Today, finally, we had good weather for our excursion around the edge of Nordfjord. The fjord looked just like all the picture postcards you have ever seen of Norway, and we just couldn't resist a dip in its cool waters.

Eventually we continued onwards for a mountain climb and descent to Byrkjelo. The hostel here was a bit of a disappointment, being just a guest house for much of the year. The barn behind the hostel had a traditional ramp to the higher level where the usual tractor spent much of its time. Michael, being vegetarian, once again had a hard time getting any food - Norway doesn't seem to cater for vegetarians anywhere!

Our route today was through desolate terrain where the only living creatures we saw were goats! During the only real climb, near the end of the day, Michael managed to break an axle and called in to one of the few houses we saw to arrange a taxi. Outside it was typically Norwegian, with a fairly ordinary wooden exterior, but inside it was totally luxurious, with polished wooden floors and every modern convenience. We stayed the night at the Viken guest house in Viksdalen.

Monday took us up another gentle climb with another incredible hairpin descent at the end to Balestrand. Mark Sloman had asked to go with the bike on the bus in Michael's place, as he didn't fancy another long cycle ride.

We had hoped to stay at Balestrand youth hostel, but it turned out to be full so we switched to a nearby guest house that was quaint and very comfortable. We loaded our bikes onto the evening cargo boat for Bergen at 3pm and enjoyed the luxury of our second guest house of the tour.

Our most exciting boat journey of all awaited us next morning, with a hydrofoil passenger boat speeding its way along Sognefjord and around the coast to Bergen at 37 knots. It was raining as usual, but today we didn't really mind.

After spending the afternoon shopping in Bergen we boarded our NorwayLine ferry at 6pm, finding ourselves looking forward to its comforts - and the discounted Norwegian chocolate from the duty free shop! Typically, the sun came out as we set sail, leaving us with the most beautiful sunset for our final memory of Norway.