Scandinavia - Norway

June 28, 1996

Hidden Treasure (by John)

Splashes of mud hit our legs. Rain thinned them to watery streaks of brown. It was just the beginning of our hike and we were already dirty. The cliffs to our left were half shielded by mist and we could see only a small portion of the ocean to our right.A hike seemed a silly thing to be doing when the weather was so raw. But the weather had been this way for days and we could forfeit our adventures because of it or inhale the invigorating salt air and take charge.

The old dirt road we were on faded to a rock-shrew path and then led up. We picked our way along a steep boulder-covered slope and then away from the cliff face to the rocky shore ledge. Oyster catchers gave warning cries to stay clear of their nests and the slippery algae covered rocks warned us of impending doom below. A stray sheep hadn't headed the warning and laid dead; rotting rotting between two rocks in our path. We passed the carcus quickly. The stench would serve as a landmark on the return trip.

For two hours the rain continued. It dampened our spirits and when we reaching the end of the path we considered turning back. But then a sighting through the binoculars gave our soggy dispositions their needed boost. We had spotted another road further up the trail. It was grassy and wide and far in the distance beyond it we saw dots. As we followed the ridge to the back side of the island, the dots grew into the tiny abandoned fishing village of Mostad. Its old houses and foundations stood tucked in a bay surrounded by cliffs. A half hour later we were standing at its stone wall.

We set lunch out on a the wall and, as we ate, watched a sea eagle chase gulls on the cliffs. The trail at the end of the village snaked into those misty cliffs too. Somewhere up there were puffin nests. It would have been fun to see them, but we didn't have the water or energy to commit to that part of the hike nor to the hike that would have brought us to the cave we saw tucked into the other end of the bay. Those hidden treasure will have to wait for another day.