent about running us over on the water. And the last night also brought us to the absolutely most fantastic camp site I’ve ever seen.
The paddling was relatively easy and neither of the last two days required too much exertion on our part. We were rather fortunate to be able to focus on the beauty of the surroundings. Shortly before lunch time we turned the corner into Geirangerfjord. That was the last major navigational point on the trip. We set up for lunch at the dock of a house out on the point with an orchard of sorts. We also made the acquaintance of the guy living there at the time. It still isn’t entirely clear to me whether we were trespassing or not but everyone seemed to be all smiles throughout the meal, though the guy did sit down on the dock and stare at us for the hour that we sat there eating. Maybe it was because he was waiting for his friends who showed up a bit later or maybe it was because we were just that strange. Or maybe both.
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| The Seven Sisters on the left and Suitor Falls on the right |
After lunch we made our way deeper into the fjord and to the base of two of the more impressive sets of waterfalls I’ve ever seen. The Seven Sisters falls (on the left in the picture) are fed from a single stream that splits into seven thin, tall falls. They are about 1000 feet above the fjord and all of them flowing together is pretty amazing. Just across the fjord from the Seven Sisters is Suitor Falls. Legend holds that Suitor is constantly proposing to the seven sisters (though no one is quite sure which of the seven) and he is constantly being rejected. Perhaps it is because he is short and fat (Suitor falls is rather lower and wider) and that doesn’t go over well in a country where they mostly seem to be tall and fit. Or perhaps it is because he seems to just be asking for any of the seven and not wooing a specific one. Or perhaps we spent way too much time drinking and thinking up fun stories about the falls on our last night in camp, though the aquavit was quite refreshing.
We were able to kayak right up to the base of Suitor Falls. Literally. We actually crashed our kayak head-on into the rock at the base. It was pretty cool to be in the center of the fall with water flowing down on both sides, staring up as the rush of water surrounded us. And we didn’t actually cause any damage to the kayak when we ran into the rocks which was an added bonus.
Our campsite the last night of the trip we camped at Blomberg Farm, just inside the fjord from the Seven Sisters falls. The hike up to the farm was somewhat taxing – about 30-45 minutes and rather steep going up. But the exertion was extremely well rewarded. The farm is the highest one in Geirangerfjord and also has the benefit of being literally at the edge of the top of the Seven Sisters falls. A short 10 minute scramble across a few slippery rocks and we were standing at the edge of the water, several hundred meters above the fjord. The roar of the water passing by was incredible, as were the views back down into the fjord and across to Suitor Falls on the other side.
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| Looking down from the upper falls |
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| Suitor Falls, as seen from Blomberg Farm |
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| Another cruise ship entering the fjord, being watched by the Viking mask rock formation in the wall |
There was plenty of drama with getting up to Blomberg Farm. They had a winch/lift system in place that we attempted to use to get our camping supplies up to the site. It was a rather strenuous hike and not carrying our gear would have made it way better. Sadly, the winch broke. We managed to get one load of stuff up on it but no more. The good news is that nothing was lost but the bad news is that there was no way I was going to repeat that hike unless absolutely necessary. Fortunately I had packed most of our stuff into a backpack myself and carried it up so we were OK for bedding and whatnot but we did need dinner still. The guides and a couple others made a second trip (and finished another bottle of Jack Daniels, I believe) and we managed to get everything up to the camp. They called in reinforcements for the hike down – more employees from the company came out to help – and we managed to enjoy our last night with some great food, beautiful views, a few bottles of wine and booze and got a great story out of it as a bonus.
The last morning we hiked back down to the dock, loaded up and began the last segment of the journey – the paddle into Geiranger. I’m not really much of a fan of Geiranger. It exists essentially because the cruise ships like to come in there to show off the fjord. And the ships anchor and tender their passengers over to shore and the people get out and shop in the tchotchke shops along the main drag. But there is nothing particularly redeeming about the town. The good news is that we didn’t have to spend too much time there. We ducked into the grocery to pick up some lunch (and a beer for me) and hopped in the van for the drive back to Ålesund.
The trip could not have been better if we tried. There was some exhaustion and some frustration at points but that just made the other bits better. The weather was wonderfully cooperative and the people we met and shared the trip with were great. Most of all, the scenery was unparalleled. I shot over 1000 photos and probably would have taken a ton more if I hadn’t been paddling and worried about dropping my camera into the fjord. Plus even with some extras purchased just for the trip I didn’t have a ton of memory cards with me. Still, it was unparalleled beauty out there, an experience that I cannot recommend highly enough. The rest of the published photos are here. If you haven’t seen them yet you really should.
Posted by Seth on July 17, 2009 under Uncategorized |
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| The farm buildings. Yes, that is grass on the roof for insulation. |
After a relaxing 24 hours at the Ytste Skotet farm it was time to head back out on to the water. It was good to be paddling again, working up an appetite for our next meal and otherwise enjoying the beautiful weather that Norway was providing us.
The paddling on day three was not particularly strenuous. We only had to go an hour or so, just across the fjord and around the corner to find our way to the next stopping point. That meant lots more time to explore and – for a few of the folks on the trip – a chance to go fishing. The fishing was rather unlike anything I’ve ever seen previously. The lines weren’t baited. They were simply unwound off the back of the kayak and then the folks fishing would paddle a few hundred yards through the fjord and reel it in to see what was hooked. Oh, and they managed to drink a bottle of Jack Daniels, too.
One of the two fishing pairs was more successful than the other. In a big way. At the end of the efforts the score was 8-0 in terms of fish caught, with a single line pulling in 5 fish at one point. That was much more luck than anything else, it turns out. Three of those five were not hooked through the mouth. Either way, they were definitely delicious, filleted right there on the rocks and then grilled over an open fire. It was among the freshest fish I’ve ever had and it was wonderful.
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| Jeromy shows off his eight-fingered fish gloves. |
The other effect of filleting the fish on the shore near the campsite was that we were treated to a show from the many seagulls that came along to help clean up. Watching them swoop in and fight over the scraps was quite entertaining.
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| Fighting over fish guts |
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| Taking time out to relax and reflect |
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| This kid was having fun playing on the dock in Stranda |
After yet another beautiful night of camping it was on to the town of Stranda to reload our supplies. We were up early – too early as it turns out. Stranda is a quiet little town with a few houses and a ferry terminal and not much else. Well, it does have a couple grocery stores, a post office and a liquor store. Maybe it isn’t so bad after all. We stocked up at the grocery (the guides on fresh fruits and veggies, me on chocolates and candy) and then wandered next door to stock up on the more critical bottled supplies. It was just before 10am and the liquor store didn’t open until 11am. Fortunately we had a contingency plan for this scenario – wait. Having exhausted the entirety of our supply of booze (the bottle of vodka during dinner at the farm and the Jack Daniels during the fishing) it was declared that waiting to get more booze was more important than getting back out on the water. Shortly after 11am we collectively had about a case of hooch (red & white wine, scotch, vodka, aquavit and probably some more, too) loaded up in the kayaks and we were back out on the water and headed on.
Day four also happened to be the longest paddle day of the trip. Maybe it was because we kept believing Brian when he said that the campsite was just past the next point or maybe it is because it was the first day where we had to deal with rain (just a tiny bit of drizzle) or maybe it was simply because we were getting tired. But that was a long day of paddling. The good news is that we had plenty of booze to celebrate with when we made it to camp.
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| The clouds rolled in, but that just made the mountain views more impressive |
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| Sure, it was cloudy, but our campsite still had spectacular views |
Like the previous nights, the views from camp were simply outstanding. The fjords make for great backdrops and the failed to disappoint at any moment during the trip.
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| Looking down from our campsite on night 4 |
That’s all for part two of the trip. Part three should be online shortly. In the meantime, there are a ton more pictures here to keep you busy.
Posted by Seth on July 16, 2009 under Uncategorized |
The grand plans for our summer vacation this year had one main focus: kayaking on the fjords of Norway. A good friend of ours had done a similar trip a few years back and both the photos and stories she’s shared were unbelievably amazing. I say unbelievable because they really seemed that way. And then we went over to Norway and did it ourselves. Now I absolutely believe her and know that she wasn’t exaggerating even the tiniest bit in describing just how amazing the trip was. I believe, and I now get to try to make others believers, too.
The trip we booked was a 6 day, 5 night kayaking and camping adventure. We covered about 100 kilometers across the 6 days – some days as many as 25 and some days as few as 5 – setting up camp along the way on some pretty amazing patches of grass in what certainly qualifies as Top 5 in the most beautiful surroundings I’ve spent time. Even better, we got to do it with 10 other folks with whom we quickly became friends. It was an amazing journey and not without a bit of extra sweat and exertion to make it so.
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| Out into the water on day 1 |
The western fjords of Norway run pretty much the entire coast. Our trip with Coastal Odyssey focused on the Geiranger fjord and the Sunnmøre Alps. The trip began in Ålesund – quite a nice town, really; more on that in a future post – with a bit of drama. Sure, we had read the packing list. We planned, purchased and planned some more. And then we packed everything into a bag and schlepped it through Denmark on the way to Ålesund. And then we met Brian and Jimmy, our guides for the trip. They handed us each two dry bags and simply said, “Make it fit.” Easier said than done, to be certain. We rather quickly determined which items absolutely needed to be dry through the trip and which we could risk a bit of splashing with. And we learned that with two people squeezing and pushing a dry bag can be made smaller than it seemed possible. We left things behind at the starting point and otherwise manipulated our packing but we eventually managed to make it all fit. We even managed to jam it all into the kayak somehow, along with some of the food and other “common” supplies that we’d be using through the week. And with a shove from behind we were off onto the water. Yippeeee!
The skies were blue and the water was crystal clear. The wind was at our back. Everything was simply great. Being out on the water with nothing but the sound of the paddle pulling through the water was incredibly calming and wonderful.
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| One of the goats we met on the island where we lunched day one. |
Day one was a pretty long paddle – about 20 kilometers – and we spent a long time out on the water. It felt good to be out moving and we made great time on the water, no doubt thanks to the wind. Before we knew it we had made it to our lunch stop and then, after a few more hours of paddling, to our campsite for the first night.
The meals were certainly camping food but the veggies were fresh (hard not to be on the first day) and the we settled in to share some stories and otherwise chat as the evening rolled on. And then the bad news came. Brian had been reviewing the weather forecast and the tide charts and our routing for day two. There is one stretch of water where the currents get tricky and if we don’t time it right we’d never make the pass. Unfortunately, to time it right meant leaving the campground no later than 5:30am. That put us up for a 3:30am wake-up call. On vacation. Ouch.
The good news about the 3:30am wake-up was that it was bright daylinght out when we woke up so I didn’t really notice just how early it was and we were pretty much done paddling by noon. We had arrived at our day two campsite and had a ton of time to spare, exploring the grounds of Ytste Skotet, an historic farmhouse that is now operated as a museum. The site has been inhabited since the turn of the last milennium (yup – over 1000 years) and the oldest current building dates back to the 1700s. They do real farming there (though they also have to import some goods because of the number of folks passing through) and they have kids come out to play and live on the farm as part of a summer camp experience. The kids learn all about life on the farm, from chopping wood (yes, they give 7-year olds axes to play with) to where their meat comes from (at the end of the summer the kids are around when the pigs are slaughtered for the following year’s meat supplies). They also cook up some pretty delicious local foods and were incredibly hospitable to us. There was a small stream running through the farm and a pool just off the edge of the farm house where we were able to rinse off in fresh water. The water was cold but certainly refreshing.
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| One of the kids hanging out at the farmhouse the night we were there |
The farmland surrounding the house covers about 750 acres, with fields and trails to go along with the historical buildings. We certainly had no trouble finding ways to spend our time. And we had plenty of time. Thanks once again to the tides we weren’t actually leaving until the following afternoon. We had a full 24 hours off from paddling to explore.
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| One of many fields of flowers on the farm |
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| This is about as close as it got to sunset while we were in Norway. It was light out non-stop! |
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| The view from the outhouse. Not too shabby. |
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| Looking back down at the fjord across the field of flowers |
That’s all for the first couple days of the trip. There are a ton more pictures here, part 2 of the tale is here, and part 3 is here.
