the skerries

Hello you.

I'm here in aalesund, norway with carol. It's cool and rainy. we're eating lots of creamy fish soup, drinking beer, and pear soda. It's all good, but that's not what my post is about today. I have to finish ... I mean start...to tell you about my trip to the skerries.

i begin here in an express boat that moves very very quickly through the water.

the boat didn't have many passengers. people were getting off at various places. I booked a round trip ticket to the isle of leirvik. The trip took me through the western coast of Norway which are dotted with thousands of mostly uninhabitable islands called skerries.
The skerries are glacially formed appearing at the mouths of fjords. Some are rocky points others are large and mountainous. They form a protective barrier all along norway's western coast.

Making for a lovely scenic ride.

I filled my eyes with so much blue, staring off into that wide sea.

Thinking about polar explorers and the arctic circle and puffins and people who fashion their lives around the sea and navigate through perilous passages. That sort of thing.
The outer deck of a boat is a good place for thinking. And drifting.
And of course the bathroom is sort of like a photobooth.

It was windy and wild on the outside deck. Sane people stay inside on these fast moving boats.

the sun shone down on the tiesten the entire time. Sun and wind. Salty air. Snow capped mountains. On an express boat speeding through the blue blue sea.

Stopping for no more than a few minutes at each small port.

Leirvik was small & sleepy. Not a big tourist destination. I meandered, ate lunch overlooking the harbor, wrote in my journal and called it good.

90 minutes later we headed back to Bergen. I took up my position as lookout on the outside deck.

Tomorrow carol and I head off to the geiranger fjorden. A fjord so beautiful and special it is a unesco world heritage site.

by boat of course.

Go check out Carol's version of Norway on her blog and instagram (cmulvenon). 

Sent from my iPad

Comments

[Darlene]

What a beautiful trip you took us on today. Love the skerries. Thanks for sharing the history of these places you're exploring!! Carry on explorer girl!! More dispatches please! :-)

[teri]

I love feeling like I'm traveling along with you. And great that you remembered to include a photo of you, too!

[Gwen Delmore]

ah, skerries! Wonderful! Also the bathroom as a photobooth, only you, Miss Moss! Now Norway is DEFINITELY on my list of places I will travel one day! "There is nothing half so wonderful as messing around in boats". (ratty from Wind in the Willows)

[Molly Quigley]

Ahhh...going on another adventure with Miss Mary Ann. Love when you travel as we all get to travel with you!

[GailNHB]

You and your sister are such an inspiration for those of us who don't get to travel as much as you do. Your photos, stories, descriptions, drawing, journal pages - you both do a wonderful job of bringing us along for the ride, the walk, the flight, the food - all of it.

You are more than abundantly blessed to have each other.

Enjoy the rest of your trip. I look forward to enjoying the rest of your stories and the future journal photos.

[Domenico]

I fancy myself a city boy for the most part, but I could easily see myself living in the house nestled in the foot of that glorious mountain. There or Moss cottage... I'm flexible.

[Leslie J. Moran]

Skerries. Not something I had ever known about. Thanks teach! Keep warm :)

[Karen H]

You look gorgeous Mary Ann. Sparkling with life. I'm dying to visit Norway now. Thanks for sharing the beauty and wonder.

[Lisa Hoffman]

Love a boat, and that white blouse you're wearing ain't bad either!
Love to you and Sis.

[Cheryl's Excellent Adventure]

Everything and everywhere looks fantastic! BUT, I was really looking forward to seeing a few Vikings! Hello! Where are all the tall, blonde, Norse gods, er...men?

[Susie LaFond]

I've filled my wee eyeballs to the very brim with all this amazing, glorious blue and mountains, and hidey holes tucked away, snug as a bug...it all look amazing and awesome and wondrous....I like your loo pics...made me grin...I hanging on by a thread waiting for the next adventure. PS, the flight looked pretty dang awesome too.....toodles for now.
xxooxx

[Nancy Lynn]

Wonderful scenery, the food is delicious and the fun times roll . Just one problem.....we need more posts.....please.

[Jillayne]

The scenery is gorgeous - kind of like Alaska on steroids with better architecture....(I lived in the Yukon until just a few years ago and Alaska was our backyard) My Grandfather's family is Norwegian so I feel a double-whammy connection to this journey of yours and am loving every bit of it!

[M]

Another island or two over and you would have made it to my old home of Bømlo! Isn't the west coast beautiful? All of Norway is a treat but the fjord country has a special magic to it. Can't wait to see your Geiranger pics. I never made it there.
Marissa

[Violet Cadburry]

Where are all the cats? Love the pics but we must keep our priorities straight.

[Judy H.]

Beautiful!

[Jane Bumar]

Always take the boat, indeed! Looking good, there Miss Mary Ann. Feeling good too, I'm thinking.