In the land of trolls…

After 2h40 on a ferry, we arrived in Norway, the last country on our list until the North Cape. Just the time to disembark and we had already crossed our first fjords, circled dozens of lakes, seen hundreds of waterfalls and regained some altitude… We were also totally horrified by the tourist overcrowding here. The heads and tails of the same country, in a way…

We arrived in Norway in the rain (for a change)… When passing through customs (Norway is not part of the European Union), they asked us where we were going. The customs officer had a quick smile when we told him we were going to the North Cape. We preferred not to ask why… 😉

The rain does not help to take pretty photos, but for everything else, the idea that one has of the Norwegian fjords is 100% true. They are spectacular! Mountains that fall vertically into the sea, large forests in flatter places, and just a little higher up in altitude, large granite plateaus where nothing grows except grasses and some lichens… And although the mountains do not exceed 1.000 m, they are truly vertical, and the roads (narrow and not always paved) go up and down without much compassion for Marvin’s 7T… And in the slightest gap, lakes! There are hundreds of them everywhere, as if water was coming out of the rocks… The curious thing is also that at the top of these mountains, on the ridges, there are round rocks, small or large, placed there as if someone had left them… Norwegian legend says that they are trolls, that come to life as soon as the sun sets and roll up into a ball and petrify as soon as the sun reappears… We took a photo of the ones we had around us to see if they had moved in the next morning… 🤓

The other side of the coin of this picture-perfect Norway is that, since we arrived, we have been horrified by the tourist overcrowding that the country is suffering… We consulted some info pages and they confirmed our impression: for several years Norway has been facing an influx of tourists such that it is beginning to create tensions among the locals and that the government is looking for ways to control all this a little. There are so many motorhomes and vans everywhere that the slightest parking lot or the slightest widening of the road (most of them are narrow and “widenings” have been placed every 200 or 300m for cars to be able to cross each other) is filled with motorhomes and vans. The place where we slept for our second night in the country was no more than 80m², but from what we have been able to read, in summer, up to 18 motorhomes pile up there every night, one on top of the other. The banks of this small lake are “trashed” by idiots who tried to park as close to the water as possible and got stuck in the mud, and the small grass area on the other side was inaccessible after someone tried to climb in the mud, leaving ruts more than 50cm deep… Looking at the road in front of this place (a small narrow road that connects two small villages between two fjords), we counted only one car for each 10 or 15 motorhomes or vans, most of them German or Dutch. And it is only June 16 (outside of the high holiday season), and what we have been able to see is surely only a small part of the number of tourists that cruise ships throw around the fjords every day. The result is that our joy of discovering Norway is somewhat dazzled by a feeling of guilt, since, in the end, we too are contributing to this situation…

From what we have read, the phenomenon is quite “regionalised” and mainly affects the fjord region (in the south) and a few other areas. So our first decision was to scratch the Lofoten Islands from our itinerary as well as two other possible hiking routes, since they are also in the same situation…

In short, 48 hours in Norway with mixed feelings. The landscapes are truly spectacular, but we would feel much better if we could enjoy them without having the feeling of contributing to what we are the first to flee and criticise… Let’s hope that the center and north of the country will be quieter…

Kjeragbolten (17/06/2024)

All right, ok, let’s break the suspense from the beginning, the Kjeragbolten is this rock trapped between two vertical mountains, about 800m above a fjord. You will surely have seen photos on the internet since it is one of the most photographed places in Norway. This was the objective of our walk today and to enjoy it without the crowds, we got up at 4:30 in the morning (it was already as clear as if it were noon) and after a good shower and a good coffee, we began to walk around 6:00.

The hike is not very difficult, but it is a bit technical. The area is made of granite and the mountains are actually large, more or less rounded plates of rock, which eventually flow vertically into the nearest fjord (in this case, Lysebotn). So 90% of the track is granite, and in the steepest parts, chains have been installed to facilitate the ascent/descent and prevent a tourist from ending up 800 m lower, in the fjord. Small clarification, as we said, it is raining… It is not continuous rain, but at times, then the sun comes out for 1 or 2 minutes, then the clouds come back and it rains again… The wind is, logically, quite strong (which explains the intermittent rain). Consequently, the large granite plates lose much of their adherence with the first drops of rain…

The good news is that our strategy to avoid the crowds worked perfectly! We managed to get to the Kjeragbolten without meeting anyone (literally, anyone!). Once there, we barely had time to take our photos, and the flow of tourists began to arrive. In short, the perfect timing! 😁

Apart from that, and although this famous rock is the most photographed (there is even a small plaque, next to it, that says that “the queue begins here” for photos…), it is probably just an anecdote in the midst of the landscapes that we crossed along the hike. In fact, the “plateau” we thought we were on is not flat at all. It is crisscrossed by small, more or less deep valleys, each one, of course, with its own lake. But the most impressive thing is that we walked for 5 km along the Lysebotn Fjord but its walls are so high and vertical that we could barely see a few glimpses of the water, from a rock more prominent than the others… There are streams, waterfalls, lakes or others everywhere, and just to the left of the Kjeragbolten, for example, there is an immense rock in the shape of a rectangle, which advances above the fjord, and from which a large waterfall flows out that evaporates before reaching the ground…

As a matter of fact, we don’t regret at all testing our idea of ​​hiking early to be alone (in fact, we didn’t imagine it would work so well 🤓). On the way back we were going in the opposite direction to the continuous flow of people who were going towards the rock, but in this sense, it was less annoying… In addition, we had more moments of sun and fewer showers on the way there than on the way back, so… what more could we ask for? 😉

On the importance of knowing where you are going… (18/06/2024)

The idea of ​​going on a hike was good. What went a little wrong was the logistics of the hike… But let’s start from the beginning. The initial idea was to do our hike, go down to the town of Lysebotn and from there continue towards the northwest to return to Stavanger and recover the E13 (here the main roads start with an “E”…). However, once we recovered from our hike, we realised that, in fact… there is no road leading out of Lysebotn in a northeasterly direction! 😱

The only road to get to the town is the one we had to take to go down, but it doesn’t go any further. The only way to get north from Lysebotn is to take a ferry. Except, after checking, the ferries that carry vehicles only run on Mondays (oops! too late…), Wednesdays (okay, but there are only 2 ferries a day and the morning one is already full…) and Fridays …

Well, okay, we can take the afternoon ferry and find a place to sleep close to where it will leave us. Yes, except that… for that we would have had to refuel before climbing to 900 m altitude, in an area where, in addition to hot water, we have to turn on the heating so as not to end up half frozen in the morning (and the water heater, like the heating, they suck from Marvin’s gas tank)… Without refueling, impossible to spend another night with heating and water heater… 🥶

A few checks later, the nearest gas station was about thirty kilometers from where we were, but in the opposite direction from the ferry, and also from the road that would have finally allowed us to go around the fjord from the south, to then return north over a bridge… So… change of plan and of route. We will not go through Stavanger, but we will detour towards the east to 1) pass by the gas station, 2) go north to rejoin our route a little higher and 3) leave the tourist area a bit to see if things improve….

To all this we must add that, without moving, suddenly, our internet connection, which worked perfectly the first day, simply dropped after 24 hours… We could no longer connect nor, therefore, consult maps, possible places to sleep, nearest gas stations or ferry schedules… Finally, after some juggling with our phones, we managed to plan our new route… 😅

With all this, today’s leg was exceptionally long, crossing part of the province of Telemark (where the ski technique of the same name was invented…). Our initial idea was to sleep in that region, but… second planning error: in Norway, on June 18, there is still plenty of snow at 1.000m altitude, some lakes are still frozen and others are full of icebergs, small and large, that float according to the winds… Therefore, dirt tracks, which are obviously not clear of snow, remain inaccessible. A small miscalculation that forced us to travel 60km more to go down to the next valley (and therefore leave the province of Telemark) to find milder temperatures (12ºC in the sun today) and a beautiful forest where we finally settled.

In short, today we learned that we will have to adapt to the reality on the ground. Going from one point to another is not necessarily as logical as one might think when looking at the map, because between these two points there will be a fjord, a lake or a mountain and, to connect them, you will have to make a loop of more than 100 km or integrate ferry schedules into travel times. Gas stations are less frequent than in other places and will undoubtedly become even more so as we move north. Today, on many occasions, we commented that the landscapes reminded us of those of the Canadian northwest or those of Alaska. Supermarkets too!… They look more like “stores at the end of the world” than a Carrefour or a Wallmart… In other words, we are finally feeling this “end of the world” sensation that we came to the North Cape to look for. “Civilization” is fading little by little, and it is nature that rules and dictates its rules… No doubt, we are on the right track! 😁

Technical stop… (19/06/2024)

Our morning was dotted with waterfalls… first the Espelandsfossen, then the Låtefossen, the Vidfossen (the one with large inclined slabs at the bottom), the Strandsfossen, and finally the Tjørnadalsfossen (this one, walking!). We passed through the “big” local town, Odda, we also passed by the parking lot to go to Trolltunga (another of the iconic photos of Norway, but we won’t go to this one… too many people!), and after just sixty kilometers, we arrived to settle in the village of Kinsarvik (village = 20 houses, including a municipal library, a bar and a mini-market).

Well, okay… even if our glamour suffers, we will tell you the truth. We spent the day (and will spend tonight) at a campsite… 😱 But hey, it’s a nice campsite, and we have the best view of the fjord. And not just any fjord! The Hardangerfjord, which is the second largest fjord in Norway with its 180km in length. We only see a small part because it has quite a few branches, but… what we see is already quite big!…

And why are we at a campsite? Because it was time to do a little cleaning in Marvin, and above all, a good laundry. But… the nearest laundry was more than 300km from here and the only option we found was to stay one night in a campsite and take the opportunity to wash everything… 🤓

So it only took us a moment before we were taking out the barbecue, the table and the chairs, and we were eating in the sun, facing the fjord! And between two laundries, we also went down to town to check the ferry schedules and go to the supermarket to buy……an elk fillet!! 😜 And tomorrow the adventure resumes!…

We switch to electric! (20/06/2024)

If one day I have to dig a tunnel, I will definitely ask a Norwegian company for help!… Before yesterday, we already discovered circular tunnels (to gain or lose height when there is no space to build a curve on the road), tunnels under fjords, short tunnels, long tunnels, illuminated tunnels, narrow tunnels, low tunnels with only about ten centimetres left between the rock and the top of the trucks, etc., etc. In short, the Norwegian mountains are a real Gruyere!… 🤣

But today, coincidentally, our route passed through almost all the tunnels between Kinsarvik and Kaupanger. So, we literally did half of today’s route underground! The most notable was the Lærdal Tunnel (Lærdalstunnelen in Norwegian), which is simply… (drum roll!…)… the longest road tunnel in the world, at 24.5km. 😱 For comparison, the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland, which held the record until 2000, is only 16.9km, the Mont Blanc tunnel 11.6km and the Envalira tunnel… 2km! 🤣 And the best thing is that, unlike all the others on this list, the Lærdalstunnelen is free! The curious thing is that in tunnels more than 10km long (there are quite a few around here…), the half point of the tunnel is illuminated in blue, and in some, the light colour changes… In the Lærdalstunnelen, given the length, every quarter of the tunnel is illuminated… It is entertaining for a while, before re-entering the almost darkness for another 6 km…

But that’s not all!… Today, we drastically reduce Marvin’s carbon footprint as we switched to electric… Those who follow this blog will know that, to cross a fjord, there are two possibilities: make a loop of more than 150 or 200km, or take a ferry. Today, we had a third possibility: a bridge (but at €40 toll for a 300m bridge, it wasn’t really a viable option). And since we were better organised this time (the experience, without a doubt… 🤓), we were able to opt for the ferry… Ferries in Norway are a bit like buses in another country. Given the number of fjords you have to cross to get from one point to another, there are ferry lines almost everywhere, and people hop on and off, on foot or with their vehicle, before continuing on their way as if nothing had happened. There are also trucks, tractors and even intercity buses on the ferries!

And because ferries are so common, Norwegians have had time to innovate and perfect the system. The result is that the three ferries we took today were all 100% electric! 👍 The first time, it’s a strange feeling to see the boat gliding through the water without any sound except that of the waves. But one quickly gets used to the comfort of silence (like in an electric car, in fact)…

After all these innovations, we settled in a forest overlooking the Sognefjord. Yesterday we were in front of the second largest fjord in Norway, and today on top of the first one! The Sognefjord, also known as the “king of the fjords”, is the longest in the country, at 205km long. It is also the deepest, up to 1.308m below sea level and around 1.000m over 100km. At its mouth, the fjord bottom rises abruptly to a depth of 100m, creating a suction effect of tidal currents. This is where its name comes from, derived from the Norwegian word súg (to suck).

Due to its depth (and its gigantic size), it is one of the fjords where cruise ships can enter. We actually saw one, the MSC Euribia, moored in the port of the town of Flåm. It is quite impressive to see such a large boat in a “small” branche of the fjord, surrounded by 1.000m high mountains… And this one is not electric!… Today we also add a waterfall to our list: the Tvindefossen.

Glacial diagonal (21/06/2024)

For our route today we chose the option without ferry (and almost without tunnel). It must be said that we have gone a little inland, so the fjords and ferries are increasingly scarce… Our objective for the day was to cross the Jostedalsbreen National Park, or more precisely, to pass along the edge of the park to reach to the central Dovre Valley (connecting Oslo and Trondheim).

To do that, we had to skirt a good part of the Sognefjord and, indeed, we can confirm that it is very big and very long. But the surprise of the day was that upon reaching the end of the fjord, suddenly, we went from sea level or almost (9m exactly) to 1.392m altitude, and all in less than 20km! No need to say we did a good part of the climb (and the descent on the other side) in third gear! 😱

From the green and calm shores of the Sognefjord we went to Svalbard-looking landscapes, with lakes still almost completely frozen and drifts of snow more than a meter thick in some places. An impressive landscape with authentic mountains in which the glaciers that, a long time ago, carved the surrounding valleys still remain… On the northern slope, a handful of snow plows were working to prepare a cross-country ski track, while some intrepid were going around the mountain on their skis, on June 21…

Yes, today was June 21 and officially summer. And as a gift, we had our first day without a drop of rain in… so long we lost count! And above all, today we had sun for almost our entire journey! And the best news is that according to the weather forecast, except for a few drops tomorrow, the good weather should last!… But hey, we also learned from experience that the weather changes very quickly around here. From absolute calm, violent gusts of wind can suddenly arise and, 2 minutes later, it rains. And conversely, the sun can appear at any time, before disappearing again… Always be prepared for photos! 😜

Ice age survivors (23/06/2024)

It was hard to think, in the middle of our forest near Dovre, that the town’s nickname would be so… literal. The “gateway to the tundra” is, effectively, the last wooded corner before entering a completely different world: that of large windswept spaces, where temperatures can drop to -40ºC in winter, and where the few birch trees that manage to survive barely exceed 1,20m in height. It is the domain of small bearberry bushes and other berries, but above all, of lichens of all kinds that form white carpets as far as the eye can see.

In this desolate landscape where distances seem disproportionate, on a small hill in front of an immense valley surrounded by snow-capped peaks, is the Snøhetta shelter, a cube of metal, glass and wood in the Scandinavian style that simultaneously serves as protection against the cold and observation point over the valley.

Dovrefjell National Park is known for its landscapes, but also and above all for its typically arctic fauna (polar foxes, ptarmigans, wild reindeers, hawk owls, etc.). But for several decades, a different host has stolen the spotlight from the local species. Indeed, in 1930, and faced with the global decline of the species, a reintroduction program was launched to recover an animal that had disappeared from Dovrefjell since prehistoric times: the musk ox.

A victim of prehistoric climate changes, the musk ox disappeared from the Old World more than 2.000 years ago, but fossils confirm its presence in almost all parts of the Arctic region, including Dovrefjell. Therefore, some individuals were brought from Greenland and reintroduced here, gradually consolidating a population of around 260 animals. In a 1.830 km² park surrounded by eight other protected areas, our hopes of seeing one of these ice age survivors were ultimately quite limited, but we thought we might at least have a chance to see a few reindeers and that, at worst, the Snøhetta shelter alone was worth the hike.

It is probably true that luck smiles on beginners, as we did not see any reindeer, but we did see 4 musk oxen, including one less than 50m away! It is a magical moment in which everything seems to pause, being there, in front of this 400kg giant, covered by a thick wool fleece, which seems straight out of a Star Wars (or Ice Age) episode. Despite its name, the musk ox is part of a separate genus (Ovibos, of which it is the only representative) halfway between sheep and goats. Despite being huge and clumsy-looking, it can run up to 60 km/h and is as agile as a goat when climbing rocks. Despite its quarrelsome nature, the herds have the peculiarity of uniting and forming a circle around the youngest to protect them when a predator attacks them. An adult male carries around 25 kg of wool on his back, wool 10 times warmer and finer than that of sheep. It is an animal extremely adapted to the cold, which tolerates heat very poorly. In fact, the first one we saw was lying on a patch of snow to try to cool off (yesterday it was 19ºC in the sun), and the second was panting in the shade of a grove of trees, waiting for the temperatures to drop a bit to migrate a little higher in altitude…

On a trip, there are moments that stand out more than others, and this one will surely remain etched in our memories, even if the photos do not do justice to its greatness. Also, to end that great day, we found probably the only forest track in all of Norway (that is not private or has no barrier at the entrance)! For the first time since we arrived in the country, we were able to follow a dirt track for several kilometres to settle in the middle of a magnificent forest, with a torrent right next to us and moose droppings everywhere. We set up the photographic trap, and… we won’t move from here at all, at least until Monday! 😁

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IN A FJORD, as anywhere else, LEAVE NO TRACE!

– Always travel on public ways and respect the signs.
– Limit noise and interfere as little as possible with wildlife.
– Respect the other users.
– Leave rocks, plants and other natural features as you found them and respect historic sites.
– Take your waste with you and throw it into the appropriate containers, in the nearest village.
– Do not camp inside protected areas and do not make any fires.