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When the Divine conceived of paradise, the outcome must have been Norway.<\/p>\nWhen the Divine conceived of paradise, the outcome must have been Norway.<\/p>\n
There is not much to this little port at first glance: a few souvenir shops, a hot chocolate place with a view of the harbour that I make a vague note to return to later, a grocery store, a campground.<\/p>\n
But there is also a sound, a sound that I at first credit to the distant waterfalls, then the swollen river, and then I turn a corner and realize why<\/em> the river is swollen.<\/p>\n When you live in the Northwest, you think you\u2019ve seen waterfalls.<\/p>\n You haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n This is the kind of waterfall that you think doesn\u2019t exist, that eclipses everything by its sheer majesty. I have never been this close to wonder before. Not like this.<\/p>\n As I make my way up the steep, slippery metal steps installed along the river\u2019s edge, the sound overtakes my ears, a cleansing, crystal roar that seems to pull all the cobwebs out of the deepest corners of my mind. Letting me climb higher and higher. If I listen hard enough I\u2019m sure I could hear Aslan\u2019 calling me into the true Narnia.<\/p>\n Further up, further in.<\/p>\n Eventually the steps level out into a viewing platform, completely overtaken by the crashing spray. Always drawn to water, I step as close to the edge as I dare, and let the water drench me, closing my eyes against the col mist, standing there until the water runs in rivulets down my face, and my hair curls into ringlets that stick to my forehead.<\/p>\n And despite the fact that my heart has been lightened a great deal of late I feel another layer melt away. Five years of stress and fighting and doe-in-the-headlights panic, washed way by the roaring spray. I have never felt more grateful.<\/p>\n A woman who happened to pass by me told me that I had been \u201cblessed by the falls\u201d. She was right.<\/p>\n I reluctantly left the waterfall and made my way back through town, stopping at one of the local cafes for what may well have been one of the best pieces of carrot cake I\u2019ve tasted. Of course, I also tend to think that fresh air makes everything taste better. It was a little place, furnished with faux-Victorian sofas and country-wooden tables. It was an odd combination of charming and kitsch that worked quite well. But I was mostly only paying attention to the carrot cake!<\/p>\n Across the street was the chocolate shop I had passed earlier. The smell alone was worth walking through the door. The locally made raspberry flavoured chocolate I ended up walking out with even more so. Let\u2019s just say I\u2019ll be saving that for special occasions!<\/p>\n I ended up at a waterside eatery, where it was once again proven to me that \u2013 Sorry Britain \u2013 Norway makes the best fish and chips. Then again, I am willing to once more credit that to the location, I\u2019m pretty sure anything will taste better when the view is that good.<\/p>\n This \u201chaving an appetite\u201d thing is new for me \u2013 but I\u2019m finding I\u2019m enjoying it. So much so that I would have ordered blackberries for dessert if I had time.<\/p>\n Even this far away from the mountain you can hear the waterfalls. At least seven of them spill down the forested Cliffside across the harbor; you can follow the ribbons of their path upward until they disappear into the snow that feeds them.<\/p>\n Further up my friends,<\/p>\n Further in\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the Divine conceived of paradise, the outcome must have been Norway. There is not much to this little port at first glance: a few souvenir shops, a hot chocolate place with a view of the harbour that I make … Continue reading