Maråk

I wake to see mountains outside my window. These ones are green with vegetation and terns flying through the sky. It is milder here as well. Geiranger is a small town at the end of the Fjord with a population of 200. Yes, 200 people, no typo. This is a very long fjord. It is 15 km (9.3 mi) long and 1.5 km (0.93 mi) wide. There are several fjords that branch off of it and Geiranger. The mountains are high at 800 meters, and the average depth is 260 meters. There are waterfalls everywhere you look. The mountains are lush with trees, and it is just beautiful to look at. Every now and then, there are houses and farms up on a slope. I have no idea how they get in and out because I don't see any roads. We finally make it to the town of Geiranger. It is at the very end of the fjord and is rather small. There is a hotel, grocery store with a post office, several tourist shops and restaurants, as well as plenty of tourism activities. An interesting thing to note here is that this fjord will be closed to all vessels that are not zero carbon in the future. They have an expandable dock here that unfolds to meet the ship after the ship has moored to the floating bouys.

Today, we are doing the ride up the mountain to the sky walk. The mountain is called Dalsnibba Mountain, and it is 1,476 meters high. Our guide is very enthusiastic about the area and points out many interesting things. It seems that everywhere we turn, there is another waterfall coming down the mountain side. The sounds of the water pounding down in torrents are deafening. Our guide has told us that we are very fortunate because we have hit the perfect time for the snow melt. Another week or two, and the waterfalls will be nothing more than a trickle. We make our first stop at a scenic point, where we can get pictures of the fjord and the ship. It gives you a good perspective of how high the mountain walls are that enclose the fjord. We then keep climbing up. We see plateaus where people have set up farms for sheep and goats. We climb higher until we reach the tree line at about 1000 meters. After this there are no more trees and just mosses on the ground. There is a lake that is still mostly frozen up here. Our guide said another 2 weeks, and it should thaw. We finally make it to the top. There is still snow up here, and the mountains are barren rock and snow. The view is amazing from up here. On our way down, we stop at a cultural museum to see the fjord in all four seasons and see how people lived back in the day. Not for the faint-hearted.

There are two waterfalls that are famous in this Fjord. One is called the 'Seven Sisters' and the one opposite it is 'The Suitor'. On our way out of the fjord, the Captain stopped and did a 360 with the ship to let everyone get pictures of both. Isn't he a nice man?

Back down the mountain, we have to head back for another delicious meal.Lue lisää