After a month of atmospheric grey days, Norway delivered colour. It was as if a light switch had been flicked on.

We decided to leave Tromsø and motor south. With 24 hour daylight and not much hope of wind we decided not to stop for the night and kept travelling preferring to have longer to relax at our destination.

We managed to spot this passing ship in the middle of the night

The next morning we arrived at a small harbour which promised rock paintings and walking. The docks in the harbour were too small for Away, so our second option was a fjord another hour further on.

We had enjoyed a month of grey freezing conditions and now it looked like there were going to be several days of sunny (even double digit max temperatures!) windless weather so we decided it was worth risking an anchorage surrounded by mountains that can deliver sudden katabatic winds.

When we motored into the bay it looked fantastic and it kept getting better, and better:

View into the anchorage…yep new colours: blue and green!
After we anchor we can hear cascading water and head ashore to find a meltwater stream nearby.
We settle in beside the stream and enjoy the sun.
The wind dies completely and the reflections are magic.
Its quiet in the anchorage at night.
There are some summer houses at the entrance to the bay, but otherwise its only moose, fish and birds living here.
Next day we head to shore for more of an explore.
Mustering our inner norsepersons we enjoy an exhilarating dip. There is a top layer of cold fresh water which is attention grabbing, but the deeper water is just gently numbing.
Granite walls rise 700m above the anchorage.
And reflect
Mussels are abundant in the shallows and make a tasty dinner.
That evening two local moose stroll by. Bernie got a sniff of them from the boat and gave them a good woofing. They did not return.
Anchored amongst mountains.
We went for a walk further up the stream. No tracks here except those left by the local wildlife. There is no happier dog.
View from 500m above the anchorage
If the anchorage is so good maybe we can catch a fish. 20 minutes dragging a lure behind the dinghy and this guy joined us for lunch.
Does anyone know if the reflection of a chemtrail is dangerous too? We were lucky as this one just missed us.
The wind suddenly gusted to 25 knts on our last night to remind us its not always calm here. Shortly afterwards long periods of 0 knts returned.
Its even out of the sun at night making sleeping a little easier.
Sadly it came time to leave. An eagle crossed our path reflecting in the water as we motored out. What an amazing experience.

Our experience of this anchorage ticked many boxes: quiet, scenic, good walking, dog friendly, swimming, wildlife, fishing and foraging. It would have been easy to spend a month here, but we knew the experience would be quite different as the winds returned. It was noted in the guide book that when the clouds came down over the grey granite walls some cruisers had described the experience as being in a grey tupperware container with the lid on.

Travel experiences are based on such a small sliver of time. Other people in this same anchorage could well experience the katabatic winds we were warned of, or perhaps, it is indeed like a tupperware container. But for us, we can imagine no more a perfect moment in time than this place when we were here. Its always like this on this adventure, people warn us about places, and we go and have a great time, or we have a terrible time at place that others have really enjoyed. Travel is all about context and we were lucky enough to have this absolutely perfect couple of days.