En route a Paris

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I'm writing this in the Oslo airport - we got here ridiculously early for our flight to Paris because I've contracted a cold and so wasn't up to sightseeing in town today. Anyway, this gives me a chance to catch up a bit on the blog.

After the challenging but hugely rewarding hike on our first day at Gjendesheim, the next day we walked a low-level nature trail. A complete contrast, and our legs welcomed the break. Then back at it the following day: we intended to do a 5.5-hour loop in a mountain valley, but the hike ended up taking more like 8 hours. We were by another long, narrow lake with rounded, snow-covered mountains around it.

This time we saw a herd of about 100 reindeer - and they saw us. At first they didn't seem bothered by us, but something (the clicking of camera shutters?) spooked them and they trotted away.

We discovered that mountain valleys in Norway can be very soggy at this time of year, and we all ended up with damp boots. We had to cross a few streams, and we tried various stratagems. Rose and Lynn just crossed over in bare feet, whereas Alan and I were determined to find stepping stones - with mixed success. Alan eventually went the bare-feet route, and I think I might have had drier boots if I'd done the same!

Back in Oslo we had a very pleasant dinner with Alan's mum and her partner. We walked around the city and got caught in the rain that had been promised for several days. Et maintenant nous partons a Paris.

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