Sjøholt - Geiranger, Norway

Tuesday 7th September 1999

The gloomy skies had returned today as we began the journey to the Geiranger fjord, one of the best in Norway. We were only 70km away but we had to climb up and down mountain sides and cross a fjord by ferry before we reached our destination so it took some time.

We made the final descent into Geiranger just as the ferry was pulling out for the one hour trip to Hellesylt, at the other end of the fjord. We weren't too concerned though since it gave us time to have lunch and absorb the atmosphere before we took our trip.

We'd heard that the drive back out of Geiranger, up to Dalsnibba, was very spectacular so we decided to take the ferry to Hellesylt then back again, leaving the van behind. The trip down the fjord was thoroughly enjoyable, passing numerous waterfalls and several abandoned farmhouses, precariously sitting on the steep banks. Apparently the children were tethered to the houses to stop them from falling off the edge. All through the trip we were entertained by a multi-language commentary including a comical New York accent.

We stopped in at Hellesylt for about 30 minutes, 25 minutes longer than it took to look at the village, before heading back down the fjord. The weather started to get a little gloomier with some rain but it was still a great trip.

We arrived back in Geiranger and decided to leave the Dalsnibba pass to tomorrow, in hope for better weather. We found a pullover spot not far from the village and settled in for the night, hoping that no-one noticed the no-parking sign we were parking in front of.