Norway day 2
Overnight we have made a couple of quick stops apparently at Florø at 2am and Måløy at 4.15.
We wake to the view of the ship passing by many islands. It's calm and peaceful. The first stop this morning that we see is at Torvik where some cargo is off loaded and done put on. While on deck we see what we think are dolphins but In fact they are whales. Breakfast is open seating and anytime between 7 and 10 am. We meet our fellow dinner table mates, 2 couples from Berlin with not too much English spoken.
There is a quick stop at Ålesund where some passengers get off and others get on but not enough time for us to get off. At 9.30 there is an information session given by the exploration team member about how fjords and glaciers are formed. She is quite entertaining.
The next bit of sailing is quite spectacular as we enter the Hjørundfjord, a spectacular body of water surrounded by towering ice capped mountains, glaciers, green farmland and waterfalls and more blue whales.
We make a right hand turn into the Norangsfjorden and stop near a little village of Urke.
From here some passengers head off on day trips and excursions but we have nothing booked so we along with quite a few others go off the ship after lunch and by tender boat are taken to shore where we are met by a local handing out maps of a walk around the village.
Urke's population of 53 includes 10 children , 31 adults and 12 older people ( the brochures words)
14 people work in Urke at the local fishery, the local shop, the Café and pub and market garden. Goat and sheep roam freely and in their words, all their needs are met.
It's a beautiful sunny day and the walk is very pleasant even a little sweaty! At 3pm we head back to Ålesund for almost 2 hours so will have time to get off.
The cruise back to Ålesund is retracing our steps from the morning through the Hjørundfjord and once again we are treated to some whales at play.
Mostly out of the fjords we are cruising between the islands but a short period is in the open sea and you do notice the slight roll.
We arrive in Ålesund at 5.30pm and we will leave again at 7pm. It's Saturday and very quiet in the town so we go for a walk through the streets before returning to the ship.
Our dinner time is 8pm and that will take a bit of getting used to as it's now 7.30 and I'm starving. Unlike other cruises there is no open buffet to grab a little snack in the afternoon. If you want anything between meal times you have to pay the over inflated prices. Luckily we do have tea making facilities in our room so we can make a cuppa without having to pay and I think we will pick up some snacks next time we go ashore. Right now though we are looking forward to dinner.