Our final port - Kristiansund and not its namesake Kristiansand

 I missed our docking but on opening the curtains was greeted by a very small harbour any larger ship would have to tender to from a way off. The entrance is so tight and so shallow there are specific times to get in and to get out so we would be leaving on the next tide which hit its optimum point at 4pm.

I had booked to do a walking tour of the place itself but had changed it for a coach trip of the area instead; I realised I wouldn't make 3 miles yet and booking blind, not knowing how far we would be from the ship I just didn't dare risk it.

So I plumbed for a trip called Norway in Miniature. Basically it took us to various parts of the region and we were allowed to enjoy the scenery and the long tunnels connecting one place to another.

Our first stop was on the recently constructed Atlantic Road which I spoke about earlier. The path round was a great addition and the views over the Atlantic were stunning.

This is the car park in front of the 'transport cafe' there. The side of the place is built in a way as to represent the fish of the area and the door is only discernible by the handle [we got that wrong, we were try to go in via the disabled toilet!] 

 

Our next stop was a church, one of the earliest in Norway. The large tree trunks pushed against the sides are a prevention of collapse due to wind damage which usually blows hard over this part of the region. We were lucky, it seems as the wind was almost non existent whilst we were there.

Inside the church, the walls and ceiling were covered in this pattern you see here. The work goes back to the early records of the 18th century and as a consequence we were asked to make sure our flash was off.

Common in all Norwegian churches is a small ship hung from the ceiling. This was a way of blessing those at sea and asking the Gods to bring them home safely.

At 5.7km long and going 250m below sea level at its deepest, this is considered the steepest and longest tunnel in Norway. Sadly, on one of the very narrow roads we had an altercation with a driver - whilst backing up to allow a farm vehicle to pass, we reversed into a car which for some reason did not back up with us, don't know why, but the long and short of it was the driver was fine but the car had some damage. When we got to a point in the road where we could pull over, details were swapped and we then wound our way back to the ship.

When I come back again, and I will, I will stay in Kristiansund and have a wander round. Its some two weeks after returning and in that time the ankle is making great strides [excuse the pun] at hurting less and being more mobile. I will return and enjoy this cruise once more but do different day trips [I want to do the reindeer sledding] and visit some of the ports such as this one with its free water bus.

 

 So, 4pm came and we started to slowly move off the dock passing close to the flats which edged the entrance. They came out onto their balconies waving flags and wishing us bon voyage.

Little did we know we were heading into even bigger seas, stronger winds and a delay to our final docking in Southampton.

Taxis were waiting for us to get our cases and within 20 minutes of being summonsed from our muster points to the gangway for the last time, we had been united with our drivers and were whisked back to our front doors and settling back into land living once more

 

So cheers everyone, and to the next journey, may it be as exciting as this one has been. 

May the sun be on our faces and the winds to our backs.