Fedje, Norway
On our last morning at sea before docking in Bergen we found the perfect opportunity for one last Zodiac cruise at the island of Fedje. The community of Fedje itself is sprinkled around a wonderfully intricate harbor framed by the rounded, rocky tops of submerged mountains. At least, that is what our depth sounder suggested when it showed our ship resting in 1000 feet of water just a quarter mile from shore. On our ride around the harbor we enjoyed the colorful and tidy houses, small boats and boathouses that line the water’s edge and the gray herons and black-backed gulls who also make their home here. A navigational control tower perched on a high point at the edge of town caused many of us to wonder where in the world the airport could be on such a small, bumpy piece of land. Not to wonder, Fedje is within sight of the stacks of the Mongstad refinery, which processes crude oil from the North Sea fields located to the southwest. All tanker traffic entering the narrow waterways of the outer coast is directed by this control tower. Harkening back to an older industry was a harpoon gun mounted in an historical stance on the dock as well as one operating whaling boat tied up to a pier. Later this afternoon we tied to the pier in the beautiful port city of Bergen and spent the afternoon sightseeing and enjoying our time ashore.
On our last morning at sea before docking in Bergen we found the perfect opportunity for one last Zodiac cruise at the island of Fedje. The community of Fedje itself is sprinkled around a wonderfully intricate harbor framed by the rounded, rocky tops of submerged mountains. At least, that is what our depth sounder suggested when it showed our ship resting in 1000 feet of water just a quarter mile from shore. On our ride around the harbor we enjoyed the colorful and tidy houses, small boats and boathouses that line the water’s edge and the gray herons and black-backed gulls who also make their home here. A navigational control tower perched on a high point at the edge of town caused many of us to wonder where in the world the airport could be on such a small, bumpy piece of land. Not to wonder, Fedje is within sight of the stacks of the Mongstad refinery, which processes crude oil from the North Sea fields located to the southwest. All tanker traffic entering the narrow waterways of the outer coast is directed by this control tower. Harkening back to an older industry was a harpoon gun mounted in an historical stance on the dock as well as one operating whaling boat tied up to a pier. Later this afternoon we tied to the pier in the beautiful port city of Bergen and spent the afternoon sightseeing and enjoying our time ashore.
