Posts In The “Destinations” Category
While we were rounding the world in Dirona, so too was the oil rig Polar Pioneer, including a stop at our home port of Seattle. The rig circumnavigated in 2014-2016, starting in Norway, then to Singapore and on to Alaska for an assignment, then to Seattle and back to Norway via South America. While in…
Matersfjorden is one of the wettest regions in the country and in 2005 received 8.8 inches (223 mm) of rainfall in 24 hours, the second highest ever recorded in Norway. The fjord also is home to the 230MW Blafalli Vik power station and some fabulous scenery, with 4,087ft (1,246m) Ulvanosa soaring above the waterway and…
The five-hour return hike to 3,300ft (1,005m) Mjelkhaug is a combination of two other hikes: a three-hour circular loop to Nordjfell, with a one-hour extension to Varhaugselet and an additional hour to reach Mjelkhaug. All three hikes have excellent views west into Hardangerfjorden, while from Mjelkhaug you also can see the Folgefonna glaciers. On another…
The large TV tower atop 2,375ft (724m) Kattnakken on the island of Stord was a common sight as we traveled around the mouth of Hardangerfjord. We first spied it from the summit of Siggjo on the adjacent island of Bomlo, and decided that would be our likely next hike. From the anchorage at Karihavet, we…
1555 ft (474m) Siggjo on Bomlo was prominent in the skyline north of our anchorage at Karihavet near Moster. And if the summit was so visible, we could be sure the views from the top would be excellent. Our second day at Karihavet dawned beautifully clear, so we set off in the tender to hike…
According to Norse legend, the first Christian church in Norway was established on the island of Moster in 995. A millennium later, several notable projects in the area included the construction of the Kulleseid Canal in 1856, the Royksund Canal in 1859, and a successful limestone quarry at Mosterhamn on Moster. The canals remain operational…
Ryfylkefjordane, the Ryfylke fjords, lie between Stavanger and Haugesund in the southern portion of the spectacular region known as Fjord Norway, where long and narrow waterways wind deep into soaring, snow-capped mountain ranges. We’d only passed through Ryfylkefjordane on our previous Norwegian visit in 2018. On that first trip, our goal was to travel the…
In early August, we returned to a very different Haugesund than the one we’d visited in late September of 2018. The previously tranquil town was absolutely packed with boats, many rafted several deep, and high-speed, muffler-free cigarette boats roamed the waterway. On this most recent visit, we were at the height of the boating season,…
After a day of heavy winds and rain following our visit to Skjoldafjorden, we had wonderfully calm conditions to explore Forresfjorden. During our tender tour, we finally got close enough for a good picture after several eagle sightings in Norway from a distance. Below are highlights from August 5th and 6th. Click any image for…
The Skjoldastraumen is a shallow waterway with swift currents, suitable only for small craft. To allow larger boats to reach the Skjoldafjorden beyond, a lock was built between 1904-1908. For many decades steam ships regularly passed through the locks, carrying people and goods between Skjoldafjorden and the larger centers of Stavanger and Haugesund. Today mostly…
Six of the islets in the Sjernaroyane group are interconnected with bridges, with a marked cycle path between them, Sjernaroyrunden, that makes for a wonderful day trip. From the anchorage at Kotavagen, we made a short nine-mile run to Sjernaroyane and anchored for a couple of nights near the community docks at Nodholmen. On our…
The hike up 1,230ft (375m) Randasen was among the easiest we did on our return trip to Norway. The tender ride to shore was only a few hundred yards, the trailhead was an easy half-hour walk away and the roundtrip hike from there was only three hours. But the view was as good as any…
After two days of wind, heavy rain and overcast skies in Erfjord, we were rewarded on our third morning with clear and calm weather for a tender tour of spectacular Josenfjorden. What the 17-mile (27km) fjord lacks in length it makes up for in dramatic scenery, with 2,300 ft (700m) cliffs full of waterfalls. After…
A small weather system was passing through, with gusts to 45 knots, as we were underway for Erjforden. We found a beautiful and peaceful anchorage at Hattavagen, and ended up spending three nights anchored in the sheltered basin. While there, we explored the area by tender, hiked up 510m Bandasen, and completed a few boat…
The village of Sand lies in a beautiful setting where the Saudafjorden and the Hylsfjorden meet to form the Sandsfjorden. From our anchorage at Nevoyvagen, we’d already explored to the head of Saudafjorden, including hiking up 3,054ft (931m) Hovlandsnuten from the town of Sauda at the head, and had made a brief pass by tender…
Saudafjorden extends 10.5 miles (17km) between the towns of Sand and Sauda through several-thousand-foot mountains with many waterfalls. At the head, the popular Saga Trail extends from Sauda to 3,054ft (931m) Hovlandsnuten. Stone steps newly laid by Nepalese Sherpas lead to the summit, with panoramic views to Saudafjorden and the surrounding mountains. After a 22-mile…
After exploring its two branches, Sandeidfjorden and Yrkjefjorden, we completed our five-day tour of cross-shaped Vindafjorden in a beautiful anchorage at Kvaloy. On a warm and sunny day, we toured to the head by tender, then spent a lazy evening enjoying the surroundings from the cockpit. Below are trip highlights from July 24th, 2020. Click…
Nedre Vats in Vatsjforden has a couple of great attractions for us: an excellent view hike up 1742ft (531m) Granuten and the AF Environmental Base decommissioning and recycling facility. The massive semi-submersible crane vessel Sleipnir that we passed en route to Stavanger had removed the 8,929-ton (8,100-metric ton) Jotun-B platform jacket from the North Sea…