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Where am I?:^mistymornings-->Cycletouring-->2008-->Norway.-->Day 6

Day 6-4. Røldal to Lofthus contd.

Nearby a couple were packing stuff into their car and Damae asked if the road was open at the other end. The couple told us they were on holiday too and they didn't actually know. We smiled and thanked them and decided to take the muddy path round the right hand side of the barrier. Then we were off down the steep quiet road, sheltered from the sun by trees and undergrowth. We were a little apprehensive not being entirely sure if we would have to go back the way we came and if the road was indeed navigable. After twisting downhill for a few minutes enjoying not having to pedal we saw a gate in front of us. On arriving at the gate we noticed it was very definitely locked so opening it and wheeling our bikes through was not going to be an option. We took a few photos to remind us, pulled our bags off the bikes and manhandled them over the gate. Another advantage of a four bag system, less to take off and put on.

Once over the barrier I took a photo of the view. The river ran under the road at this point as they both passed through a narrow gap in the valley. It is sometimes surprising just how much noise even a small river can make when it is forced to drop rapidly and change direction. The view was lovely and I wondered later if I should have taken a video of the river. The downhill sections had coincided with our post-lunch dip, so we felt we had made good progress so far. Despite the extra attention that the main road had demanded from us and the challenges of the old road we were feeling relaxed about the day. Our last major downhill of the day was ahead of us, first on the remains of this minor road then followed by a section of main road which narrowed as we headed towards Odda. This was a bit of a surprise to be confronted with small junctions and a main road that wasn't even two cars wide. Especially as we had seen so much tunnel development on the main road to this point.

It looked as if they had just run out of money and decided to leave this bit of road as it always had been: to remind travellers that they were in a less than completely forgiving landscape north of Scotland. The advantage for us was that traffic was moving much more slowly. The disadvantage was that now the tourists were even more distracted by the road and the lovely valley and it was about to get busier. Our map showed a spot of interest for tourists further along and it appeared to be a waterfall. We saw one waterfall but realised that this was not the one we sought. It was too small and on the wrong side of the river.

As we approached the next waterfall the normal roar of the river next to us started to be overwhelmed by the sound of something much more powerful. Then we saw the spray wetting the road and got a cooling shower as we passed the waterfall looking for somewhere to park our bikes. The tiny car park was full of large campers and cars and we found a safe spot on our side of the road next to a kiosk. The waterfall was not so large but magnificent and we had to take some pictures. I was glad I had bought a new camera as the SP570UZ lens zoomed out to a good wide angle. Standing as close to the river as I could comfortably get I was able to get the whole waterfall in view. I wanted to get a picture of the spray and we decided it would be a good time to take a picture of us together. After a very brief look at the souvenier kiosk we decided to get going again.

The valley at this point was still not that much wider than the river but within a few minutes of starting off again it began to broaden. Now that the terrain had opened out and flattened we noticed a rather stiff headwind coming from the North. This was not too bad, keeping us cool in the mid-afternoon sun, but I'd now hit my second mid-afternoon dip. Luckily Damae was feeling more energetic so I slip-streamed in behind her for a while enjoying the views and taking the odd photo of the route.

The sky, river and lakes were clear blue, the trees and undergrowth summer green overwhelming the grey rocks. This was the kind of Norway we'd got used to, in full sunshine and just too warm to be comfortable. A far cry away from the first two days after landing in Kristiansand.

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