Verrafjorden & Grip, Coastal Norway
The offerings of the day may appear to some to be solely a dot upon a map or a barely visible line, miniscule in the grand scale of things, but they were majestic in our eyes. Sliding south along Norway’s convoluted coast the stately mountain peaks seemed to diminish in size. Islets, rounded by rampaging glacial ice were scattered everywhere. Some are wild and naked and some are ornamented by greenery. Others are rowdy and colorful with mankind’s creative styles. Fjords still interfinger the mainland but their crowning ridges have a softer feel.
Just south of Trondheim, hidden behind the hills, a narrow orifice appeared impassable. But perceptions are often distorted by perspective. Within this tiny mouth, a throat widened out and then narrowed once again like the gullet of a snake. Sheer rocky walls bordered one side of this short and narrow fjord. Shrubs and trees clung to nooks and crevices. The opposing side, however, offered footholds for habitations, white or yellow houses with red barns in between. Lush green hayfields, newly mowed, sprouted giant marshmallow-like bundles of silage for winter feed. At its head a forest beckoned where grey-green lichens decorated tall conifer trees and birch and alder lined a rippling river. Upon the peaceful waters we launched brilliant yellow kayaks to explore the edges of the land and the golden Fucus mats uncovered by a falling tide.
Exposed to the rolling seas another tiny gem awaited, an explosion of brilliant colors. Glacial grooves garnished the edges of the island known as Grip and they likely covered the entire surface. However, like a lush mushroom patch, houses seem to have sprouted from one end to the other. The sun glistened from the slate rooftops or was absorbed by traditional turf. It danced upon the reds and golds and blues of tidy wooden houses. At summer’s end the community seemed a ghost town but evidence was strong that fishing still was practiced here and during holiday times, children ran and played.
The setting sun painted the sea with gold as we continued south and in the sky a rainbow hung, collecting the colors of the day.
