Cruising south to Bergen

Well, the weather deteriorated over September and October with a lot of wind and rain, not that you can tell from our photos which look a lot brighter than we remember it being. We were still able to get out for a walk most days which saved us from getting cabin fever. Every place has been spectacular and it is always hard to choose which photos to put in the blog.

We sat in this anchorage for about a week as a bad system passed over. Great walking but not so great was dragging our anchor when the wind got up in the middle of the night and having to let the lines go and re-anchor in the middle of the bay. No drama but it was cold, wet and windy.

Our friend Paul arrived from the States for his annual visit and we picked him up in Floro in the pouring rain. He was able to get the fast ferry from Bergen and said the last part was very rough - by the next day it had settled down and we continued south. The next 100 miles were spent exploring the outer islands, finding scattered communities everywhere.

Tight entrances became the norm. This is the wider entrance  to Hardbakke on the island of Sula - and below is the narrower one we took on the way out. Summer was over so we were the only boat still out cruising, villages were quiet after the summer madness and a lot of tourist-related businesses were shut down. Suited us!

Look at this for a mass of islands - over 350. The eastern end of the Balandet Islands was high and it tapered off to the west. Connected by bridges, we found it to be one of the friendliest places we've visited. Lucky for us most people speak enough English to converse with us so we have slowly got to know about the Norwegian culture as we move south. We Kiwis are quite outgoing so it has taken a bit of getting used to the delightful quiet ways of the locals.

Our walks are always a surprise as we turn a corner and another unexpected view opens up to us.

We found this anchorage to sit out yet another blow and did a lot of walking. Got to meet several of the locals at the village of Byrknesoy two kilometers away, and left loaded up with dried fish, fresh greens, wool for knitting socks and an offer of a winter berth. It was great to meet an English family with a huge vegetable garden, the first we have seen here, and to see what can be grown in such a short season.

Bridges everywhere, and tunnels both on land and under the sea.

This one is almost 2 kms long and floats as the fiord is too deep for bridge foundations.

Autumn kicked in with stunning display of colour which brightened our duller days.

And the locals also added a bit of colour of their own.

Finally Bergen where we tied up right in the city centre for 3 nights. Come the weekend we had to share the space with 23 launches and 3 more yachts -  can't imagine what it's like in the summer. This has got to be one of the most beautiful cities we have been to. No wnder it has so many cruise ships calling in, sometimes 7 a day!

We spent many days here by a collection of wooden boats in all states of repair. They were a friendly bunch and Phil spent many hours over there.

Being Kiwis we usually shopped here!

Before we could row ashore the dinghy had to be bailed, a daily happening.

Meandering south

We humans are funny creatures. When I am in a challenging place, like cruising in Patagonia or South Georgia, I long to be somewhere where the cruising is easy. Well, this area of Norway is definitely that and I find myself longing for a little bit of adventure, an adrenalin rush. We motor (no wind or on the nose) from one stunning anchorage to another, drop the anchor and have a good walk. Our last anchorage had the highest seacliffs in Europe as the backdrop. There was the option of climbing that but luckily it was a grey, wet day when we motored past. With my fear of heights that would have given me more of a rush than I'll ever need. Phil was disappointed to miss out on the climb though. Only last week a woman fell to her death up there.

He did get up Mt Saksa which is about 1000m above sea level for a stunning view of the fiord we were anchored at the head of.

While we were tied up to a public dock at the island of Veoeya Phil was able to fix the anchor windlass which needed the brushes in the motor replaced. Luckily he carried spares as we anchor in most places. It has done a lot of work over the past few years and it would have been hard work pulling up our heavy chain by hand, not really an option. This island used to have a large Viking village at one stage but now just has a church, homestead and a few outbuildings.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Somewhere along the way this mess  got wrapped around the prop so Phil had to drag out his old wetsuit and dive down to cut it off. Took a while and the water wasn't exactly tropical but a hot shower soon had him warmed up again.

Bridges and ferries connect a lot of the islands so when we are planning our route we need to check the bridge heights carefully. We did sqeak under a 17m one at low tide leaving the town of Alesund but wouldn't make a habit of it. Our mast is about 17.5m so we go for the 18m + bridges.

While we had a few hours in Alesund a cruise ship with loads of Aussies onboard was in. We really enjoyed chatting to people from our side of the world. People here are quite reserved. At first we thought it was the language but it just seems to be how they are. We have met some lovely people here so it's not a complaint.

Just lately we have been visiting anchorages that are not in the two cruising guides that we use and that has been a good move. People get such a surprise when we drop anchor in their tiny harbours and it is easier to get talking with them.

Autumn has definitely set in and the leaves are turning along with the weather. We seem to be getting a lot of grey days and plenty of rain as we slowly meander south to Bergen. It will soon be time to start lighting the heater and adding another layer of clothing. At least we now have some darkness at night so falling asleep at a reasonable hour is no longer a problem!

An unexpected stay in beautiful Kristiansund

Those of you following us on www.marinetraffic.com will have noticed that we haven't moved much for almost a month. We have been tied up at the wooden boat museum here in Kristiansund, hanging out with a bunch of men who love their wooden boats. It is funny to watch them chase away any cruisers who try to tie up with a steel or plastic boat.

Phil developed chest pains walking up hills so had it checked out at the hospital. They did a few tests, put him on some medication and then were able to give him a stress test 3 weeks later. We had already booked our tickets to fly home early November so are pleased that he should be okay in the meantime as long as he doesn't try running up any mountains.

This is a great place to be stuck as Kristiansund is made up of four islands connected with bridges with loads of nature walks everywhere. We get out walking most days and Phil rows around the harbor a lot. We have crossed a few boat jobs off the list but it has basically been a pretty lazy month. It's a bit late to go north now so we will spend the next few months mucking about between here and Bergen. It's a mere 200 miles away as the crow flies but there are some great fiords to explore and a lot of sheltered cruising. We were feeling a need to slow down anyway and spend more time in places instead of being constantly on the move but could have done without the heart issue!

I got my backpack stolen in the library. Hard to believe especially here in Norway which feels so safe. The police asked for a description, showed us a photo and a few hours later we had most of our stuff back. What a relief as our passports and wallet were in the backpack! I felt sick in the stomach at the thought of having to go through the process of getting them replaced so we were pretty impressed with the fast work by the police department.

We leave here tomorrow and start working our way very slowly south. Looking forward to the fiords and being out of town for a while. The blueberries and raspberries are in season and it's nice to pick some for our breakfasts as we go on our daily walks.

What else does one do at midnight but hang out on the boat next door eating shrimps and drinking beer????