From Alesund to Bodo

On Norway's West Coast

From Bergen, we sailed northward as far as Bodø, at 67°17�� North, above the Arctic Circle. The coast is peppered with small fishing towns and glorious mountain views.

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We spent a day in tiny Silda, an island with twelve year-round inhabitants. The biggest building in town, this restaurant, was barely open when we visited. It's a serene life in Silda. And a chilly one.

This little oystercatcher was wading around the shore when we spotted him. We haven't been quick enough to snap a puffin, though there are about 200,000 of them floating on our cruising waters.

Ålesund was completely destroyed by fire in 1904, and it was rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style. This enchanting architecture has earned the town the title of "prettiest city in Norway" as rated by Norwegians.

The Geiranger Fjord spans 100 kilometers (62 miles) of waterfalls, mountains, and a smattering of homes and farms.

The dried cod industry supports this area of coastline, and most harbors are flanked by fishing houses like these. Even the tiniest fishing villages graciously provide a floating dock for visiting boats.

The Norveg museum in Rørvik provides a cultural history of Norway, from the Stone Age through the Viking era, on to modern times. The building itself, an award-winning architecture, is worth the trip. The building evokes traditional fishing and modern technology, three sails powering a modern ship.

There isn't a line across the globe when you cross the Arctic Circle by sea, but this sculpture on the island of Vikingen was the next-best thing to find.

The Svartisen (Black Ice) glacier is the second-largest glacier in Norway. At 370 square kilometers (143 square miles), you can be sure that this photo doesn't capture all of it.

Why did we climb on the Svartisen glacier? Apparently the reason is that it's there. It's a great view, if you're willing to look down.

Bodø became known worldwide as the unachieved destination for Gary Francis Powers, who was caught inside the USSR in 1960, flying a U2 spy plane for the US. Bodø's Aviation Museum has a U2, and many other planes and exhibits about the history of commercial and military aviation, all in a building shaped like a giant propeller.