Day 17: Sør Fron to Kvam

I had a delicious dinner last night, with excellent company.  Phil and Linda come to Norway often as Linda’s mother was born here and she has lots of family here.  They were knowledgeable and engaging company and the food was tasty and sustaining.  The pudding, a rhubarb tart, is one of the nicest things I’ve eaten.  After dinner we were given a tour of the historic buildings.

Table laid for three

I slept well in my pilgrim bed, but anyone taller than me, i.e. just about everyone, might have struggled.  The gaps between the planks meant that there was plenty of fresh air!  

Today’s route was (slightly) more down than up.  But it didn’t feel like that!  Lots of scrambling up and slithering down rocky paths.  Slow progress was made but the views were worth it.  I think we are soon going to come to the end of the lake side ramble!

I stopped for breakfast on a bench, and second breakfast at another bench.  It was quite tempting to stop at every bench I saw, and there were certainly times when I’m not sure how much I was gasping for breath rather than admiring the views!

I wasn’t sure how far I would walk today. I’d split a long stage into two, and I’m glad I did, but had not been able to find accommodation at the half way (or even just beyond) point.  I’d resorted to booking a hotel in Vinstra.  Every kilometre over halfway that I walked today is a gift to me tomorrow and will make my day easier. In the end I walked 22km, then 2km to the bus stop in Kvam.  The bus took just 8 minutes to transport me to Vinstra and the bus stop was only 90m from the hotel.  Hopefully the reverse logistics tomorrow will work equally as smoothly.  

I had a brief wander round Vinstra, looking for a nice cafe where I could get something to eat and, importantly, my first coffee of the day.  I found a cafe that looked lovely, but the kitchen closed at 2.30pm and the cafe at 3pm.  I arrived at 2.55pm!  Ah well, hotel instant had to make do.  

Tomorrow the hotel breakfast doesn’t start until 7am, so I will have to look at bus times.  It will be a late start, so just as well it is a short day.