Oye to Vetnes – 138 kms

Lattitude: 62.6

Remember that long, low rumble we heard echoing through the valley last night? We brushed it off as just another mountain doing mountain things. But this morning, a quick Google search turned eerie.

Exactly 117 years ago to the day, just five minutes up the road, there was a massive rockslide which blocked off the river completely. Within a few days, the entire village was completely underwater. The cold has kept it intact, like a ghost town frozen in time. 

We stopped and had a look. The lake was smooth like glass, with reflections so perfect it was hard to tell where the water ended and sky began. Near the shore, we spotted a brick wall just beneath the surface, and the outlines of old buildings made from bricks. It was strange and a little haunting. Apparently, people scuba dive here to explore what’s left beneath. We wished we’d thought to send the drone up. That would’ve been the perfect way to see it from above.

We carried on to the small town of Oye, where the sun came out and everything looked like it belonged on a postcard. A beautiful lake, towering mountains, and a really fancy hotel that looked like something out of a fairytale.

Even better, they had showers in the public bathrooms. Actual showers. So we each had a much-needed scrub, emerging slightly less smelly than before. We also did some laundry by hand, since laundromats, are more like a distant memory on this trip.

After our shower, it was really warm and I dressed in t-shirt and shorts. Then we caught the ferry onwards, and the weather turned cold and we were back to layers and puffer jackets.

We drove into a large town and both decided we needed coffee. Norway doesn’t seem to have a big cafe culture here like the rest of the world. We found a cafe in a mall that had wifi as I thought I’d better get a video up. We had a coffee but it was really bad, so we won’t be drinking coffee out again. I don’t know why, but I thought Norway might have had nice coffee.

After this, the day turned a bit ordinary. We were back onto more main roads, and even though the scenery was still beautiful, it felt less remote. We continued on towards Vestnes where we would catch a ferry to Molde, and it started raining quite hard. We found a pull-off to take a break, and ended up staying the night. It’s actually a nice spot with toilets and a dump station. It’s off the main road a bit, and we didn’t really hear any noise.

I spent the afternoon trying to plot a route without tunnels, but it’s easier said than done. I don’t know what I was thinking coming to Norway with a tunnel phobia, but I thought I had it under control. And I did, until we arrived here and were thrown into tunnel after tunnel with no warning. Now, my irrational fear is back. But, it has been leading us on some interesting adventures so far.