Norway? or Scotland??

We were back to our normal get up time today, no whisky last night and a good sleep after updating all the blogs. So we were good to go once we had paid for the parking at the wee cafe and had a look at the ferry we had been on yesterday. We spotted an Oystercatcher on the shore and it had a couple of fairly big chicks, the parents made a lot of noise as soon as they saw us coming. One of the birds was continually coming back with food which the chicks quickly devoured, it won't be long before these wee ones are flying.


We were back on the E39 heading east towards Trondheim, along the side of the Vinjefyord this road is a bit quicker than the coastal roads, it was a lovely drive however. This scenery in this part of the country is so like what we have  in Scotland. If I shut my eyes and someone landed me here I would have said I was on the side of Loch Ness or somewhere similar, there were some superb looking mountains on the little islands of Tustna, Stabben and Ertvagoy, they are all just under Munro height but looked much bigger as they rise straight out the water on the small islands. The only trouble was we had got stuck behind 2 Polish motorhomes, one of which was pulling a little car also, so they were quite long and dawdling along at about 40 miles per hour. We aren't in a mega rush but did want to get going just a wee bit quicker, there were few passing opportunities but eventually a nice long downhill curve will lots of visibility gave Bessie the chance, she pulled out the slipstream and flexed her muscles and soon the Polish pootlers were shrinking in our mirrors.

The semi plan for today had been to make out to Trondheim, it wouldn't take too long on this better road, however at least 3 people we have spoken to, including a guy we met in Italy while we were skiing in January have all said that the island of Hitra is well worth a visit. It wasn't on our radar but we figure we have time and took the 714 road north. This whole area has landscapes similar to Scotland, once we left the fjord and climbed a bit it was just like being in the Cairngorm area with more rounded hills, the only difference being they are covered with more trees in their lower reaches. I imagine Scotland looked exactly like Norway in this respect before all our trees were removed over the centuries for fuel and the introduction of sheep during the highland clearances. It really is brilliant passing through the country with its ever changing scenery and tree types clinging to every slope or ledge, or even sticking out the roof of a mountain hut or growing out the top of a rock. We have hardly seen any houses that are made out of anything other than wood also, testament to the durability of this abundant natural product. One thing that had been lacking until today is the sight of any deer, there are plenty road signs around warning of deer or elk but we had seen neither, today we saw 4 deer and there's one visible just now as I type.


We stopped for lunch at the head of a small fjord and the boys had a great old time on the shore, throwing stones in and looking under rocks for crabs and eels, we found quite a few a huge starfish and some sea urchins also. I also harvested quite a few winkles and boiled them, they'll be great on a sandwich tomorrow-only for myself and Logan mind you......Joyce's stomach turns at the thought and I doubt Callum will touch them with a barge pole, lol. The parking place we chose was not the best, Hitra is not a massive island but the number of heavy lorries thundering along this road was incredible, I think there must be some salmon and other fish factories somewhere on this island. A huge new tunnel and bridge is being built here to straighten out a bit of the road also, it's due for completion in 2020. There is another undersea tunnel connection Hitra to the mainland, this has the same 10% gradient but reaches a depth of 264 meters below sea level, when it was completed in 1994 it was the deepest undersea tunnel in the world. The boys love the tunnels and play some odd game now where by they shut their eyes when they see a tunnel coming and then open them once they are inside, they seem to find it hilarious-we are yet to figure this one out, lol.



We took the 713 road clockwise around Hitra, the whole south side of the island is covered in trees, occasionally there are little paths running into the interior of the island, as the road passes round the western end and onto the north side, the trees all start to get much smaller and much more sparse, and area much much rockier, clearly this is a tough environment, exposed to the prevailing wind and wild weather. This area reminded me of some stretches up north of Assynt and also the Golden Road on Harris. Its very pretty but is totally devoid of places to park, there wasn't really anywheres to stop for a picnic if you wanted one, we were hoping on a free night but failed to find a spot. Sometimes you see a bit, but on further inspection discover there is a little house nestled behind a crag and that is their parking area. So, we have ended up in a campsite which is fine, we will sort the van in the morning and maybe find somewhere tomorrow NOK free. As we were heading along the north side of the island I spotted a pair of Whooper swans and stopped to take some pictures, turns out they had 4 cygnets also. While we were stopped with the hazard light on a Norwegian car stopped, reversed and out got a lady and man who came to the window to ask we we were in trouble and needed help, that was a very nice touch. We explained we were ok and just taking some pictures.




Tea tonight was pollock, caught the other day and fried again in finest Norwegian Beer Batter, DELICIOUS!!


Comments

  1. Kenny AlexanderJune 13, 2019 at 2:15 AM

    As Logan's T shirt says awesome everyday 👍 Personally I think beer is too precious to be losing it in batter but it does look tasty 😋 I loved rock pools when I was the boys age they are lucky loons to be oot on this huge adventure cheers for sharing 👍

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