Geiranger

It was an awesome sight, waking early, looking out the window and seeing the cliffs of the fjord towering over the ship as we sailed through the narrow and twisting passage. The weather was threatening, which gave the whole scene an atmosphere of remoteness and unspoilt beauty.

This was the Geirangerfjord, and at its inner end was Geiranger, a small village of 250 people, about a hundred motor homes and, once we arrived, 3,000 day trippers.

Naturally, it was raining as we climbed a steep metal staircase alongside a rushing river cascading down the hill. At the top was the Fjord Visitor Centre, with ten dollar coffees and an interesting museum showcasing the people, nature and geology of the remote, UNESCO World Heritage, area. An avalanche in 1934 caused a tsunami sixty metres high in the nearby Tafjord, so nature here is clearly a force to be reckoned with.

The cliffs of the fjord rise 1,400 metres above the sea in places (and 500 metres below). Therefore we were looking forward to watching our progress back out of the fjord. We were a little disappointed, then, when a group of late returners delayed our nine pm departure. We were then a little more disappointed when the weather closed in and, before we had done our u-turn to get under way, it was pouring. The result was a whole bunch of dark photos and a return to the bar for some more imbibing.

Our short overnight passage took us to the mouth of the fjord and Allesund, our next destination.En savoir plus