Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Norway Day 8 - Kinn
This is an after-the-fact transcription of the journal I kept on a two week trip to Norway.
May 19, 2030, 5:10 pm
The Hjornevikbua Restaurant, Florø
What a long day. The alarm went off at 5:30 and I was up slowly. I think I was too early, as I had to wait until the restaurant opened for breakfast. I just got a bowl of cereal and bolted it down, not at all sure about timing. Of course I was silly early at the ferry.
I asked a passerby about the ferries, and she pointed out the sign on the back of each, much like the route sign on a bus. Easy enough. OK to board early? Yes? No? Anyone? Jeez, how unsure can I get?
I walked into the passenger cabin and sat down. Ten minutes later another guy got on. And then we were off. This boat could probably seat almost a hundred but there were just the two of us.
I took a few pictures of the islands sliding by, but the windows were pretty scummy from the sea spray.
The guys who drive these things are pretty talented. When we pulled away from the dock, we turned in a space not much bigger than the boat itself, then backed into a berth to load something on the back.
We arrived at Kinn and there was the same deft handling of the ferry. We seemed to roar up at full speed, and at the last minute we slowed to a standstill inches from the pier.
The ferry worker lived a ramp across to the pier, and I asked for a pickup in the afternoon. Then I set off down the road. The only car had delivered a child to the ferry, probably heading to school at Rognaldsvag. It had left ahead of me to park in front of a house. That was all the traffic I had to worry about.
The road took me past several houses and small farms. Sheep lounged here and there.
There was a large farm where the road bent westward around the north side of the island. Across the road was a grove of trees, through which a stone wall wove. I suddenly began to see stone walls everywhere.
The lane continued between well fenced fields, sheep grazing between the road and the shoreline.
I saw the peak of the roof of the church first. Then around the bend, the gatehouse and that marvelous split mountain, Kinnaklova.
Nothing quite prepares you for the first dramatic glimpse of that mountain. It doesn't look quite real.
I walked up to the first building, a cottage like place. Past that, the gatehouse. It's a dramatic structure in its own right.
Iron gateposts are on each side of the arch, but there is no gate to open. I later found the gates beside the stone arch, perhaps awaiting repair.
Through the gate and mere steps was the front door of the church. The front porch looks quite modern, probably a recent addition to accommodate modern locks and an alarm system.
The rest looked like whitewashed plaster over stone. The church seemed larger than I imagined, dominating the setting. The rest of the scene seemed smaller.
I walked through the surrounding grave yard, looking at the names on the markers. Some headstones were too badly weathered and lichen encrusted to make out.
I walked around the church and found a collection of headstones, probably awaiting restoration work. There are likely many more graves than the ones that are marked.
The ramp up to the stage built for the annual Kinnaspelet pageant was gated and a sign asked that I go around the outside of the yard. At the corner behind the cottage, a farm fence met the stone wall of the church yard with a small gate.
I walked through and along the stone wall, and climbed on the stage. It's huge, very wide and with multiple levels. At the back, several levels looked like they could accommodate tiers of seating.
AT the far edge of this structure, the mountain rose sharply. This steep meadow had several natural shelves and benches, mostly tufts of vegetation, where the majority of an audience would sit.
I climbed above this to a juniper carpeted outcrop, and took a few pictures. The I descended back to the stage. The path from the gate toward Kinnaklova was obvious from above.
I followed the path along the base of the cliff that was the face of Kinnafjellet, the central mountain of Kinn. It was damp in spots, a little marshy.
About half a kilometre on, there was a series of stone walls, like an abandoned settlement. More likely they were corrals for the sheep. A little farther on, another stone wall ran from cliff face to sea, and in it was another small gate.
Not long after that, I reached the base of a boulder strewn slope, covered with lush vegetation and dotted with sheep. The slope isn't visible from the church, being hidden behind Kinnafjellet, but it's obvious there is a gap between the two mountains.
I climbed this to the col, the sheep chasing each other up slope ahead of me. From there, they worked their way up slope against Kinnafjellet. It looked awfully steep, but they had no problem with it.
I peeked over the top to discover a trail leading down. But I wanted to climb that cleft. So I descended the way I came, and worked my way over to the bottom of that slope.
May 19, 2010, 6:40 pm
The Quality Hotel lounge, Florø
This town just shuts down in the evening. Neither hotel restaurant is open, so I ended up back at the Hjornevikbua restaurant, where I went last night. Except looking over at the restaurant in this place, it looks to be open now.
The climb up the cleft was no different than any other scramble, technically. As usual, I didn't see the trail until I was halfway up. It was a nice climb.
At the top, I looked down at a dead end. It seemed that the base of the rubble slope ended at the water and now way past the vertical walls of the cleft itself.
The col in the cleft seemed no more than fifteen metres wide, and three boulders the size of a Smart car dominate. They are quite visible from the church.
I didn't sit too long. The wind was picking up and it had a definite chill. It was weird up there because each side was a sheer vertical wall. Usually there is some upward sloping at the sides of a col, but this was straight across, and straight up.
I started back down. It's a steep slope and I found my Keen hikers weren't quite up to the terrain, missing the side support that my old beat up Garmont boots have. Except for those few moments, they've been a great comfortable shoe.
I took it slow and careful, and got down without a problem. I would have liked to go further around the mountain to the north, but it was pure muskeg from mountain base to the water. A real swamp.
I went back to the first col, and climbed again. The sheep were still well up the slope against Kinnefjellet. I walked their trail over the top and down the other side.
Halfway down, a stone wall cut across the entire slope. It must have taken ages to build. A gap in the middle had no gate.
The path lead down the left side of the south face of the slope. Across the way on the back side of Kinnaklova, an enormous cave came into view.
I would guess the cave was thirty metres wide, close to half that high at the mouth. It was under the left side of a large arching overhang, not even taking up half the space under the arch.
I walked down to a fence and discovered a small cave there, not nearly as dramatic.
The big cave was spooky. None of the rock fall laying around was new, so the whole structure was probably stable. I made my way toward it.
I had climbed to a point directly under the midpoint of the overhang, and probably still had thirty metres to go before I would be at the cave proper. I just didn't feel comfortable going any farther.
I took several pictures, then made my way around to the path back to the top of the col. And then retraced my steps back to the church.
My climbing had taken the entire morning and I reached the church at noon. There was a bench against the wall, sun washed and sort of out of the wind. I lay down on it, and napped for about half an hour.
I woke just before 12:30 and heard footsteps on the gravel path. The lady who is the church caretaker said hello before stepping inside and closing the door.
I took a few more pictures in the noon light, and then slowly walked down the road. I still had three hours to wait for the ferry, so I was in no hurry.
I noticed all kinds of stone wall on the walk back. The wind was picking up even more, and it was cold even with the sun.
Across the way, the mountain behind Rognaldsvag had acquired a gob of foggy cloud on top, and the wind was pushing it around.
At the pier, I kept walking, determined to follow the road to the other end.
There was a long straight channel at the end, pointing south east, and at the far end a light house marked where it met the sea. I checked later and it's the same lighthouse I could see from near the cave. So I almost went all the way around the whole island.
I had over an hour still to wait for the ferry. Actualy I'd filled the day pretty well. I was expecting to have at least two hours to wait given that the island was so small.
The wind was getting really cold now. Thick cloud blew off the mountain behind Ronaldsvag, only to dissipate almost immediately.
On the pier, I found a somewhat protected corner in the concrete wall. The sun had warmed the concrete so it wasn't too bad. But that wind sucked the heat from my body.
Just before 3:00, a water taxi arrived and two people began unloading boxes and packages. A local backed a tractor down the pier with a small trailer attached and with the help of the taxi pilot, they unloaded a yellow white casket. Then the two taxi passengers followed the tractor down the road toward the church, while the taxi sped off. It was a sad little procession.
May 19, 2030, 5:10 pm
The Hjornevikbua Restaurant, Florø
What a long day. The alarm went off at 5:30 and I was up slowly. I think I was too early, as I had to wait until the restaurant opened for breakfast. I just got a bowl of cereal and bolted it down, not at all sure about timing. Of course I was silly early at the ferry.
I asked a passerby about the ferries, and she pointed out the sign on the back of each, much like the route sign on a bus. Easy enough. OK to board early? Yes? No? Anyone? Jeez, how unsure can I get?
I walked into the passenger cabin and sat down. Ten minutes later another guy got on. And then we were off. This boat could probably seat almost a hundred but there were just the two of us.
I took a few pictures of the islands sliding by, but the windows were pretty scummy from the sea spray.
The guys who drive these things are pretty talented. When we pulled away from the dock, we turned in a space not much bigger than the boat itself, then backed into a berth to load something on the back.
We arrived at Kinn and there was the same deft handling of the ferry. We seemed to roar up at full speed, and at the last minute we slowed to a standstill inches from the pier.
The ferry worker lived a ramp across to the pier, and I asked for a pickup in the afternoon. Then I set off down the road. The only car had delivered a child to the ferry, probably heading to school at Rognaldsvag. It had left ahead of me to park in front of a house. That was all the traffic I had to worry about.
The road took me past several houses and small farms. Sheep lounged here and there.
There was a large farm where the road bent westward around the north side of the island. Across the road was a grove of trees, through which a stone wall wove. I suddenly began to see stone walls everywhere.
The lane continued between well fenced fields, sheep grazing between the road and the shoreline.
I saw the peak of the roof of the church first. Then around the bend, the gatehouse and that marvelous split mountain, Kinnaklova.
Nothing quite prepares you for the first dramatic glimpse of that mountain. It doesn't look quite real.
I walked up to the first building, a cottage like place. Past that, the gatehouse. It's a dramatic structure in its own right.
Iron gateposts are on each side of the arch, but there is no gate to open. I later found the gates beside the stone arch, perhaps awaiting repair.
Through the gate and mere steps was the front door of the church. The front porch looks quite modern, probably a recent addition to accommodate modern locks and an alarm system.
The rest looked like whitewashed plaster over stone. The church seemed larger than I imagined, dominating the setting. The rest of the scene seemed smaller.
I walked through the surrounding grave yard, looking at the names on the markers. Some headstones were too badly weathered and lichen encrusted to make out.
I walked around the church and found a collection of headstones, probably awaiting restoration work. There are likely many more graves than the ones that are marked.
The ramp up to the stage built for the annual Kinnaspelet pageant was gated and a sign asked that I go around the outside of the yard. At the corner behind the cottage, a farm fence met the stone wall of the church yard with a small gate.
I walked through and along the stone wall, and climbed on the stage. It's huge, very wide and with multiple levels. At the back, several levels looked like they could accommodate tiers of seating.
AT the far edge of this structure, the mountain rose sharply. This steep meadow had several natural shelves and benches, mostly tufts of vegetation, where the majority of an audience would sit.
I climbed above this to a juniper carpeted outcrop, and took a few pictures. The I descended back to the stage. The path from the gate toward Kinnaklova was obvious from above.
I followed the path along the base of the cliff that was the face of Kinnafjellet, the central mountain of Kinn. It was damp in spots, a little marshy.
About half a kilometre on, there was a series of stone walls, like an abandoned settlement. More likely they were corrals for the sheep. A little farther on, another stone wall ran from cliff face to sea, and in it was another small gate.
Not long after that, I reached the base of a boulder strewn slope, covered with lush vegetation and dotted with sheep. The slope isn't visible from the church, being hidden behind Kinnafjellet, but it's obvious there is a gap between the two mountains.
I climbed this to the col, the sheep chasing each other up slope ahead of me. From there, they worked their way up slope against Kinnafjellet. It looked awfully steep, but they had no problem with it.
I peeked over the top to discover a trail leading down. But I wanted to climb that cleft. So I descended the way I came, and worked my way over to the bottom of that slope.
May 19, 2010, 6:40 pm
The Quality Hotel lounge, Florø
This town just shuts down in the evening. Neither hotel restaurant is open, so I ended up back at the Hjornevikbua restaurant, where I went last night. Except looking over at the restaurant in this place, it looks to be open now.
The climb up the cleft was no different than any other scramble, technically. As usual, I didn't see the trail until I was halfway up. It was a nice climb.
At the top, I looked down at a dead end. It seemed that the base of the rubble slope ended at the water and now way past the vertical walls of the cleft itself.
The col in the cleft seemed no more than fifteen metres wide, and three boulders the size of a Smart car dominate. They are quite visible from the church.
I didn't sit too long. The wind was picking up and it had a definite chill. It was weird up there because each side was a sheer vertical wall. Usually there is some upward sloping at the sides of a col, but this was straight across, and straight up.
I started back down. It's a steep slope and I found my Keen hikers weren't quite up to the terrain, missing the side support that my old beat up Garmont boots have. Except for those few moments, they've been a great comfortable shoe.
I took it slow and careful, and got down without a problem. I would have liked to go further around the mountain to the north, but it was pure muskeg from mountain base to the water. A real swamp.
I went back to the first col, and climbed again. The sheep were still well up the slope against Kinnefjellet. I walked their trail over the top and down the other side.
Halfway down, a stone wall cut across the entire slope. It must have taken ages to build. A gap in the middle had no gate.
The path lead down the left side of the south face of the slope. Across the way on the back side of Kinnaklova, an enormous cave came into view.
I would guess the cave was thirty metres wide, close to half that high at the mouth. It was under the left side of a large arching overhang, not even taking up half the space under the arch.
I walked down to a fence and discovered a small cave there, not nearly as dramatic.
The big cave was spooky. None of the rock fall laying around was new, so the whole structure was probably stable. I made my way toward it.
I had climbed to a point directly under the midpoint of the overhang, and probably still had thirty metres to go before I would be at the cave proper. I just didn't feel comfortable going any farther.
I took several pictures, then made my way around to the path back to the top of the col. And then retraced my steps back to the church.
My climbing had taken the entire morning and I reached the church at noon. There was a bench against the wall, sun washed and sort of out of the wind. I lay down on it, and napped for about half an hour.
I woke just before 12:30 and heard footsteps on the gravel path. The lady who is the church caretaker said hello before stepping inside and closing the door.
I took a few more pictures in the noon light, and then slowly walked down the road. I still had three hours to wait for the ferry, so I was in no hurry.
I noticed all kinds of stone wall on the walk back. The wind was picking up even more, and it was cold even with the sun.
Across the way, the mountain behind Rognaldsvag had acquired a gob of foggy cloud on top, and the wind was pushing it around.
At the pier, I kept walking, determined to follow the road to the other end.
There was a long straight channel at the end, pointing south east, and at the far end a light house marked where it met the sea. I checked later and it's the same lighthouse I could see from near the cave. So I almost went all the way around the whole island.
I had over an hour still to wait for the ferry. Actualy I'd filled the day pretty well. I was expecting to have at least two hours to wait given that the island was so small.
The wind was getting really cold now. Thick cloud blew off the mountain behind Ronaldsvag, only to dissipate almost immediately.
On the pier, I found a somewhat protected corner in the concrete wall. The sun had warmed the concrete so it wasn't too bad. But that wind sucked the heat from my body.
Just before 3:00, a water taxi arrived and two people began unloading boxes and packages. A local backed a tractor down the pier with a small trailer attached and with the help of the taxi pilot, they unloaded a yellow white casket. Then the two taxi passengers followed the tractor down the road toward the church, while the taxi sped off. It was a sad little procession.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Norway Day 7 - Exploring Florø
This is an after-the-fact transcription of the journal I kept on a two week trip to Norway.
May 18, 2010, 8:10 am
The restaurant in the Florø Comfort Inn
Another great breakfast. I hope I'm walking enough to work it off.
It occurs to me I'm sort of mis-labeling my posts. Yesterday was Constitution Day, but I wrote about the 150th anniversary of Florø. Today I'm writing about Constitution Day, but it's the day after.
I went out and watched the Children's Parade, and took lots of pictures. It appears that all the schools got into the act as there were banners for each school, each grade, and even each class. It took almost an hour for them to pass, and they had a marching band leading, and another at the end.
Afterwards, people mostly followed in the wake of the parade, so I went along with the crowd. Down Markegata, down a couple of blocks, then up the hill toward the church. By the time I got that far, people were disbursing in all directions and the crowd was thinning out.
Eventually everyone all but disappeared. I would have thought they might end up at a fairground or something. But the town just quieted down and people disappeared.
I went around again, past the tourist information centre to check the map in the window. And then embarked on a walk along the road that loops around the west end of the mountain in the middle of town.
It was a quiet walk. I met a few people, dressed in the traditional clothing, going the other way.
It's a beautiful town. The rain has stopped just before the Children's Parade, and I had my light jacket on. It was starting to warm up as the cloud dissipated.
Past the sports stadium, the road was high enough that I could see out to the far islands to the west. With the slop of the land, most homes have a fine view.
I got to the road from the airport and retraced the path back to the hotel.
By now it was a little after noon, and I started searching for someplace for lunch. A pub near the hotel served only drinks. I went farther down and found a lunch counter that servers burgers and fries and stuff.
There were a couple of other places, but they were more like actual restaurants and I thought I'd save going to those for dinner. I'm trying to go someplace different for every meal, but it's a challenge in a small town.
After lunch, with the centre of town feeling nearly deserted, I went exploring some more. By the other hotel, I found a public building, basically public washrooms and a laundromat. It had a large map on the wall outside and I remembered the Maritime Museum. I went searching for it.
About half way back toward the airport is a hiking trail that leads past the museum. I found it, and followed it as it descended into bush, not looking too well used, but easy to follow.
On the right was a narrow swampy gully, and across the back yards of houses, eerily quiet. On the left was a rock wall, and above on top of it were more back yards.
Eventually it came to a soggy, abandoned looking playground with a path cutting across from one side to the other. A stairway climbed the cliff to the left. I followed the path to the right, between two houses and onto the street.
At the end of this residential loop was a sign pointing down a narrow lane that ended in parking lot, and beyond, a couple of large buildings on the water's edge.
There was no one around, and a paper on the door I suspect said it was closed for the holiday. Peeking through a window, I saw all kinds of small boats and a stuffed seagull standing on some fishing nets.
Past the museum, a path wound along the edge of the water and over the rock. The setting is quite lovely. The museum is on the water, with a pier. SEveral outcrops and islands dot the water. All are very green and lush after all the rain.
I followed the path to a short bridge to an island. The path wound over the rock at the west end of the island, but there was a fence across, and goats grazed beyond. A short path led to the gate, with signage probably saying Keep Out.
On the other side, a longer and larger bridge lead to another island. This bridge was quite high, and I discovered that it was originally a draw bridge. The railing was designed to fold inward where two massive hinges in the deck showed the edge of the moving section. A frame held up cables from the far end of the raise-able section. Quite ingenious, and unused. The railings were nailed into place with heavy spikes.
Tomorrow would be the time to explore further. I retraced my steps back to the residential loop and then to the main road, rather than follow the path again.
Pm tje ,aom rpad. [ep[;e were beginning to appear again, in an obvious hurry. When I passed the graveyard is when that cannon went off again, twice, at 4:00. End of the workday?
AT the lake by the road, people stood in the middle and lined the wall on the side. The road looped into an apartment complex and people were everywhere but keeping this loop open. I could hear a band.
Soon a forest of flags appeared from around the corner This was the grownups parade, although there were kids everywhere. At least three marching bands, several groups with banners, young peoples groups too, motocross and one group wearing those red overalls I've seen everywhere.
After the parade, I followed the crowd again. Same gradual disbursement and eventually the streets were deserted.
I went back to the hotel and napped for a few minutes, after finding a pub behind the hotel. Nearly empty, and the only thing on tap was Hansa, but it was growing on me.
After the nap, I needed dinner. I discovered that all the restaurants closed early or all day, for the holiday. The only places open other than one pub and restaurant packed to the rafters was the fast food place I'd gone to for lunch, and the meat and chips place.
So I repeated the visit to the faux Italian. The place was almost deserted and the waiter and I repeated our meat and chips discussion. This time I got it without the Hollandaise-like sauce. It was a pretty good steak.
After that I walked to the other hotel and found a Ringnes in their lounge. I chased that with a Dalwhinnie and then went back to my hotel to do some laundry and to bed.
There was no cannon this morning, so it must have been only for the holiday.
I think I missed something yesterday. There must have been some place where people were gathering. The residential areas were very quiet but so was the downtown. People must have congregated somewhere.
May 18, 2010, 8:50 pm
The Hjornevikbua pub
I slept in a little this morning, there was no cannon to wake me up. I got up, and after breakfast I found the tourist information office, and got a map of the town.
A chat with the lady there got me a lot of information. Like, the time between the two parades yesterday, everyone was at some school with lots of activities. And after the second parade, there was a rowing competition on one of the lakes. I missed it all.
She called the lady who looks after the church at Kinn to see if I could get an ovff season tour. No dice; there's a funeral Thursday, and they are preparing for it tomorrow, so I can't get inside. But I am able to wander around the island on my own. So I have to be up for the ferry early tomorrow.
Then I decided to try the museum again. I walked down and found it open, and deserted except for staff. The lady who took my admission couldn't get the till to work so had to get change form the lunch counter.
The first part I went through showed some household furniture and ship models. Of course I had forgotten to charge the battery in my camera so at this point, it died.
Still, I wandered through an early 20th century household and checked out several styles of fishing boats. Lots of information about the early years of Florø:, but unfortunately it was all in Norwegian.
I went back to the hotel, plugged in the battery charger and went in search of lunch. Being a regular business day, places were open and not packed. I had a quick bite and went back to get my camera.
I headed out for the mountain east of town. The maps showed a hiking trail to the top so I set out in search of it.
I wend back to the museum and took the series of bridges and trails from there. A sound of sloshing in the water at one point startled me. I discovered a deer wading in the water by an old boat house.
No, sorry, after being at the museum, I followed that trail back to the hotel.
For the hike, I took the south side road. The school up that way had just got out, so lots of kids around. I came out past the south side, looking for a street that would take to the start of the trail to the mountain.
I walked past a swampy patch that the map showed as the start of the trail. It didn't look like there was a path anywhere there.
I walked up to another street that the map showed a path branching off and found it. But is just crossed a forested area to another crescent/cul-de-dac. The map showed that this might be reasonable so I walked along the street, looking for where the path continued. No sign.
A driveway branched up the slope, maybe not being a driveway but a path, and I ended up in what looked like someone's back yard. But there was a faint path from there, so I followed it and was soon in the forest.
I followed the path to the next cul-de-sac, and got lost for awhile. I found another path, which took me to another cul-de-sac. At least this one had an obvious marked path leading farther on.
This looked like the real path now. And there was a fair amount of climbing over rock and roots. Lots of we swampy paths, too. But then I was at another cul-de-sac. My map appeared to be seriously inaccurate.
A boy on a bicycle asked if I was lost. He confirmed the things I was seeing on the map, that the path continued form beside a scholl down the street. I got down to the school but could see no path. A guy drove up and after telling him what I was about, pointed out where the path started. From there it was straight forward. More rock and roots, and swampy parts, until I finally reacked the summit, by a telecommunications tower.
I took pictures. All of Florø was visible, and the surrounding island. There was a telescope on the lookout that I played with. Farther down was a prominence that I walked to, near the path as it came up out of the forest. Someone had build a cairn with several metal name plates. I took pictures of all sides, and some day will translate them.
I started back down, meeting a few groups going up. At the school, I took the street to the north and down to the main highway. Following that took me back to the hotel.
After a short nap (I seem to need them regularly), I went out looking for dinner. I decided to try the place that was so packed last night. Tonight is was quiet and I had what was probably the best meal so far on this trip. Afterward, I wend downstairs to the pub for a pint, which is where I now sit.
After the first pint, I went to check out where to to for the ferry. Then back to the hotel to get my journal and back here for a pint to write by.
I gotta head back to the hotel soon. I have and early day tomorrow.
May 18, 2010, 8:10 am
The restaurant in the Florø Comfort Inn
Another great breakfast. I hope I'm walking enough to work it off.
It occurs to me I'm sort of mis-labeling my posts. Yesterday was Constitution Day, but I wrote about the 150th anniversary of Florø. Today I'm writing about Constitution Day, but it's the day after.
I went out and watched the Children's Parade, and took lots of pictures. It appears that all the schools got into the act as there were banners for each school, each grade, and even each class. It took almost an hour for them to pass, and they had a marching band leading, and another at the end.
Afterwards, people mostly followed in the wake of the parade, so I went along with the crowd. Down Markegata, down a couple of blocks, then up the hill toward the church. By the time I got that far, people were disbursing in all directions and the crowd was thinning out.
Eventually everyone all but disappeared. I would have thought they might end up at a fairground or something. But the town just quieted down and people disappeared.
I went around again, past the tourist information centre to check the map in the window. And then embarked on a walk along the road that loops around the west end of the mountain in the middle of town.
It was a quiet walk. I met a few people, dressed in the traditional clothing, going the other way.
It's a beautiful town. The rain has stopped just before the Children's Parade, and I had my light jacket on. It was starting to warm up as the cloud dissipated.
Past the sports stadium, the road was high enough that I could see out to the far islands to the west. With the slop of the land, most homes have a fine view.
I got to the road from the airport and retraced the path back to the hotel.
By now it was a little after noon, and I started searching for someplace for lunch. A pub near the hotel served only drinks. I went farther down and found a lunch counter that servers burgers and fries and stuff.
There were a couple of other places, but they were more like actual restaurants and I thought I'd save going to those for dinner. I'm trying to go someplace different for every meal, but it's a challenge in a small town.
After lunch, with the centre of town feeling nearly deserted, I went exploring some more. By the other hotel, I found a public building, basically public washrooms and a laundromat. It had a large map on the wall outside and I remembered the Maritime Museum. I went searching for it.
About half way back toward the airport is a hiking trail that leads past the museum. I found it, and followed it as it descended into bush, not looking too well used, but easy to follow.
On the right was a narrow swampy gully, and across the back yards of houses, eerily quiet. On the left was a rock wall, and above on top of it were more back yards.
Eventually it came to a soggy, abandoned looking playground with a path cutting across from one side to the other. A stairway climbed the cliff to the left. I followed the path to the right, between two houses and onto the street.
At the end of this residential loop was a sign pointing down a narrow lane that ended in parking lot, and beyond, a couple of large buildings on the water's edge.
There was no one around, and a paper on the door I suspect said it was closed for the holiday. Peeking through a window, I saw all kinds of small boats and a stuffed seagull standing on some fishing nets.
Past the museum, a path wound along the edge of the water and over the rock. The setting is quite lovely. The museum is on the water, with a pier. SEveral outcrops and islands dot the water. All are very green and lush after all the rain.
I followed the path to a short bridge to an island. The path wound over the rock at the west end of the island, but there was a fence across, and goats grazed beyond. A short path led to the gate, with signage probably saying Keep Out.
On the other side, a longer and larger bridge lead to another island. This bridge was quite high, and I discovered that it was originally a draw bridge. The railing was designed to fold inward where two massive hinges in the deck showed the edge of the moving section. A frame held up cables from the far end of the raise-able section. Quite ingenious, and unused. The railings were nailed into place with heavy spikes.
Tomorrow would be the time to explore further. I retraced my steps back to the residential loop and then to the main road, rather than follow the path again.
Pm tje ,aom rpad. [ep[;e were beginning to appear again, in an obvious hurry. When I passed the graveyard is when that cannon went off again, twice, at 4:00. End of the workday?
AT the lake by the road, people stood in the middle and lined the wall on the side. The road looped into an apartment complex and people were everywhere but keeping this loop open. I could hear a band.
Soon a forest of flags appeared from around the corner This was the grownups parade, although there were kids everywhere. At least three marching bands, several groups with banners, young peoples groups too, motocross and one group wearing those red overalls I've seen everywhere.
After the parade, I followed the crowd again. Same gradual disbursement and eventually the streets were deserted.
I went back to the hotel and napped for a few minutes, after finding a pub behind the hotel. Nearly empty, and the only thing on tap was Hansa, but it was growing on me.
After the nap, I needed dinner. I discovered that all the restaurants closed early or all day, for the holiday. The only places open other than one pub and restaurant packed to the rafters was the fast food place I'd gone to for lunch, and the meat and chips place.
So I repeated the visit to the faux Italian. The place was almost deserted and the waiter and I repeated our meat and chips discussion. This time I got it without the Hollandaise-like sauce. It was a pretty good steak.
After that I walked to the other hotel and found a Ringnes in their lounge. I chased that with a Dalwhinnie and then went back to my hotel to do some laundry and to bed.
There was no cannon this morning, so it must have been only for the holiday.
I think I missed something yesterday. There must have been some place where people were gathering. The residential areas were very quiet but so was the downtown. People must have congregated somewhere.
May 18, 2010, 8:50 pm
The Hjornevikbua pub
I slept in a little this morning, there was no cannon to wake me up. I got up, and after breakfast I found the tourist information office, and got a map of the town.
A chat with the lady there got me a lot of information. Like, the time between the two parades yesterday, everyone was at some school with lots of activities. And after the second parade, there was a rowing competition on one of the lakes. I missed it all.
She called the lady who looks after the church at Kinn to see if I could get an ovff season tour. No dice; there's a funeral Thursday, and they are preparing for it tomorrow, so I can't get inside. But I am able to wander around the island on my own. So I have to be up for the ferry early tomorrow.
Then I decided to try the museum again. I walked down and found it open, and deserted except for staff. The lady who took my admission couldn't get the till to work so had to get change form the lunch counter.
The first part I went through showed some household furniture and ship models. Of course I had forgotten to charge the battery in my camera so at this point, it died.
Still, I wandered through an early 20th century household and checked out several styles of fishing boats. Lots of information about the early years of Florø:, but unfortunately it was all in Norwegian.
I went back to the hotel, plugged in the battery charger and went in search of lunch. Being a regular business day, places were open and not packed. I had a quick bite and went back to get my camera.
I headed out for the mountain east of town. The maps showed a hiking trail to the top so I set out in search of it.
I wend back to the museum and took the series of bridges and trails from there. A sound of sloshing in the water at one point startled me. I discovered a deer wading in the water by an old boat house.
No, sorry, after being at the museum, I followed that trail back to the hotel.
For the hike, I took the south side road. The school up that way had just got out, so lots of kids around. I came out past the south side, looking for a street that would take to the start of the trail to the mountain.
I walked past a swampy patch that the map showed as the start of the trail. It didn't look like there was a path anywhere there.
I walked up to another street that the map showed a path branching off and found it. But is just crossed a forested area to another crescent/cul-de-dac. The map showed that this might be reasonable so I walked along the street, looking for where the path continued. No sign.
A driveway branched up the slope, maybe not being a driveway but a path, and I ended up in what looked like someone's back yard. But there was a faint path from there, so I followed it and was soon in the forest.
I followed the path to the next cul-de-sac, and got lost for awhile. I found another path, which took me to another cul-de-sac. At least this one had an obvious marked path leading farther on.
This looked like the real path now. And there was a fair amount of climbing over rock and roots. Lots of we swampy paths, too. But then I was at another cul-de-sac. My map appeared to be seriously inaccurate.
A boy on a bicycle asked if I was lost. He confirmed the things I was seeing on the map, that the path continued form beside a scholl down the street. I got down to the school but could see no path. A guy drove up and after telling him what I was about, pointed out where the path started. From there it was straight forward. More rock and roots, and swampy parts, until I finally reacked the summit, by a telecommunications tower.
I took pictures. All of Florø was visible, and the surrounding island. There was a telescope on the lookout that I played with. Farther down was a prominence that I walked to, near the path as it came up out of the forest. Someone had build a cairn with several metal name plates. I took pictures of all sides, and some day will translate them.
I started back down, meeting a few groups going up. At the school, I took the street to the north and down to the main highway. Following that took me back to the hotel.
After a short nap (I seem to need them regularly), I went out looking for dinner. I decided to try the place that was so packed last night. Tonight is was quiet and I had what was probably the best meal so far on this trip. Afterward, I wend downstairs to the pub for a pint, which is where I now sit.
After the first pint, I went to check out where to to for the ferry. Then back to the hotel to get my journal and back here for a pint to write by.
I gotta head back to the hotel soon. I have and early day tomorrow.
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