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July 14, 2013
Weekend!
It's been a while. The days are on and on. I finally got my first weekend though, and what a good it did to get out. I hitched to Stryn and hiked into the wild, right where I needed to be...
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Mass Tourism
The busy season is underway. The days are still long and full of surprises. Yesterday I was in flank position for a cruise tour. A small group of 14 with a bit of spicy fun. Head winds of 10 to 15 knots caused a few paddlers to gain negative progress right out of the gate. Time to tow. To make a long story short, 6 km later my body was near collapse as we returned from the tour with more work to be done. At day 24, with 12 to 15 hr daily shifts, my mind and physical self is expecting to work without end. At some moments this seems to drag on and on but it is when I look up to the high cliff walls and recognize the potential.
June 10, 2013
Sun!
After a long and cold rain spell, today we awoke to sun. Bangarang. And with all the rain sprang a few new waterfalls.
Ian and Rubio kicking it old school
Ian and Rubio kicking it old school
June 9, 2013
Norwegian Day Trip
Knivsfla Fjord Farm
First inhabited in 1605. 250m above sea level. Queen Sonja comes to stay because of the farms historic and scenic awesomeness.
Top of the Seven Sisters. Ole Knivsfla aka "big knife" carved out a new channel every summer creating the Seven Sisters waterfall.
The Suitor
Our group. Really great people once they open up. I used what little Norwegian I know to introduce myself. I received a silence... Later on upon asking, they said it was really good. Like I said, once they open up the Norwegian people are very friendly.
One of our guides, Rob. An incredibly skilled paddler
Neat
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First inhabited in 1605. 250m above sea level. Queen Sonja comes to stay because of the farms historic and scenic awesomeness.
Top of the Seven Sisters. Ole Knivsfla aka "big knife" carved out a new channel every summer creating the Seven Sisters waterfall.
The Suitor
Our group. Really great people once they open up. I used what little Norwegian I know to introduce myself. I received a silence... Later on upon asking, they said it was really good. Like I said, once they open up the Norwegian people are very friendly.
One of our guides, Rob. An incredibly skilled paddler
Neat
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June 7, 2013
The Spot
The weather here in Geiranger seems more confused than anywhere I have experienced. It's sunny and hot enough for t-shirts then the sun is blocked by the smallest cloud and its back to the jacket, then all over again. We get five minute downpours or gusts of wind that would blow kayaks off their racks. It is necessary to stay storm proof at all times.
Our office
My kayak is the red Merlin. It's magic.
An addition to my gear list by my Uncle Tom. I never expected her to be such a prized possession. Ian named her Suckubiss
Today was a great day of hard skill critique. A much appreciated one on one practice with a guide. It was raining and cold by the time my turn came around but I was stoked to get wet.
One of the best parts about this small town (270 year around residents and 150 summer employees) is the friendly people. I guess our internship position has some what of a reputation for being insane, I am witnessing why day in and day out. But the returning Geiranger folk really look out for us interns. Yesterday we were poaching Internet in the light of 11:30pm and Cal dropped in with a gift of ice cream. We keep our chins up and find time for fun.
It's hard not to when you look up and see this
Can you spot our yellow kayaks?
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Our office
My kayak is the red Merlin. It's magic.
An addition to my gear list by my Uncle Tom. I never expected her to be such a prized possession. Ian named her Suckubiss
Today was a great day of hard skill critique. A much appreciated one on one practice with a guide. It was raining and cold by the time my turn came around but I was stoked to get wet.
One of the best parts about this small town (270 year around residents and 150 summer employees) is the friendly people. I guess our internship position has some what of a reputation for being insane, I am witnessing why day in and day out. But the returning Geiranger folk really look out for us interns. Yesterday we were poaching Internet in the light of 11:30pm and Cal dropped in with a gift of ice cream. We keep our chins up and find time for fun.
It's hard not to when you look up and see this
Can you spot our yellow kayaks?
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June 6, 2013
Internship
The interns
Our playground
Our weather these past days. Rain.
And five minutes later...
The sun sets for about two hrs but not low enough for day to turn to night.
The sisters
Skagafla shelf farm
Imagine a goat on top. The goats are utilized as grass trimmers so the roofs would not collect too much moisture and rot. Most of the fjord is straight cliff side with countless alpine and glacial lake fed waterfalls.
The days are 12 to 15 hrs of work everyday. From scrubbing boats to rentals to cleaning up after the guides. Our last two weeks were something of a boot camp. The cruise lines are arriving to get the season underway. We accept groups of up to 60. Conditioning is the name of the game as well as taking a lot of weight and such from the boss. Well, my window for sleep is ticking away and tomorrow is another day.
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Our playground
Our weather these past days. Rain.
And five minutes later...
The sun sets for about two hrs but not low enough for day to turn to night.
The sisters
Skagafla shelf farm
Imagine a goat on top. The goats are utilized as grass trimmers so the roofs would not collect too much moisture and rot. Most of the fjord is straight cliff side with countless alpine and glacial lake fed waterfalls.
The days are 12 to 15 hrs of work everyday. From scrubbing boats to rentals to cleaning up after the guides. Our last two weeks were something of a boot camp. The cruise lines are arriving to get the season underway. We accept groups of up to 60. Conditioning is the name of the game as well as taking a lot of weight and such from the boss. Well, my window for sleep is ticking away and tomorrow is another day.
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May 24, 2013
Getting to Geiranger
What luck!
My days of vacation were beautiful hot sun... then, rain.
The combo of the two turned into a flood country.
With no train tracks, no train.
Busy bus with a delay created an interesting day.
But folks were not too worried
And my neighbor gave me a delicious drink.
Their slogan, "Soon to be world famous." By soon they may mean a decade, it's five years into production.
Then I realized what brought me to this country
There were farms scattered about this beautiful land and my jaw was dropped to the floor the entire ride, until I reached Andalsnes. Here, was a bus to Sjholt. Arriving an hour and a half late. Now what? It's raining, hard, but I'm determined to make it the remaining 65km.
So I found some paper and a pen and wrote, "Geiranger, Takk". Of course I asked around to make sure it was both legal and friendly, and stuck out my thumb. Almost immediately a very nice Norwegian blood dating back to the 1700s picked me up
Many thanks.
After 24km my hopes were up and my thumb back out. Almost half way...
And another ride after a gentleman from the grocery
in Stordal overheard my questioning about a potential bus to Geiranger, drove me to the ferry. It was getting cold and I had one more pass to make at 33km before arriving to my new home. The ferry was full of cars so I asked around but began to hear a familiar answer, "no, sorry." But hey my day started out with luck and she was still on my side. "Yes, I'm going to Geiranger." I couldn't help but jump and click my heels, twice. I grabbed my bag and warmed up with a nice chat as the ferry docked and we set off. Up and up and what a surprise...
We drove about 5km. And on the other side...
It is hard to capture the sharp pitch and curves of this road but we were descending fast.
I made it! Exhausted and relieved, I found a guide, Axel who greeted me and said, "Great, Grab your rain pants, Ian is sponging out the boats at the dock. Lets show you where and you can help him."
"I made it, and it's everything I expected and more." Especially waking up the next morning...
Of course I went straight to work but I'll post more of this gem of a fjord when I can.
To all my family and friends, "Wish you were here."
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
My days of vacation were beautiful hot sun... then, rain.
The combo of the two turned into a flood country.
With no train tracks, no train.
Busy bus with a delay created an interesting day.
But folks were not too worried
And my neighbor gave me a delicious drink.
Their slogan, "Soon to be world famous." By soon they may mean a decade, it's five years into production.
Then I realized what brought me to this country
There were farms scattered about this beautiful land and my jaw was dropped to the floor the entire ride, until I reached Andalsnes. Here, was a bus to Sjholt. Arriving an hour and a half late. Now what? It's raining, hard, but I'm determined to make it the remaining 65km.
So I found some paper and a pen and wrote, "Geiranger, Takk". Of course I asked around to make sure it was both legal and friendly, and stuck out my thumb. Almost immediately a very nice Norwegian blood dating back to the 1700s picked me up
Many thanks.
After 24km my hopes were up and my thumb back out. Almost half way...
And another ride after a gentleman from the grocery
in Stordal overheard my questioning about a potential bus to Geiranger, drove me to the ferry. It was getting cold and I had one more pass to make at 33km before arriving to my new home. The ferry was full of cars so I asked around but began to hear a familiar answer, "no, sorry." But hey my day started out with luck and she was still on my side. "Yes, I'm going to Geiranger." I couldn't help but jump and click my heels, twice. I grabbed my bag and warmed up with a nice chat as the ferry docked and we set off. Up and up and what a surprise...
We drove about 5km. And on the other side...
It is hard to capture the sharp pitch and curves of this road but we were descending fast.
I made it! Exhausted and relieved, I found a guide, Axel who greeted me and said, "Great, Grab your rain pants, Ian is sponging out the boats at the dock. Lets show you where and you can help him."
"I made it, and it's everything I expected and more." Especially waking up the next morning...
Of course I went straight to work but I'll post more of this gem of a fjord when I can.
To all my family and friends, "Wish you were here."
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
May 20, 2013
Sunshine
We made it to Gressholmen island where the summer day activity was to find a spot and sunbathe. The islands consisted of this upturned formation of thinly layered rock. Just like a book, Norway is filled with stories.
As my vacation comes to a close, I cannot help but get excited for my next hop to Geiranger, a 5-6 hour trip as the eagle flies NW. Of course it is early in the summer season so the main entrance to Geiranger will be closed for a few more weeks because of snow on the high mountain passes. I am sad to say goodbye to Oslo though, a beautiful and historic city with lots of spirit and appreciation of arts and sciences.
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