Tag Archives: lakes

A Touch of Norway

After years of wanting to visit the Scandinavian nation of Norway, but my plans always being scrapped last minute, last year, I finally made it to this luscious land. As I expected this country was a green heaven of rolling grasses and waterfalls, that I would be happy to get lost in.

My journey took me along the coastline to some key port towns and inland to some beautiful scenic locations, which wasn’t hard as it seemed everywhere I turned, there was heavenly landscapes to see. I felt like I had walked into a movie with little wooden houses, and waterfalls everywhere you turned, it just needed a viking or two and the dream would be complete!

Waterfalls

I really am not exaggerating when I say I was seeing waterfalls everywhere, this was really the scenario. From little trickles, to huge falls, there was simply one waterfall after another. Norway is actually nicknamed the ‘land of a thousand waterfalls’ and has some of the tallest waterfalls in the world.

Whilst I didn’t actually have to go any distance to see a waterfall, I did make the effort to visit a few big ones. I visited Kjosfossen, Tvindefossen, Manafossen, and Langfossen. So here is a clue I worked out… anytime you see ‘foss’ in the name, it means waterfall. Before you start thinking that is where we get the word ‘faucet’ tap from; I already thought of that and the evidence is not there to support it I am afraid, but it would make a lot of sense…

All the waterfalls had their own charm but Langfossen was particularly impressive. A road bridge has been built over half the fall and so you can get pretty close for photos from there, but even closer by boat! After viewing it from the road, I jumped on a tour boat that literally mounted the waterfall as it entered the fjord, (so much so that I was concerned), and the tour guide picked up a bucket and scooped up some falling water for me to taste. The guide said that there was a legend that if you drink from the falls you would become more fertile, particularly the men, so of course, the men on the boat were taking extra servings.

Reflections

I know that ‘reflections’ is a strange subheading but I feel that it is something special about Norway that I can not describe another way. I have never been to a destination that has provided me with so many mirror or kaleidoscope like views. I saw these trippy images whilst sailing on the fjords, which are Norway’s famous sea inlets, that are characterised as long,narrow and deep, and formed from glaciers, that left behind beautiful valleys.

At multiple times during the trip, I would get up early to look out at the water, and it just messed with my head to see the crystal clear reflections that these fjords created. The water is so still and glimmered and it is really hard to tell where land and water meet as everything is just mirrored endlessly. It’s really magical and I loved it, next time I go, I want to do some kayaking so that I can get closer to the water and get even more amazing photos.

Wide spaces

Of course, not only are the waters spectacular, but the huge green landscapes are a great match to them. I was struck by how much of the area was perfectly trimmed rolling grasses, miles of picture perfect lawns, and its no suprise that there is a big tradition of insulating houses with turf covered roofs.

Beyond the grass, there are many smallholdings, vast pine forests, and brilliant ridges and mountains to hike. Some of the most popular are Pulpit Rock, a huge mountain plateau for the perfect Instagram shot, or another similar one is Trolltunga (troll’s tongue)! I would love the opportunity to return to Norway and spend more time exploring the big landscapes here, on foot.

Scenic Railway

In the beautiful little town of Flam, I had the opportunity to travel on one of the world’s most beautiful railway journeys. I boarded the Flam railway train from Flam and took a round trip via Myrdal, with a stop to see a huge ‘foss’ with classical music in the air, and a dancing actor jumping out to welcome me and the other passengers. There to portray another waterfall legend of a lady of the falls, the guide later told me that the ‘lady’ dancing around was actually two different local men dressed up as the same lady, to fool the tourists by quickly jumping out in different locations.

The journey was pretty pleasant and the views were great, but it was crowded, which makes it hard to enjoy when everyone has their cameras pressed against the windows!

Overall, I just loved Norway. As a nature lover, and someone that is keen to go for long walks in the fresh air, I could almost see myself relocating to Norway. The only thing keeping me away is the cold winters, but there is no question that I will be visiting again. Next time for longer, and hopefully with my someone special to enjoy it with.

Vietnam: North to South – Part One

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Booked only a week before, after my trip to Israel was cancelled last minute, I decided to have my first go at Asia this month. Vietnam was on offer so I went for it and discovered a crazy and unique way of life with amazing food and very friendly people.

Getting there

The travel to Vietnam was very very long, whilst the flight duration may say 16hrs by the time we had travelled to Heathrow, and waited around in Bangkok and then traveled to the hotel we had stacked up over 24 hrs of travel. I had thought I’d planned out to miss my jetlag but it actually took 3 days of waking up at 3am to get over it.

We flew with Thai Airways which had tight seating but plenty of hospitality from the crew and the aeroplane food was some of the best I have had. On arrival to Hanoi airport, our taxi driver was waiting for us and we got to our hotel in about half an hour, after seeing some of the cityscape lit up at night.

Hanoi

We stayed in a hotel for our first few nights in Hanoi city. The hotel was immediately a relief with a welcome drink on arrival, a porter to carry our bags and a free upgrade to a very nice room. It was all going well, until my 3am visit to the bathroom…

That is when I discovered scuttling across the floor, the biggest cockroach I have ever seen. When you are already sat on the toilet half way through a wee too, the only choice is to throw your legs in the air! I found myself doing toilet balances at 3am to avoid it. Unsure what to do I spent the rest of the night with a light on unsure what to do and worried if I fell asleep I would wake up with a cockroach on my face. It took me a few days to get past this fear and just accept the potential for creepy crawlies around me.

Venturing out of the hotel into the city was another experience of taking your life in your hands. The traffic is some of the craziest I have ever seen. There is no pavement due to mopeds being parked all over it and to cross the road you must do what the locals do and just walk slowly and confidently over (like you’re sleepwalking) and hope nothing hits you! The roads here are so congested that they even have a street that is famous for a train that comes through as well as all the pedestrians and bikes and ends up about an inch from your face!

We cautiously took the steps from our hotel down to the famous lake which thankfully is pedestrianised around the edge and began to explore our first attractions.

First on the agenda was a few impressive buddhist temples, and also the St Joseph Cathedral. This gothic cathedral looks so strange with all the little asian shacks around it and motorbikes everywhere. I couldn’t go in unfortunately but I imagined it was similar to other catholic ones I have seen. A little bit of Europe in the middle of this crazy South East Asia whirlwind. I later found out from my guide that the french actually governed Vietnam for centuries and is the reason for some catholism here and that they now use alphabetic letters instead of chinese characters. Something to be grateful for as a tourist!

Another day in Hanoi took us on our four hour bus ride to Halong Bay, the famous world wonder that is an absolutely huge bay and once a very important port full of huge bouldering islands. We had a relaxing overnight boat cruise here where the service was amazing and we enjoyed an impressive selection of seafood and bar service on a boat all to ourselves in our small group of nine.

There are many local caves on the islands to explore and we ventured into one, and then towards dusk I had the pleasure of exploring an empty and calm section of the bay by kayak. The only thing that was man made around me was a small floating pearl farm where oysters were floating below growing pearls for fine jewellrey.

At night all the boats have to gather in one part of the bay so you can enjoy the sounds of distant karaokes and good times from your neighbours all around you.

We also got the opportunity to see some amazing charitable organisations on our route from Halong Bay. Two groups of crafters that were helping their community by making things to sell, one was doing it for the environment and the other for the disabled. I will touch more on this in a later blog.

Back in Hanoi, we had one more opportunity to look around. We tried for a third time to see the train on train street, but this time at night. The train schedules on the internet were all wrong, so we got there badly timed and when we tried to wait the police made us leave, even though we were half way through a paid meal. Overall, I would say only go to train street if you are happy to waste a lot of time and maybe only see the tracks.

Something that was well worth it for only about £6 and 1 hour was the Thang Long water puppet show by the lake. This show was a traditional artform telling folk stories of Vietnam in their language and with singing, using puppets within a big pool of water.

I wasn’t sure if it would be entertaining enough, but it was actually very funny at times and the show somehow managed to use smoke and fireworks on the water aswell which I dont even understand how. The best part may have been the music though. There was an orchestra of local folk musicians playing traditional and strange instruments and all in vietnamese formal wear. Overall it was super impressive!

Hue

Writing this section of the blog at 4am from a twelve hour sleeper train from Hanoi to Hue. Sharing a bunkbed in a room with three other travellers, I feel quite at home and I am enjoying the bumpy swaying of the carriage more than expected.

At night I can see the reflections of the train in nearby waters and marshlands and the odd distant light of a farmer or two working in the fields and by day the scenery becomes many small villages and plenty of rain!

The train has different classes, we are in a 4 berth, but there are 6 berth and then soft reclining seats and hard seats (for those true hardasses – literally). My room is quite good with a little mattress, space under the bed and a table with a selection of sweets.

The only thing that has been a horror is as expected, the bathroom situation. There is either a squat room for guess what.. squatting, or there is a western style toilet. The toilet started off okay but now I can tell you that by 4am it is not okay. Its a horror show. I am trying to figure out how I can not pee now until 11am. Note to self, must purchase a she-wee for travels!

Once we got to Hue and freshened up at our hotel, with an umbrella in hand, we were guided to the ancient citadel. Hue was historically the imperial capital and home of the kings of Vietnam. It still has the 21 metre thick walls surrounding it and many of the original buildings either still exist or have been rebuilt or are in the process of being rebuilt after collapsing from weather or war bomb damage.

The site is very pretty and a bit of a maze to walk around if you do not have a guide. It is mostly an outside visit except for a few locations where you can visit inside after slipping off your travelling shoes. I Particularly enjoyed the king’s gardens with many bonsai trees and bright green foliage. Obviously, due to all the rain, but green is my favourite colour so I’m okay with that!

The stories about the kings were interesting too. Kings were seen as Gods by the people, but for many centuries the kings were actually puppets for the french to put their influence over Vietnam. The kings ranged from 7 year old boys to a man that went from being a king to a french pilot. So random!

Later in the evening I had dinner with a local family that had been there for generations and the lady’s grandfather had been a direct servant of the king. The family now are well off in the area but still cannot afford to travel much and still work very hard. It is becoming apparent how hard people in Vietnam work to make a minimal living.

The next day in Hue, we ventured around the surrounding countryside and the town centre by motorbike. This thrilling experience was one I will never forget I imagine, it was an adreline rush full of beauty and culture. As I rode pillion to a Vietnamese man named (‘kern’) I explored a king’s final resting place, a local fresh market (where it is so fresh that the animals are still alive), and a local monk community. What a thrill!

Next day we move on to the South to Hoi An… in my part 2 blog.

Argentina: Central Patagonia (Santa Cruz Province)

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Following my visit to Argentina’s Lake District, I continued my journey South into the center of the Patagonian region and one step closer towards the bottom of the world. This area is full of mountains, and glaciers, and many national parks!

Perito Moreno

After a 13 hour bus journey from El Bolson, I made it to the small town of Perito Moreno. I was the only person to exit the bus at 1am and make my way to my little wooden cabin in the town centre. I had come here for only one reason, to see the Cueva de las Manos, only accessible by car or tour.

Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands)

I joined a tour group of Argentine people, and we made our way across some very bumpy roads and past wildlife and huge canyons, before finally arriving at the UNESCO site of Cueva de las Manos. This world famous spot has an amazing collection of ancient cave paintings and hand prints, not inside the cave but across the front of it, along a huge rock face. The guide on the site escorted our group through a long boardwalk running across the side of the paintings and with views of a canyon on the other side.

These amazing paintings crowd the walls and include handprints of adults and children from possibly three different times. You can also see illustrations of animals that they would hunt, geometric shapes, that are suspected to represent a map, and there is even a suspected paw print of a puma! The whole collection is made up of different colours, including yellows and bright blues, and are made from different natural materials. I imagine that the person that discovered this must have been completely astonished by all the haunting raised hands.

Patagonia Park

The tour also included visits to other interesting locations nearby such as the Patagonia Park, which had huge salt flats to see.

The locals prepared a lunch for our group of traditional and locally produced food. It was delicious and in true Argentine style, the portions were huge. I tried to tell the people in the group that I was full, but the little old ladies in the group said they wanted to fatten me up and they are like my ‘abuela’ (grandma) and want to look after me! haha

Coloured mountains

The last stop was an hour hike over some amazing hilltops/mountains that were brightly coloured in oranges, red and yellows. This is due to the properties in the rocks and all the minerals being brought out by rainfall. It was pretty awesome, and the short walk to the top gives you an amazing view!

El Chalten & Fitz Roy

Next stop on my trip was to the little town of El Chalten. Getting there was a struggle. It had been raining the night before, and so they rerouted the bus to the only other motorway that took us to the bottom of the country then we turned back around and went back up… A 10 hour journey took 18 hours… craziness.

On finally arriving, I headed straight out for a short hike to a nearby waterfall. It was great to get some fresh air and put my head under the flowing glacier water. I also got great views of the landscape and the town. El chalten is a part of this natural landscape and is an absolute haven for hikers and climbers.

Laguna de los tres

The next day, I started the strenuous hike of Laguna de los tres to Fitz Roy mountain. This hike is only 20 km but it took me about 9 hours. The final km took about two hours as the climb was a directly up ascent on difficult terrain. Normally I walk 4-5 km per hour.

The trail passes through forests, rivers, lakes and grasslands, as well as going through two campsites. It was a very warm and busy day on the trail, but this gave me the opportunity to meet many people. During my day of trekking, I befriended two different groups from Argentina and a girl from Spain. Making conversation with strangers is one of my favourite parts of solo trekking, as I meet so many interesting people from all around the world.

On reaching the top, I collapsed in a pile for a few minutes, then made my way to the lake that was formed by the melting glacier, and took an icy drink, before taking a dip. I spent a few hours here, relaxing and enjoying the sights of the Fitz Roy mountain and the falling water to the drop below.

El Calafate

Next day, I was off to Calafate, on the other side of the National Glacier Park from El Chalten. This town is bustling with tourist shops and restaurants. I have a dwindling budget so I cooked whilst I was there, but still managed to admire the Patagonian Lambs being roasted over the fire through the restaurant windows.

Perito Moreno Glacier

The main excursion to take from El Calafate is to see the huge Perito Moreno Glacier. You have to take a tour which costs about £35 to get to the glacier which is a few hours away. There is then a small charge for the entrance to the park. We were given four hours in the park. I was given a choice to pay extra for a one hour boat ride that takes you closer to the glacier, but I chose not to take this option, and just enjoyed the various boardwalk routes around the front of the glacier.

This huge glacier is very unique and larger than the entire city of Buenos Aires (which blew my mind)! The glacier is apparently in balance,meaning that it loses the same amount of ice each day as is returned to it, due to how the water flows around it. There are three different routes you can take around the glacier’s boardwalk, and they vary by height and length. I did all three, and found the boardwalk system to be very efficient and plentiful in relaxing balconies where you could eat your lunch and watch pieces of the glacier fall into the water below. This phenomenon was amazing. I saw not only the ice fall and splash against the lake, but also the lower layer of ice boil up to the surface and spin around in circles. Very cool.

Rio Gallegos

My last stop in Argentina for a while, was Rio Gallegos. I came here to the bottom of mainland Argentina, to cross the border into Chile. There is not much to see here but it is a good supply stop, and there are some sculptures along a promenade walk and a small house that you can visit as a free museum.

For now, I am off to Chile, for some more trekking and to see the other side of Patagonia, before I return to Argentina, to visit the bottom of the world…

Argentina’s Lake District

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After a few days of bus journeys via Bahia Blanca and Neuquen, meeting a group of hippies and enjoying a local music festival, I finally made it to Patagonia and the Argentine Lake District. A ‘postcard perfect’ landscape.

Argentina’s Lake District sits within the Northwest of Patagonia, near the border of Chile. Patagonia is the Southern region of Argentina, world famous for its scenery, and trekking, climbing, and general adventure sport opportunities. The climate and landscape varies throughout the region and within the lake district are obviously several lakes and rivers dotted around the Andes mountains.

I visited three spots within the lake district, as these were major points on the coach route. They were: San Martin de los Andes, San Carlos de Bariloche, and El Bolson. I stayed in each for 1-2 nights.

San Martin de Los Andes

San Martin de Los Andes sits in the Lanin National Park, named after the local volcano. It is the gateway town to Patagonia for many people, and it is very touristy as a result. It is full of cabin style buildings that make you feel that you have somehow arrived in the Swiss Alps. The town is small but has plenty of bars and restaurants, a few rose gardens to sit in, and San Martin sits on a huge lake named Lacar. You can enjoy swimming in the lake or take a boat out to different places along the shoreline.

I decided to do a short hike of about 10km (about 3 hours) to a viewpoint and then onto a small beach with a little island. I enjoyed a swim here and basked in the sun, although the beach is very rocky, crocs are advised! I looked like a fool sliding around on the rocks. The water was really lovely and clear though, and everyone was respectful of the environment.

San Carlos de Bariloche

Bariloche is a working city that is less tourist heavy, but it’s scenery is absolutely postcard perfect. The town is surrounded by a huge lake and endless mountain scenes. There are not many attractions in the town, and I really just used this for a rest day and to save a little money by cooking from the supermarket. I did manage to visit the local cathedral though. This was a very pleasant building with lots of stonework. You can also walk right up to the lake and sit on the stony beach if you want to.

El Bolson

On the bus to my third stop in this region, El Bolson, I continued to travel along the famous route 40. This very long highway, connects all of these beautiful locations from the North to South of the country. It has now become well known for its gorgeous scenery, and thankfully, the buses use this road too!

Along the way, I saw the damage of the forest fires in the national park the day before. This was quite shocking to see, It seems that it is a common occurrence here though. It created a foggy atmosphere among the mountain scenes.

On arrival to El Bolson, I stumbled upon a huge feria (market/fair) with lots of artisan stalls and food vendors, besides a lovely river scene where people were enjoying pedal boats.

I think El Bolson is my favourite stop of the three, as it had a lovely mix of authenticity and fun for tourists. It was clean, and had lots of facilities. A lot of people that stop here do the 1-2 day hike to Cerro Piltriquitrón but I only had a day here and so not enough time. If I could do it again I would stay up to 4 days here. I did manage to make use of some other nearby hikes though.

I took a cheap local bus out to a natural site that is part of the aboriginal Mapuche territory called La Pasarela. On arrival, I had no idea where I was. I approached a local aboriginal girl, in my best spanish, and she led me there, explaining that it is hard to find on a map. When I found the right spot there was a river with people swimming, and a little information point. The site is completely free to visit, and has many trails and things to see. I visited a waterfall, and then took a second hike to sit by the River Blanco. It was really refreshing on such a hot day.

After visiting La Pasarela I hopped back on the bus for another 15 minutes down the road to Lake Puelo and enjoyed the views of this huge lake among the sunset.

Overall, the Lake District in Argentina is absolutely stunning. There is plenty to see as a nature lover. If I had the chance to travel in my own car, then I would definitely visit more smaller communities, and I would perhaps do more camping, as many people were spending long periods of time in each place whilst camping. For now, I travel further South!

Hikes, rainbows and sunsets in the Lake District National Park

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A few months before the country locked down due to the pandemic, my partner surprised me with a weekend trip to the Lake District National Park. Considering it was January, we had a great time exploring the beautiful scenery in this area.

Driving around the Lake District, we found ourselves making good use of first and second gear, as we climbed the huge hills. It is a long drive from Norfolk but very pleasant, as you get into lakeland and can enjoy amazing views, and feel like you are suddenly in another country.

We stayed in a lovely little B&B, (of which there are many..) in Bowness on Windermere, on the side of the Windermere lake; England’s largest lake. This is a busy village in the National Park, and has several amenities, and The World of Beatrix Potter attraction. We did see this from the outside, but we didn’t go in. Even though I loved ‘Peter Rabbit’ as a child, I cannot really get away with it now! Interesting fact though… the area gets lots of Japanese visitors, as they love Beatrix Potter stories!

We had a great stay in the B&B as it felt really traditional but had lots of nice modern decor. Plus we had great breakfasts, could get recommendations/free maps and also they gave us free fudge!

One of the other great things about staying in Bowness on Windermere, was the close proximity to the lake’s ferry service. There is an information centre and booking office where you can buy tickets for the ferry cruises that run regularly up and down the lake. The Windermere Lake Cruises company offer several boat services taking different routes around the lake, you can also charter a boat. We crossed the lake to Ambleside and it was quite a rainy trip across, but it was January… and it meant we had rainbows! There was some information provided on the cruise and there was an inside and outdoor space.

When we arrived in Ambleside, the sun came out and we started a 3 hour hike up Loughrigg Fell. This ‘low fell’ felt very mountainous to us, and clearly I am not ready for Scafell Pike quite yet!

The hike had absolutely beautiful views and different things to see on the way up and down…. including a false peak (be ready for that heart wrenching moment). We had a tasty picnic on the way up, and were sat next to a bird of prey that was simply perching on the cliffside.

Bird sitting on the rocks at Lake District hike

After being battered by wind at the peak, we started carefully making our way down. On the way down, we enjoyed views of the lakes, streams and a huge watery cave. When we eventually finished we could enjoy sitting on our cruise back looking over our gorgeous photographs, and relaxing. Later in the evening, we took advantage of a special pamper package that the B&B had running with a nearby health centre, and spent the evening in the pool and jacuzzi, soaking our muscles!

There were also plenty of places to dine out in the area and relax. We had a couple of lovely dinners both near to our B&B in Bowness on Windermere, and in Windermere town itself. If we had been there for longer than a weekend, we would have visited more of the towns and villages around the lake. Unfortunately, we only really had the Saturday, and then a long drive back on Sunday. We did drive from the top to the bottom of the lake before turning out on a misty morning, and the views were still breath taking.

I think I would definitely visit again for some more hikes, mixed in with good food. I would like to stay for a week. I would probably stay there during the winter again as well as I hear it is very busy in the Summer, and I wouldn’t want too many tourists to spoil our tranquil experience.