Wonderful waterfalls!

7 July 2018

We were up early (ish) this morning, so we could maximise our last few hours with Ingvill and IS, and Amanda and Daniel.

As it happened, despite a noisy toddler, Amanda and Daniel slept and slept and slept – they must’ve been exhausted from all the studies and travelling – and Ingvill and I decided to head out on the kayaks for an hour or so. WOW!!! I’ve only been kayaking once before but am quite comfortable on (or in!) the water, so was really up for giving it a go. And I loved it!!! There was a slight current and breeze that blew me off course once (and almost into someone else’s boat…😳) but apart from that, it was plain sailing, so to speak, as we glided peacefully between the islands dotted around Lysfjørd. I can’t quite describe the contradiction of thrill and calm it gave me, but it can quite understand how people can spend hours in a kayak.

When we returned to dry land, Ian and Cornelia were trying their hand at fishing from the jetty. Unsuccessfully, sadly, unless you count a kilo of seaweed as a victory.

I had hoped to squeeze in a quick swim with Amanda before they needed to leave for their train, but unfortunately when we went back up to the house, there was no sign of anyone, and they had all left! Sadly, no goodbyes for me, Ian or Cornelia… something we said???!!!!

Ingvill rang Amanda, so we managed to wish them a happy couple of weeks in the cabin, before it was our turn to pack up. Ingvill needed to take the dogs out, so we said we’d wait until she returned before setting off. This was Bugsy’s cue to ask Tante Ingvill if she could also come on the walk, and so the four of them headed out, leaving me and Ian to sort things out.

Amazingly, we managed to pack everything up and make sandwiches before they came back, so enjoyed a final few minutes relaxing in the sunshine, soaking up that view. Ah, what a place to live!

Cornelia was excited to tell us all about her walk and the trolls she and Ingvill met in the woods, and gave her a huge kiss and cuddle before clambering into her car seat.

We were heading towards Kristiansand, as we are getting a ferry to Denmark from there in a couple of days, but we weren’t sure how far we’d get in one day. We are glad we didn’t book anywhere, as it meant we weren’t clock-watching too much.

The drive was magnificent again, and Ian and I couldn’t help agreeing that it was all indecently, obscenely, ridiculously stunning.

After two short ferry trips, and interspersed with Twitter updates re the England – Sweden game, we pulled over into a lay-by next to a waterfall, and clambered over some rocks for a closer look. We all managed to stay upright and dry, bar a little spray from the rapids, although I failed to quite get the photo I was hoping for – with a rainbow bursting out of Cornelia’s hand.

Onwards we went, eventually deciding we needed to find a campsite and set up for the night. I still needed to cook tea, and it takes about an hour to register and pitch up. What luck!!! We stopped in Røldal, at a site right next to a lake, and surrounded on all sides by mountains, some of which still have snow on.

While Ian supervised Bugsy on her bike, I used the Cobb to grill chicken breasts, potatoes and broccoli, all of which was eaten up, and I used the ongoing heat to prepare a bolognese sauce for tomorrow night.

Cornelia settled well, back in the van for the first time in ages, so Ian took some advantage of the extra time to watch the extra time in the Croatia – Russia game, while I curled up with some downloaded Netflix and a blanket keeping me warm in the much cooler night air. It has really been such a perfect week.