Glaciers and Overheating

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Friday.
There's a short ferry crossing this morning as we head to Geiranger, we arrived just as it was loading, good timing again. Then a short drive to the Ornevegen (Eagles Way), a super spectacular 7km section of road that drops down through 11 hairpin bends giving impressive views of the narrow fjord which is a UNESCO world heritage site.There is a viewing platform halfway down where we parked and took some photos, we're lucky this morning as the sun is shinning. The views along the fjord are amazing and nestled at one end is Geiranger, complete with another cruise liner, a German one this time and slightly smaller then yesterday's. We dropped down towards the village and again good timing, we drove straight onto the ferry that is classed as the most scenic in Norway. The whole ferry port is heaving with tour coaches and cruise passengers, the small village looks packed out. The ferry is soon away, we're heading for Hellesylt an hour away. This ferry is so scenic it has a commentary pointing out things of interest along the way. It passed now abandoned farms, clinging to the near sheer sided walls of the 20km long emerald green Geirangerfjord. There are numerous waterfalls, the Seven Sisters, on the opposite side was the Suitor and then came the Bridal Veil among others that tumbled down the rocks. There were some people kayaking and a couple of small fishing boats, dwarfed by the cliffs. At our destination we had lunch and then walked around the village, it was very quiet compared to Geiranger. Then off we set for a short drive to Stryn where we called at the tourist info and bought ice cream, then on to Loen, where we are staying at campsite to use the washing machine and wifi. Our pitch has a great view of the Kjenndalen glacial tongue, which is tomorrow's excursion. Saturday Maintenance department stripped down the hob again this morning to lubricate the fan which seems to be on its last legs. We're cooking on our back up gas at the moment. Also, there was a small leak in the roof that needed attention. That done, we had coffee and set off up the Lodalen valley, firstly following the river and then beside the turquiose glacial lakes. There is hardly any wind today and the reflections of the green hills and trees on the water make a splendid array of colour. At the top of the valley we paid a small toll to enter the private road that leads to Kjenndalenbreen. The drive to the carpark was along a sheer sided valley with numerous waterfalls tumbling from the top of the cliffs. It's amazing how the pine trees cling to the rocks, from here there doesn't look to be any soil for them to grow out off. The ground is covered with heather, bilberries and cotton grass. We had lunch before we walked towards the glacier, after around ten minutes it came to an end, there were warning signs about the dangers of glaciers, falling rocks, slippery surfaces, sudden flooding etc., but we're still quite away off, it's obvious that there is a narrow path that continues-so we carried on. It was rocky underfoot and we had to scramble over some larger boulders until we hit a dead end. The way ahead seemed to disappear and there was one of the waterfalls crashing across the rocks. Still it's a great place to take some photos before we headed back. Driving back down the valley we stopped at the lake, there is a small restaurant, you can also hire boats to take out on the lake and the usual shop for souvenirs, there was a chap with a drone buzzing overhead, it sounded like a swarm of bees! Our next destination is in the next valley, it's so nice to be driving in the sunshine at the side of the fjord. As se started to climb out of the valley Les noticed that the engine temperature was high, he pulled over. Checking the water level, (which he had also done as usual before we set out this morning) it was low, that's strange! He topped it up and we drove up the long zigzag hill without any problem, stopping close to the top we stopped again to see if we could find any leaks. Sure enough there was water dripping from underneath. Les took a look underneath and found that the water pipe that feeds the water heater had rubbed against the gearbox mounting and worn through allowing the water to drip out. Luckily it is worn close to a join and so will be easy to cut some off and rejoin the pipe, we decided to find a place to stay first, the system needs to cool down and drain the water out before he can do anything. It's not far before we arrived at Byrkjelo Ski Center, where there is a camper stop, we parked up and whilst Dream Catcher dripped away, making a little stream of water across the tarmac, we had tea, Les then undid the offending pipe so the last of the water would empty, he will make the repair tomorrow. Sunday. Up and about promptly this morning! As soon as we've eaten breakfast Les donned his overalls and set to repairing the pipe. It seemed to go quite well, (not much cursing was heard from indoors) just as he had finished underneath our Dutch neighbours came to see if they could help, it's very kind but it's all under control, they told us that they had seen our 'car' a few times! The town where they come from is twinned with a town in Lincolnshire, not far from where we live. Another lady from across the way came to ask if we had enough food, thinking that we were stuck here for a while, Les explained that we were now repaired and would be OK! It's quite a generous community were attracting today! Back on the road we kept a watch on the temperature and all seemed to be ok! A little way into our drive we noticed a couple of large birds in a field, we stopped to take a photograph, we have seen these birds in zoo parks but can't remember what they are. Then Les said they were cranes, I checked on google and indeed they were Common Cranes. Continuing on we passed through a couple of 6 and 7km long tunnels, immediately after the second one we were at Boyabreen glacier, below it was a melt water lagoon, there were barriers up to stop visitors from getting too close to the waterfall flowing down the rocks, apparently if a chunk of ice breaks off there can be a surge of water from behind it and you could be washed away! There is also a cafe here where I handed in a pair of designer sunglasses that were in the car park. Next we drove to the next valley to Suphellebreen, our guide book said you could walk up to it and touch the ice, we weren't able to, it had receded to far back, climate change? By mid afternoon we had reached the Norwegian Glacier Museum, we thought we should know more about glaciers. The exhibitions were really informative explaining how glaciers are formed, they had large chunks of ice cut from Suphellebreen that you could touch, and a few experiments that were interesting. There was also the tusk of a 30000 year old Siberian woolly mammoth that was found in the ice and an interesting exhibition about a 5000 year old corpse that was uncovered in a melting glacier on the Italian, Austrian border in 1991. Out next stop was at Sogndal, we are going to stay at the camp site here so that tomorrow Les can see a dentist, he has been having trouble with a tooth for a few days and it needs some treatment. As we entered the town it was very busy, there was a youth football tournament taking place, seems like World Cup fever is everywhere. On the way to the campsite we passed a Mercedes vintage car rally, lovely looking cars. The campsite was busy, actually, we are not too keen on these places, they're too regimented, but it's handy for a dentist and has a pleasant outlook across the fjord. Monday. Up early to call the dentist, they open at 8.00 am, Les called the number we had found, they couldn't help but gave him an alternative number, call number 2, couldn't help either, they gave us another number, a very helpful lady booked him in for later in the morning. The football crowds have dispersed in the town and we find a place to park, Les went off to get his tooth sorted, the dentist drilled it and put some pain killer into it and then put a temporary filling in it, then gave him a prescription for antibiotics. We walked to the pharmacy and picked them up, hopefully he will be feeling better soon. Continuing on the tourist trail we visited Urnes stave church. Parking at Solvern a pretty village overlooking Lustrafjord, we caught the ferry as foot passengers, 15 minutes later we were at Urnes. We had read in the guide book that the church is 1km uphill, there is an English tour 20 minutes after the ferry arrives, the book advised not to dawdle up the hill, so accordingly we route marched up, puffing away in the warm sunshine, we paid the admission and within minutes the tour was beginning, there was only us and another young chap that had made it up in time. The church is a UNESCO site as being the oldest original in Norway, constructed in 1070, its highlights are elaborate wooden carvings on the north wall and simple crucifixion carvings set above the chancel wall. There are tiny windows on the south side which is the side the men would stand, women and children on the north side, the windows were for the evil spirits to enter, seeing the women and children opposite them it was believed that the spirits would take them first. Charming! Returning back to Solvern, Dream Catcher took us to Jostedalen valley where we followed a track up a mountain side, it was similar to climbing up Trollstigen, but longer and higher. At the top there was room to park for the night, the view across to the glacier covering the top of the opposite mountains was amazing. After our tea, Les suggested we walked up to the top of the mountain we were parked on, it was quite a slog up the hill walking through peaty areas and the now usual rocky areas, closer to the top we had to cross some snowy patches. At the top there was a pretty lake the water was so still it was like a mirror. We retraced our step back down the mountain, crossing the snow going down hill was a bit tricky but we managed to stay on our feet. We're out for a couple of hours and our little excursion had taken us to the highest we've been so on this trip 4235 ft. Tuesday. On the way back down the mountain road, that Les has renamed Dream Catcher stigen, we counted 20 hairpins and a drop of 2257ft quite impressive. We're off on a days hike to Nigardsbreen, the last of the glacier tongues that we will visit. We're guaranteed to actually get up to this one and touch it! The walk is from the Brehimsenteret Visitors Centre, along a wooded valley up to the glacial lake below the glacier. At the car park there is a hut from which glacier walking tours depart, in the distance we can see groups of 12 people roped together walking on pre made paths up the glacier, the guides are Nepalese, We chatted to one, we asked him if he knew our friend Ngima, which of course he did, Ngima is quite well known in the Everest region, where he comes from, for his charity work? There is a boat across the lake or you can continue walking around the lake, which we did, it must be a very popular route, as the granite rocks are worn smooth, making them slippy in places, there are sets of ladders up and down the big boulders and a couple places that are roped to help you get along the polished rocks. The climb up to the glacier was the easiest that we had done, close to the edge there was temporary barriers, we hadn't walked over 4 miles to be put off going up to the ice, we climbed over and walked right up to it, as did plenty of other people. The light shining through the cracks in it were a wonderful vivid blue, out of what was like a cave, the glacial melt water was raging and tumbling down towards the lake. Some of the ice crystals were 1 1/2 inches across amazing to think that this ice was 1000 years old. After taking lots of photographs we returned back to Dream Catcher, feeling weary we decided to drive out towards a dam about 15 kilometres away to park up, on the way we noticed a carpark with a camper in it, we could park there if the carpark at the dam is unsuitable. At the dam, where there was still 4 ft of snow at the side of the road, we decided that the first carpark was a better option. The camper was British, and we chatted to the owners for a while, they're heading north, so we offered to tell them where we had been, they invited us over in the evening to their palatial camper for a glass of wine. We swopped travel stories, ate cheese and cockles and enjoyed their wine, the first in five weeks. Before we knew it, it was 11.00pm time for bed.

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Photos

DSCN9069
Reflections on the lake at the top of the mountain