Monday, August 3, 2015

Fresh Crabs, Cod and Magic Scenery

It’s August 3rd and we are enjoying the little town at the top of Tvedestrand Fjord.  For the last week we have hopped Eastwards exploring  towns and tiny villages and enjoying lovely downwind sailing.  Our first stop was just at the bottom of Flekkefjord on the island of Hidra: there nestles Rasvag, a picturesque tiny village with pristine homes and friendly people with gifts of crabs.  Here are some pictures:



Fish farming - mainly salmon, is big business in Norway

 Here we are in 400 feet of water!


 Motoring through the bottom of Flekkefjord

 Rasvag has an entrance about 22 feet wide!....

 ...which gave us about 4 feet clearance!

 Alongside a friendly visitors' quay

 The house across from our bow is on its own little island......

 ...and the locals all row traditional wooden craft out to their homes



 Rasvag from up the hill, with Adventuress center on the dock

 A local family stopped by for a chat and gave us 7 fresh crabs for dinner! What a treat....

 ....and the red house on the quayside is their family summer home.



We then sailed to the town of Farsund and stayed in our slip while it rained. 


The next morning we left in the rain and sailed to Mandal, where we found a berth on the quayside directly in front of the fish shop.  That evening, John made the best cod dinner I ever ate!  Then we enjoyed a lovely downwind sail to School House Bay, on Gamle Hellesund Island, and were finally able to find a cove shallow enough to anchor.  In the evening we were entertained by the haunting melodies of a Saxophone, and the next morning a local stopped by and told us that a professional musician lived in the charming cottage opposite us ashore.  We also learned that we could take our dinghy to the tiny stone dock around the corner, and visit the one-room school house where his great grandmother and grandmother went to school. 

 Leaving Mandal



 Anchored in Schoolhouse Bay, Gamle




 The former Little School House, with stone docks: the children used to row themselves to school!

 Pic through the window: there are twelve double desks and very hard wooden chairs!


Nancy explores the path from the stone dock to the Schoolhouse


Many of the homes in the small villages and on islands have been passed through several generations and are second homes for some lucky people. 

Having fun in Norway!

Our very best,
John and Nancy

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