A mid summer week on the boat - Day 2

The journey begins  - from the mountains to the sea coming down 62 metres traversing the unique Telemark canal -  etched out in the mountains by 500 people in 5 years blasting their way forward and when completed in 1892 the rest of the Europe called it - the 8th wonder of the world. 
Unsurpassed in its beauty with the crystal clear waters reflecting the skies and lush green woods and the tranquility of the nature.
 

The water locks that help in the ascent and descent of the boats  - clad with stone walls, enormous wooden gates and the 100 year old technique of opening and closing, kept them as authentic as they originally were. click here to see in detail how does a boat come down the mountain.

Waiting patiently at the locks in many places for our turn to go down while  watching  big boats coming up from the sea - the whole atmosphere was just lakes, canals, boats and more boats all in an unspoiled natural setting.

  Ulrik, the captain of the boat and Sankalp the vice - from time to time had to read the maps, keep track of the route and other practical information to cross all the locks to complete our descent before calling it a day.  

 

I was wonderfully relaxing admiring the calm waters that are overlooked by small towns, churches, homes and the canal life in general.

 

Finally waiting at the last lock on our journey towards the sea at Skien, a very befitting town to be called the birth place of Henrik Ibsen ( The doll house) with the skyline dotted by the captivating twin towers of a neo gothic church and landscape interspersed with sculptures .

 

 The best part was yet to come. Down at the sea level, we still have not decided where we wanted to spend the night :-). Yes I said it, where we WANTED to go. May be here?

 or one of these bays here? or many more that are available flipping through the pages.....

It was a long day for the guys, so we had to find a harbor for refills of petrol, food

  parked the boat by a water restaurant for dinner 

and then on the last leg of the day to a bay we all agreed upon to anchor for the night. 

There were already few boats anchored when we came in . While the kids had fun in the small boats rowing around or catching fish , we had a long night chatting with the people from other boats and one of them had apparently traveled to India 30 yrs ago as a backpacker and had many experiences to share.

Finally the sun set at around 11.30 PM

 

What a wonderful experience it was to select the most exotic place one can imagine and all for free of cost. Tomorrow's destination is even more interesting..... Yesterdays journey here

All pics by me