Kayaking the Geirangerfjord

I am secretly Scandanavian, specifically Norwegian.  Underneath my Chinese exterior and American upbringing, I am fascinated and obsessed with the landscape of Norway and the way that the country is so civilized, innovative and thoughtful in the way it organizes it's society and the humane way it treats its citizens.  Perhaps because Seattle itself has a strong Scandinavian history and the weather being very similar to Seattle's that I feel so at home in that part of the world.  I've always wanted to see the fjords of Norway and so I rounded my friend DD (from my Rome days) and Florian, who brought his sister and the four of us found a guide to take us on a six day kayaking trip ending with the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Geirangerfjord.

This map shows what was supposed to be the last four days of our kayaking tour.  Originally, we were supposed to start in the town of Alesund and take two days to kayak to Stranda.  And from Stranda down the fjord on the south into the Synnulsvsfjord and then east into the famed Geirangerfjord.

Day 1........the one thing you don't want kayaking is wind.  Particularly a headwind...or a cross wind isn't great as well.  This is what we got.  Overcast and windy.  It wasn't the sunny Norway I was hoping for.

Therefore, our guide rearranged our trip and made the first two days a hike.  Above, is Myrthe (Florian's sister), on the ferry we're taking across the fjord.

DD and I reunited!!!  The ferries of Norway remind me so much of the ferries in Puget Sound.  It's a marine highway system!

Therefore instead of kayaking on the first day, we drove to a spot from which we were going to hike to a restored Norwegian cabin, which was our planned second night stop.  The cabin is called Skotet.

To reach the cabin, we had to climb up the backside of the fjord.

Reaching the top of crest of the backside of the fjord, we reached a flat area dominated by a flat lake.  We've all heard of the riches that Norwegian oil has brought to the country.  But the large amounts of water have allowed the country to dam many rivers and sell the power as well.  This country is blessed!!

We've reach the top of the hill and now it is time to march downhill with the fjord we were supposed to kayaking in the distance.

Skotet.  Many of these farms were working farms until the early 1900's.  They are a huge part and pride of the Norwegians and most of them are restored and maintained by volunteers.

The view from Skotet into the fjord at 2330.  The Geirangerfjord is at North Latitude 62 degrees.  We were in Norway in mid July.  It never really got dark and the sun rose at 330AM.

Day 2...the hike back over the mountain and down into the foggy valley where our vehicles were parked.

Day 3, in the town of Stranda, we're finally in the canoes!!

And finally ON THE WATER.  A few days late, but the water was calm, perfect for kayaking.

The view heading out of Stranda.

Our guide, Rogier, a Dutch national transplanted to Norway.

A few hours in as we were headed South in the Synnulsvsfjord, our goal being Akernusset, the wind picked up and it was a headwind.

The whitecaps started and we were working hard, paddling against the wind and not moving fast.  By this time, it was 8PM and so we had to stop and find shelter.  This was actually a bit scary as there were few places that were flat enough and sheltered enough to pull onto shore.

We managed to pull onto a really small beach and make a campfire underneath this rock.

Bart, another Dutchman, was the assistant guide.  Things were looking up as he caught a fish.

The morning of Day 4, while somewhere along the Synnusvsfjord, the wind was still blowing north (a headwind as we were headed south), so we decided to head north back to Stranda. On Day 5, we drove to Hellesylt just at the mouth of the Geirangerfjord and here's the weather.  PERFECT.

Looking directly east at the mouth of the Geirangerfjord.  THIS was what we came to see, and we had the best weather these final two days.

Alas, as we entered into the Geirangerfjord the sun went away, but as you can see, NO WIND.  It made for easy paddling and it made the tough earlier days all a distant memory.

First picture of Florian!

These waterfalls are called the "Seven Sisters".  I can only count six.

The seven sisters from the southern side of the Geirangerfjord.  You'll see another old farm house on the ledge next to those.  On the fifth night of our trip, we camped at "Skagefla", a famous preserved farmhouse that was high on the southern ridge that had this exact view from high above the fjord.

To get to Skagefla, we had to climb up this trail on the steep wall face of the fjord.

Skagefla

DD and I at Skagefla.  Turns out this farm was abandoned just under a century ago.  Farmers used to have to tie a rope to their children to tether them to a post so they wouldn't fall off the steep cliff!

Large Cruise ships come in and out of the Geirangerfjord.  I'm glad I got to see the fjord from a kayak!

The sun was out on Day 6 and after the hike down to the kayaks, I contemplated going swimming.  What an amazing place to swim.  When else was I going to have the chance to swim in a Norwegian fjord?  Especially with that view?

A final look at the Seven Sisters and west into the Geirangerfjord from Skagefla.

Day 6 was so sunny it required sunglasses.  So warm, it was the first time I sweat all week!

One more turn and we arrived at the town of Geiranger!

Driving out of the Geirangerfjord on the bus, this is looking west.  You can see how steep the walls of the fjord are.  Skagefla was on a ledge just over that large cliff face jutting from the left.

The end of the Geirangerfjord and the town of Geiranger.

The Boys in Sicily Part II

One night, the three of us boys went out looking for some adventure.  It was looking bleak until the end of the evening, we stopped into a bar for drinks.  Three women (who ended up being work colleagues from Switzerland) were sitting at a table and we sat down at the table right next to them even though the entire bar was empty.  In the next two hours, I watch masters Brian and Gunny ingeniously work ourselves into their conversation and by the end of the evening make plans to meet up the next day to head to the island of Lipari in the Aeolian islands.  I hope that someday I too will be the master of the pickup, as these two were.  It's like they had been each others wingmen since the dawn of time.

The island of Lipari!!! The largest of the Aeolian islands. And yes, the water is THAT blue.

The original plan was for each couple (and let me tell you that Brian and Gunny were trying to decide who went with whom and how to manipulate the situation so it would happen) to get on a moped and take a tour of the island.  I spoke up and stated that I didn't want to ride a moped and instead two of us pairs (notice I don't say couple since myself being gay, I was touring around with the third girl, but I revealed myself the night before) went around in a car that I drove.

Brian and his interest went on a moped!

The island of Salina, where the fantastic movie, Il Postino was filmed.  Each of the islands has it's own vibe. My ex-landlord in Rome has a place on the tiny island of Alicudi that I was hoping to rent but it didn't work out.

Along the way, we stopped for a late lunch.  Why this picture?  I dropped the knife and look how it landed.  That almost never happens....

Like a boss!!!

Going around the island in a counter clockwise direction, coming to the southern end of Lipari one sees, in the distance, the island of Vulcano.  Yes, exactly what you are thinking!

The girls made SURE we didn't take any pictures of them smoking.  Apparently mothers don't know.

The village of Lipari.

That evening, we invited the girls over for a LATE dinner and a killer game of "Never have I ever" ensued.  Brian and Gunny's hopes of further interaction never came to fruition, but it was fun to see HOW much work it takes for a straight guy to get to the his ultimate goal.  For us gay guys, it's about 1/50 the amount of work.  In fact, it's no work at all, to the chagrin of my straight guy friends!