Shamrock Report #13

We arrived at Alesund, Norway about 1:00 PM on Tuesday. It was a beautiful, crisp day with blue skies and puffy clouds. Our excursion began by boarding a large motorized catamaran that was moored not far from our ship. It held about 100 people, and the seats in the enclosed cabin were similar to those found on a bus. One could also go upstairs above the cabin for a 360-degree view.

We cruised the 20-mile long Hjorundfjord, which is considered to be one of the most magnificent in Norway. It is surrounded on both sides by majestic peaks, many of which were snow covered. One view was more beautiful than another. We spent considerable time upstairs outside the cabin, though it did get fairly cold and windy, at times. We did have a guide throughout, pointing out various sights, who also liked to pepper his talk with jokes--but perhaps one had to be a Norwegian to appreciate them. In addition, his accent made it somewhat difficult to follow at times. After about 2 hours we disembarked for the ride back in a bus. That, too, lasted about 2 hours because of the several stops we made for photo opportunities. Views of the town from above were particularly breathtaking. Again we had a guide, who was elderly and had an even thicker accident, which made it even more "work" understand. I guess it was the luck of the draw because when we ran into other groups with other guides, I overheard perfectly clear English. I know that I would have gotten much more out of it with one of them. Nevertheless, the area was so picturesque and the weather was so beautiful, it didn't matter. I snapped about 300 pictures during the excursion!

We returned to the ship too late for Trivia, but "our" team did not win--perhaps because we weren't there . We prepared for dinner, which we had with the Simpsons and another Australian couple that we had met on one of our earlier excursions. We thought that they would enjoy meeting. It was a fun, delicious dinner. I had spoken to the chef about the fact that this we had been in Arctic char country, which he knew, and after unsuccessful attempts at a couple of earlier ports, he managed to purchase it. Many, many people that I spotted ordered it--as did our whole table. It was wonderful.

As I wrote this yesterday, it was morning and we were about to arrive in Geiranger, Norway, which is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We cruised very near the cliffs of the fjord, and I ran to get the camera after I saw a huge waterfall blasting water sideways from the mountain side. Unfortunately, I was too late. But I did get dozens of photos when we left. I hope I'll find the time to post a few. We have another early excursion in Flam today.

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Eugene