original post: http://www.indiantripper.com/kayaking-in-fjords/
Summer was preparing to stage a goodbye. Only a few patches of blue could be seen in the sky, as clouds claimed their 'fair' share of the canvas. We had left Bergen very early in the morning. And since Sandhya has taken complete ownership of driving throughout the trip (only she had a driving permit), we thought it would be unfair on her if we stayed awake. So we took our well deserved extended nap.
We woke up at a gas station. It was 8 in the morning, and we were just an hour away from our destination - 25kms Kayaking in Gudvangen Fjord, the most anticipated part of our Norway Trip 🇳🇴. We got some gas for the car, and some fuel for ourselves, as we set for the next part.
Lying in the back seat of the car, early in the morning, when you have just woken up, with lucid mind, and clarity, you soak in everything that flashed before your eyes - beautiful houses lying on the vast canvas of green, like small LEGO boxes. Sky a mix of white and blue, with waterfalls in well defined formation.
Kayaking in Fjords had been one of the top items in my wish-list. And an hour leading to setting up protective gears and archiving our stuff was spent with as much zeal as it was the activity itself.
We were a group of 7, including our lead, Nat. The beautiful journey was right in front of me. I could visualize myself motoring away in the fjords, a lone soul in the vast space. With the same vision in mind, I started paddling with all my heart. An imbalance towards the right and I found myself overcompensating and tilting towards left. This pendulum movement continued, and post two oscillations, I had prepared myself for an embarrassing exit. The Gods came to my help though, and slowly but surely I & my Kayak found some harmony. I had gone into a Zen mode, and every paddle was done with utmost concentration. And I somehow made it through the first leg. It was no sightseeing, as I imagined, instead my focus was all the time on the tip of my kayak.
We camped for lunch at this point. Wind didn't like our idea of setting up a camp at that place, so it told us courteously to buzz off. When we didn't pay heed, it started banging against our camps. We decided that the weather was too good for setting up a camp, so we will have our lunch in the open. Nordic Adventure 1 - 0 Wind 😛. Also, we saw a fox roaming around, which was quite unusual.
Our tummy full, and nerves calm, we set forth for the next leg of our first day. 6 more kms to go for the day. We took a couple of stops, parked our kayaks, and trekked towards waterfalls. We came back drenched after some time, delighted at our brilliant idea of getting ourselves soaked.
We reached our campsite at Stivy and started parking our Kayaks. At this point I decided that it was enough and I needed to take the grand stage. So I flipped my Kayak and did what I should have done 12 kms back - Got what I deserved for my over confidence.
Once we were settled, Nat got grills out and started smoking meat. There was a group of German students camping in the same place. They spotted a porpoise spying on us, and everyone moved to have a closer look. The meat was followed by more meat and some beers. It had started raining and I found it the perfect time to initiate a political conversation with my fellow American group-mates. Topic - Donald Trump 😁
We slept that night to some weird sounds coming from the other side of the Fjord, and an Owl hooting very close by (All birds are spies). The next day was very calm compared to its predecessor. Ruphar decided to take the center stage and mimicked my stunt, albeit in the deepest waters 😂 We saw a Seal swimming alongside our Kayaks. A white-beaked Norwegian hawk decided to bless us with his sight. And we moved along, singing to ourselves, drinking Tomato soup at the base of a waterfall (courtesy Superstar Nat)
P.S. Alen & Sandhya could not conduct any act of significance (no turning kayaks, no mishaps). 0 points to Hufflepuff & Ravenclaw. 100 points to Kayaking in Fjords 💯