Well until now things had gone smoothly on all our excursions, but what is a vacation without one small hiccup? On the agenda today was a hike up to Torghatten Mountain. There is a folklore that involves trolls, lovers and broken hearts to explain the giant hole in this rock formation. After you hear the riveting tale there is no other possible explanation for how a perfect circle ended up so high in the cliffs.
As usual we began our morning with delicious pastries and a few cups of coffee. The plan was to hop on a bus and make our way to the trail head, but after waiting and waiting and waiting we all came to the conclusion that maybe our bus driver was not coming. Our guide made a few phone calls and learned that the bus scheduled to take us to the starting point was in fact not coming, due to a flat tire. But we would not be deterred, so we started walking! No, not to the trail head, that would be quite a journey, but to a different bus in town. However, town was about 2 miles away from our port, so I guess you could say we had a nice warm up for our hike.
In comparison to our hike in Skjolden this was a cake walk. It was a meandering trail, comfortable elevation gain, with a final scramble up a scree field towards the top. Once you got up to the cave the sheer size of it was breathtaking. A nice boardwalk and stair system had been built through the cave, so you could walk easily from one end to the other without hopping over boulders and loose rocks. At the end of our trek our guide layed out some hot chocolate, cider and Norwegian cake for us to nibble on. It was a delicious and a welcomed treat!
One of my favorite things about Norway are the small roads, picturesque hills, and what seems to be a relaxed and slower way of life. I would love to spend more time in these smaller communities if I ever make my way back.
A quick note about Bronnoysund, there is no hospital! So for all those daredevils out there, try and play it safe, would ya!
