Gudvangen, Naeroeyfjord

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At 09:30 in the morning took the bus to Gudvangen .. On arrival walked down the road to the wharf and there waited for the ferry .. wandered about to a soon to be completed, when they get money, replica of a Viking village. Crossed a wooden bridge to get there. Because it was early in the morning there was a less than tissue paper thin layer of ice on the wooden planks. Was careful on the way up but on the decent the ice was indiscernible. The Doc Martins flew out from under me so fast I did not feel it coming. I landed on my padded ass.

No pics of the sprawl! Only my arm seems to be affected. It is hard to put on my small backpack. Have not tried the big one yet. Eventually went past the roadside Shell station to the mouth of the tunnel that the bus had passed thru to arrive at Gudvangen.

Checked out what else was around. One interesting thing was a pile of white crushed rock. Not quartz but anorthosite, found here in Norway and ON the MOON!
From the internet:
"When the moon first formed it probably had a surface composed mostly of feldspar-rich igneous rocks. This rock type still exists today and makes up the lunar highlands, which is the lighter-colored part of the moon visible from Earth. This 4.4-billion-year-old rock sample is an anorthosite collected from the lunar highlands of the moon by Apollo 16 astronauts. "
Only later, after taking pictures of the stuff, did I learn its name. Am working on its use ... according to one person... for asphalt. Have to check that one out.

Went to the bathroom, had a coffee and waffle with strawberry jam and thick, very thick, cream. The waffle was worth the 29NOK=$6 ... the coffee, from the machine again, was not worth 25nok = $5.

The only open door here was this restaurant and shop, Two empoyees waiting for the tour busses. Four busses arrived in time for the passengers to have a snack, buy sweaters, mittens , rabbit fur hats, and other junky souvenirs.

Everyone swarmed onto the ferry when it positioned itself into place. It also came right on time.

I melded into the crowd and became Japanese for the ride... never did pay the 200NOK=$40. The Japanese couple from Amsterdam, with their three children, who came on the same bus as I from Flaam, also had no difficulty melding into the group that was being led by a man holding aloft an unfurled green umbrella.

Along the 20k, two hour ride, could be seen houses in familial groupings of painted wood, an isolated white house seemingly inaccessible high above the water, wooden wharfs with small crafts moored alongside, eroded ruts running down the length of the mountain formed by constantly running streams, runoff water jettisoned over the precipice of stone, single pine standing in rows along the tops of the cliffs, church steeples reflecting the fleeting rays of the slowly rising sun, shadows making the spruce trees darker than usual, deciduous alders swaying in colours reminiscent of Mayan gold and lapping waves on the stark shale shore as the ferry passes by.

The wind was brisk. The boat was crowded, I think. Having found a spot from where the view of both sides of the fjord was excellent I did not move to check out where people where getting coffee in paper cups. I paid no attention to the constant scrapping of plastic chairs as attempts were made to get a better view. I did not move to stand in exaggerated poses with the fjord walls as a backdrop. Having applied sun screen I exposed my face to the sun each time the boat turned or a mountain gave way to a cleft in the rock..

Naeroeyfjord is in the shape of a horseshoe facing south. We travelled up the west side, made a sharp turn and headed down the east side towards Arlund and then, in a quick 7km, to Flaam. The mountains of its sides reach 1500m. The trip thru the Sognefjord towards Bergen has closed down for the season. The tourist season really is at the end of September.

No one asked for money and I did not flash my unpaid fair. The bus people were headed for the Flaambana.

.... and I was in the search of wool.

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