July 30, 2016 – Bergen hostel.
I woke up in Voss ready for one of the highlights of my trip, a kayak tour of the Naeroyfjord. I ate a great breakfast of local fruits and Norwegian “brown cheese” (it’s sweet) at the hostel, checked my bag, and walked to the meeting spot to take a bus back to Gudvangen to start the tour.
Careful readers will recall that the road between Voss and Gudvangen was closed due to a landslide and giant rocks that were blocking the road. The tour company was prepared, though. They drove us most of the way then had us walk on a hiking trail around the landslide for about a half hour, then had other vans pick us up on the other side for the rest of the drive.
There were two groups on the tour, and mine had 9 people plus our guide so I got a chance to get to know everyone a little. There was a family of 5 from New Jersey with older kids who were super outdoorsy (yesterday they did a 10 hour intense hike to a popular rock overlooking a fjord called Trolltonga), a couple my age from Richmond VA, and another solo traveler from Australia named Anna. Our guide Shannon was from New Zealand. We got into our gear, including a wetsuit, a shirt over it, a windbreaker/raincoat, and booties. Then you put on a “skirt” that you wear and attach to the opening of the kayak to keep water out, and a big life vest. We got instructions and broke into doubles and singles – I shared with Anna for the first half, sitting in front so I didn’t have to steer, and switched to a single after lunch.
The trip was just awesome. It was raining on and off but hardly noticeable. Most of us hadn’t done extensive kayaking before, and despite my feeling pretty out of shape I kept up with the group just fine, even though the single was a lot harder.
The fjord is massive, even though it’s the narrowest one. It was a different experience being in it that way than the boat ride through it. It was quiet and intimate, even when large boats passed. The tiny towns next to huge waterfalls seemed to be tempting fate. One such town had a population of 17. We stopped for a really great BBQ lunch that Shannon made, complete with hot beverages and an opportunity to walk to a Viking burial ground – basically a huge pile of stones. We continued a bit farther then turned around. We were probably in the water about 4 hours total, not counting lunch.
The hike back around the road was pretty miserable on the way back, since it was raining harder and the trail was very muddy and more uphill. But at the same time I felt really good from the day – an experience others said they shared.
Back in Voss we said goodbye, and I went into the first restaurant I saw and ate a ton. I walked to get my suitcase and back to the train station – fortunately the rain was lighter now. I saw 2 kayakers from the other group that I’d met from Vancouver at the station and we chatted for a while, before splitting up for our reserved seats on the train from Voss to Bergen.
travels.of.tara 