From Dingja into the Sognefjord.
Sunday was church-quiet under low grey skies and drizzle. No hurry. Snooze again after breakfast, then wait. Not even the German fishing tourists were busy. But the weather gradually cleared leaving a flat calm sea and no wind. At around mid day the shop opened its doors and the place gradually woke up.
So I set a short route and we left after lunch, for motor, and we entered the Sognefjord proper.
Just round the corner we anchored up in a well-sheltered small bay with a few summer cottages, one in use.
Another sailboat approached, he’d probably seen Josin on the AIS, and came in looking for a place, but had to back out as there wasn’t room for two. He chose the next-door bay.
Next morning was still calm after a very quiet night, so we motored out into the fjord and headed east. Not a breath of wind but gradually a very fine day.
Sognefjord is listed as the longest and largest fjord in Norway, (probably deepest too, Josin’s sounder went blank), and I was duly impressed. It is huge. 2 to 3 nautical miles wide, high mountains on both sides and stretching into the middle distance. Seems rather featureless actually. One feels ant-tiny in comparison, and progress seems pathetically slow. Very little traffic.
By going closer to the shore, small, isolated farms appeared, looking very green after the first spring mowing.
Occasionally the wind blew gently, and the genoa got rolled out to take advantage, but it never lasted very long. Fickle winds in the fjords if they are not blowing straight in, or out.
We arrived in Ortnevik in time for tea. Primitive pontoon with no tie-up points.
Very quiet and not a soul. I wandered to explore and found the local shop, behind the ferry terminal, (open except when closed), it was open. Chatted with the manager, a teenager, probably on a summer job, and stocked up on some of the items I lacked. The while she sat at the till, with her boyfriend sitting beside her reading aloud from a thick book. Unusual.
It is now tuesday morning and promises to be a sunny day, (good for tourists), but no wind to speak of, so we will motor eastward onwards into the fjord. Goal is Balestrand, a very glamorous tourist-y place. I shall visit only to find bread, preferably sourdough. Then videre to Leikanger.
Alls well,
SogneJohn.
Josin's 2025 cruise 