Lysebotn to Erøyna
Norway's climate comprises two summer days followed by a three day gale. Lysebotn's lee quay isn't a good place to be, when the wind starts howling through the fjord. The Burgundian Belgians stay and - given our experience - I can only hope they managed to tie their boats up well. With the warm front moving in, we are moving out. And in the still sunny weather, Lysefjord is magnificent.
Kjerag, the waterfalls, Preikestolen and Lysefjord bridge, all look so much better in sunshine. It feels really special to navigate these waters with your own boat.
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| Preikestolen - pulpit rock - from down below. Hiking up the 604 meter granite cliff, to admire the view is a major tourist attraction. |
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| Lysefjord Bridge with a span of 446 meter marks the entrance of the fjord. |
By the time we reach Erøy it rains and the wind has picked up. By 3 AM the wind becomes so strong that Easy threatens to bend the lightly built fingers of the floating jetty. In streaming rain I get out of bed to set a long line from the bow to the other shore to keep the boat in its slip. Seeking shelter was the right decision! Out at sea or in Lysebotn it must be terrible.
Following afternoon, abruptly the wind dies down. In the windless warm clammy air, we set up the grill. By the end of the day, five Mackerels and a Salmon have have lost their lives. They're washed away with Carlsberg Premium Beer.
Even if the four Norwegian couples - living on their motor yachts for 9 weeks - are nice, the wharfinger awfully helpful and the weather forecast grim, we need to leave. It's main attractions being friendliness, fish, peace and quiet,
this isn't exactly the place where Norway happens.
When we take this decision, we aren't yet aware that there are very few places indeed where Norway happens. In fact, Norway
does happen in
Erøy. This is what Norway is all about; small towns, with very few places for visiting yachts, where the exaggerated price of alcoholic beverages has practically eliminated all serious nightlife.
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| Erøy on Friday night |
We say good-bye to our new friends with a quote from the fish bowl, the Dolphins left after leaving earth, in Douglas Adam's fourth Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "
So Long and Thanks for all the Fish." I don't think any of the nine people waving us off saw any irony in that...
Even if the four Norwegian couples - living on their motor yachts for 9 weeks - are nice, the wharfinger awfully helpful and the weather forecast grim, we need to leave. It's main attractions being friendliness, fish, peace and quiet, this isn't exactly the place where Norway happens. 
