Schools and Lions...

Day 70: Sunday 19th July, 2026

Fleinvaer to Klokkergarden, Rodoy

Duration: 6hrs 50mins

We were awoken earlier than planned by a stronger wind than was forecast, and the resulting swell banging off the side of the hull. Those gusty winds made getting off the pontoon pretty tricky...but with some pushing and revving we finally made way and headed south...

Quickly passing the familiar shape of Bolga Island, where we had taken that 'moderate hike' with its ladders and ropes on one side , and on the other, the wonderfully pointy mountainous Helgeland coast ...

...and the magificent sight of 'Engabreen", the tongue of Svatisan glacier that drapes the mountains above Holandsfjord...

It felt lovely to be back in the calm waters of the inner leads, and after a steady and happy passage we approached the island of Rodoy, and its distinctive 440m mountain of Rodoylova, which translates as the 'Lion of Rodoy' - its silhouette said to resemble a sleeping lion, with his half face and resting paws ...

Beneath the sleeping lion lies Klokkergarden - an old boarding school that has been lovingly restored into a small guesthouse and restaurant - which has a couple of visitor pontoons, where we happily found a space on...

...and although our muscles were still sore from the Reinebringen hike of 2000 steps, we couldn't resist the pull of the hike up Rodoylova...

...and its' 1000 sherpa steps!! (We have been amazed at all the sherpa steps we have encountered on our walks - the step-building initiative began in 2005 when the government decided to protect their alpine environments from erosion and to make hiking routes more accessible and safe for a wider range of hikers. These paths are built by hand, with Sherpas carefully shaping and stacking stones that can weigh up to 1,000 kilos to ensure the steps blend naturally into the landscape. This initiative provides vital conservation and has transformed the hiking experience in Norway, while also supplying the Sherpa craftsmen with highly competitive wages that significantly elevated living standards in their home villages in Nepal.)

...At every level there were amazing views...

Up and up we climbed ....

...til we reached the top...

with its precipitous, but stunning views in all directions...

..and then down we went, and rewarded our efforts with a lovely dinner in the quirky but warm restaurant of Klokkergarden - where the Captain pretended not to be perturbed by some of the decor...