Fjords and Feast
Funny enough, I landed on these videos (related to Onam Festival tradition), by sheer coincidence, as I was looking for some traditional boat racing video, to be sent to the local Staines Boat Club by the Thames, across the river from my place, when trying to register for a rowing course to fine tune my skills and follow a long-time dream to take it up as a hobby sport. (You can often see lots people practicing rowing for team competitions here, sometimes even during winter)
River kayaking, rather plain rowing down and exploring a river has interested me for a long time. Had done couple of times in India and planned one in Wisconsin but fizzled while I was in Chicago.
Finally, it had to be the long weekend trip to Norway, kayaking through a fjord around Flåm, Aurlandsfjord (after boating through the Nærøyfjord, featured in the UNESCO World Heritage list), that triggered to take up rowing more seriously!. During the return to base, really had to fight strong headwinds and choppy waters for 2hours in the drizzle. The winds were upto 40mph, our guide informed. It was draining but exciting 'sea kayaking' as it is called, during which we spotted a pair of porpoises with dorsal fins bobbing and dipping- Could be North Atlantic dolphins. All the more exciting and anxious for Ganesh to be doing this without knowing swimming- "this is the closest I've ever got to water!", he said afterwards, having his initial apprehension blown away by the winds. Kayaking truly gives you very close feel of the water and waves- next only to actually being in the water.
Had tasted lot of brackish water splashing onto the face from the strong wind and bit of waves hitting the kayak. The taste of the Norwegian sea made much less saline during summer, mixed with the pure water from the melting ice of the mountains bordering the fjords..
Immediately after finishing the kayaking, when I got my phone back, saw a missed call, voice mail and a text from a friend Raji in London inviting for an Onam Special Sadya dinner the next day!!, which unfortunately I was going to miss out, though at that time was ready to wolf down two feasts at a sitting. The brackish taste of fjord water was still lingering in my mouth when I read the text about the mouth watering prospect of Onam Feast! It's a far cry from the flavours of Onam feasts ;) .. but well, it really was a true feast of an experience for the senses, knowing and rowing the fjords up close!.
River kayaking, rather plain rowing down and exploring a river has interested me for a long time. Had done couple of times in India and planned one in Wisconsin but fizzled while I was in Chicago.
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| Nærøyfjord |
Finally, it had to be the long weekend trip to Norway, kayaking through a fjord around Flåm, Aurlandsfjord (after boating through the Nærøyfjord, featured in the UNESCO World Heritage list), that triggered to take up rowing more seriously!. During the return to base, really had to fight strong headwinds and choppy waters for 2hours in the drizzle. The winds were upto 40mph, our guide informed. It was draining but exciting 'sea kayaking' as it is called, during which we spotted a pair of porpoises with dorsal fins bobbing and dipping- Could be North Atlantic dolphins. All the more exciting and anxious for Ganesh to be doing this without knowing swimming- "this is the closest I've ever got to water!", he said afterwards, having his initial apprehension blown away by the winds. Kayaking truly gives you very close feel of the water and waves- next only to actually being in the water.
Had tasted lot of brackish water splashing onto the face from the strong wind and bit of waves hitting the kayak. The taste of the Norwegian sea made much less saline during summer, mixed with the pure water from the melting ice of the mountains bordering the fjords..
Immediately after finishing the kayaking, when I got my phone back, saw a missed call, voice mail and a text from a friend Raji in London inviting for an Onam Special Sadya dinner the next day!!, which unfortunately I was going to miss out, though at that time was ready to wolf down two feasts at a sitting. The brackish taste of fjord water was still lingering in my mouth when I read the text about the mouth watering prospect of Onam Feast! It's a far cry from the flavours of Onam feasts ;) .. but well, it really was a true feast of an experience for the senses, knowing and rowing the fjords up close!. |
About Flåm: |
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| View From a Railway Platform on Flåmsbana Railway(Both Above & Below!) |
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| Ganesh smirking despite the biting cold ;) Hardangervidda National Park,
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| Tip of the Hardangerjøkulen glacier. From Finse |
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| Cycling from Finse. Hardangervidda National Park |
posted by Sujith at 3:30 PM
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