Hi........................................................
After the freezing ride over the line of the Arctic Circle I was expecting a much easier ride today. My pig farmer had told me of a scenic ride which I expected to be down a fjord....wrong it was over the tallest mountain in Norway, and it was wet and cold at the top. Oh yes I forgot lonely, as they say !
It was up one side where the rivers flow beautifully clear, rocky bottoms where you can count the stones, then across "the top" which is glacial, freezing lakes, solid frozen snow and ice and high rocky mountain sides. Dramatic intense scenery. Then down the other side and the rivers are now white foaming torrents as they crash down the mountain full of glacier water. Then the valleys below the mountain top unfold, first narrow, steep sided, then wider with fjords and villages nestled on the sides near the water.
I had no expectation as to what Norway was, but it is totally a suprise. The beauty of this place is spectacular. Add to that the colour of the houses and the contrast between the "wine dark sea" if I may quote Homer out of context, against the blue white grey of the sky and the stone grey cliffs. All pretty good stuff really. I hope I can capture it with these words and the pictures which are hard to select from so many different perspectives, and there are only so many waterfalls that one can get excited about !
nzl04
