Last but not least: one week with a car through the fjords. 24th July to the 1st of August 2015
It has now been ten days since we arrived
in Ålesund and continued on to Ulsteinvik, our place of hibernation until the end
of May next year..
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| sunset over Ålesund lighthouse |
We were both very happy that we managed to
complete our cruising plans to the Lofoten and back (…without hitting a rock or
getting caught in a strong gale…). It has been a fantastic, sometimes
challenging but always enjoyable experience.
Yet, at the same time we were a bit
disappointed that we had cut our remaining days on the boat short because of
the weather…
The marina in Ulsteinvik felt abandoned.
Everyone was on holidays. It was not a buzzing or stimulating final
destination! An empty boat yard never is.
To deal with this ‘anti-climax’ we decided
to rent a small car and visit some of the places which we thought about since
last summer: the Geiranger Fjord, Norangsdalen, Gamle Strynefjellvegen, the
Selje Peninsula to name just a few places we have discovered from land since we
hired the small Honda Jazz! The sun has come out from time to time and we have
enjoyed the breathtaking scenery to the full. Some of these roads were dirt
roads, opened in 1894 and earlier which are only open during the summer months since
they become impassable in the winter due to the huge masses of snow. Skiing
here is impossible during the Norwegian winter.
We will leave you with a kaleidoscope of
‘snap-shots’ gathered on the way.
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| reflections of Norangsdalen |
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| Norangsdalen |
When we return to her up next June it will
be time to come home at last. It will be our 8th year abroad.
We intend to sail from either Ålesund or
Bergen (depending on the wind) to Shetland and probably through the Caledonian
Canal and the Irish Sea to Falmouth. The journey will continue in 2016!
Just to show you the extent of our cruising
this year (1,200nm) we have compiled a map to give you an idea of where we have
been.
We liked keeping you up to date about our cruise and hope you found our blog interesting and
slightly light hearted. We certainly enjoyed writing it for you (and for us
too!).
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| south of Geiranger Fjord |
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| Gamle Strynefjellvegen end of July |
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| our cruise to the Lofoten (purple:going north; yellow: going south) |