7th June - from Geiranger to Sognefjord

As forecast it rained most of the night and at one point I had to venture outside to re-tie a couple of the tepee’s securing soaps that were flapping in the wind along with that side of the tent.  By morning it was drizzly and very damp underfoot.

I packed up and set off which almost immediately involved climbing out of the valley.  Once above 400m the snow started to appear and I climbed above the low cloud and into another bank.

Despite the cold and rain, there is a certain beauty in the barren landscape with the remnants of the winter’s snow  and draped in cloud.

In some sheltered places the full depth of the snow that had been ploughed through could still be seen.

In other places what appeared to be flat plains of snow were revealed as frozen lakes only by the presence of the occasional unfrozen holes.

The roads were not icy but were a little slippy in places and needed some care, as the road slowly descended everything became very wet and slushy.

Once back below the snow line the greenery returned along with steady rain from the low cloud. 

Of course as a result of all that water, any waterfall that existed was particularly lively.  This one erupted from the side of the road and plunged down the steep valley side.

Down at sea level it was still raining and I was feeling the damp so stopped for some refreshment in a local cafe.

£19 for a burger and coffee - ouch! - but ‘just what the doctor ordered’  non the less.

It must have been a special burger because by the time I left the cafe the cloud was starting to lift.

It continued to brighten as I traversed the fjords heading gradually south

In the still deep waters of the fjords reflections of the hillsides started to appear .... 

This one was stunning - I just sat and looked at it for 15 minutes in quiet contemplation.

U shaped valleys were everywhere of course  ... 

This one nicely framed a glacier creeping down the mountainside.

And of course more stunning waterfalls ... this one was just before I had to catch a local ferry across the fjord and so only had chance for a quick snap.

On board the ferry heading for the other side of Sognefjord

I headed for a campsite I had read about that sounded like a nice quiet spot just a few miles on the other side.

I was not disappointed - it even had an ‘old man’s bench’ !

I got unpacked and put things out to dry and then went for a walk along the shore.  You can just see the waterfall I snapped on the other side of the fjord. 

So what started out as a wet and miserable day turned into a glorious sunny evening.

And at midnight a loveley sunset - it came back up again at about 3am, but at least there is some night-time now.