Nancy Sales Cash on Queen Mary 2 - sails the fjords

We spent the morning sailing on Queen Mary 2 down the Norwegian coast to Geiranger Fjord from a small village called Hellesynt to another small town called Geiranger. Some of the younger and fitter passengers got off at the first stop and either hiked or bussed along incredibly steep, rocky mountains. As you can see from the photo, I chose the lazy way and stayed on the ship. The sides of the fjords (see background of photo) reach about 6000 feet and are solid - and I mean solid - granite. Their tops are lost in the mist and remind me of home and the Smokies. It's empty, desolate country with lots of waterfalls and the occasional tiny chalet brings incredulity as to how one would reach it. Thank goodness fjords are even deeper that the ocean, otherwise the Queen Mary 2 could not navigate them. Best, Nancy

NANCY SALES CASH grew up in Murphy and lives in Murphy and Asheville. Her short story, 'Talking To Mama,' will be published in Netwest's new anthology, 'Echoes Across The Blue Ridge,' which will be out soon. She also has a short story in Celia Miles' new anthology, "Clothes Lines,' due out in September, and was in Celia's 2008 anthology, 'Christmas Presence.' She has two published novels, 'Ritual River' and 'Patterns of the Heart,' both available from The Curiosity Shop in Murphy and Andrews and Phillips & Lloyd in Hayesville.