Hellesylt, Geiranger
So... I woke up early on this day because I knew we'd only be briefly stopping in Hellesylt and I wanted to get a good look at it. It wasn't very clear if you were allowed off the ship. The people on the excursion that was travelling across country to get to Geiranger obviously would but could others? It didn't really matter. I would only have climbed the hill by the waterfall to get a better look at it. There was not much else to do in such a short docking time. Once I'd taken pictures, I went for breakfast and picked the side of the ship with the best view. One of the most interesting things about being in Hellesylt was leaving the dock. We backed up a bit into the middle of the fjord then the captain PIVOTED the ship 180 degrees to turn it so we were facing out. It's amazing that a ship our size would enter the small fjord at all. Certainly any ship bigger than ours wouldn't even attempt it.
Once we were cruising to Geiranger, the scenery got even better. The sides of the fjord were very steep and very tall. Many waterfalls dropped down into the fjord. I was having a blast taking many photos when... disaster struck! A drop in the floor level of the viewing deck (14) was not clearly marked and THUNK! just like that I stumbled and fell. When I fell, I landed on my camera and ... OH NO!!!... the lens had been pushed in and the camera would no longer function. I tried over and over and over again but no luck. I was very upset and immediately reported the dangerous spot (another woman nearly fell just after I picked myself up!) to customer relations (Vernessa!). She called the photo manager so he'd open the camera shop and I could buy a replacement camera. Why? By then it was obvious that my beautiful Nikon was NOT going to take any more pictures until it was repaired. I picked a basic waterproof Nikon... better than relying on my phone... OK pictures but hard to hold onto!
My excursion took me up Eagle Road to a spot overlooking the fjord. The turns were totally tight and I admired the bus driver's skill in negotiating them. If two buses met at a switchback, one would stop and allow the other to do their turn before proceeding. This also applied to big vehicles like RVs. On one turn, a motorcycle almost got backed over (I know all about that!!) by a camper van when it needed to give our bus more space to turn. Even though it was a great road and the views were awesome, I was glad NOT to be on a bike!
From the top, the views of the fjord were awesome. The ships anchored in the fjord looked like tiny toys.
We traveled back down Eagle Road and passed where the ship's tenders had dropped us off. We headed up the mountains in the opposite direction to get to Dalsnibba. Views down were incredible. We saw many waterfalls. As the elevation increased, we saw quite a bit of snow, still not melted. We also started to travel through clouds. When we passed Lake Djupvatnet, the sky was completely overcast and the lake was a dull grey. Although we hoped Dalsnibba, which is an overlook of Geiranger at about an elevation of 1000 M, we weren't surprised that we were walking pretty much in pea soup up there. Too bad! When you look at pictures of the fjord that other people have taken from up there, it's sad that we didn't get our chance.When we were up there though, we saw people who'd been driven up the mountain so they could go downhill on a bicycle to the port. I'm thinking that would be scary stuff with all the traffic (especially buses) on the road but perhaps the thrill would be worth it?
When we descended, clouds were already starting to clear. The lake now was blue because blue sky was finally peeking through. More than half way down, we stopped at FLydalsjuvet which is another overlook. Although not nearly as high up as Dalsnibba, the view of the fjord was none-the-less incredible.
We had to be back on board by 4 so there wasn't much time to shop for souvenirs but I did find a shirt for Athena and a couple of things for Melanie, my sister, and Iona, my next door neighbour who was babysitting my cats. Before getting on the tender, I met a dog who was sound asleep at the dock. I asked the owner if the dog was sick. "No. She's just taking a rest. We've walked for about 4 hours along the fjord and she knows we'll have to make our way back soon."
Back on board, I had dinner in the Grand Pacific before heading to the Stardust to listen to the Stereoettes, a girls singing group. That night, Milos's swan kept me company as I slept.
