Tuesday, April 21
Honestly, the past couple of weeks have been a blurring mix of adventure and challenge. We’ve battled winds over 30 knots and had the same winds come behind us and push us with delightful (and adrenaline pumping) force.
We’ve seen gray seals, porpoise, dozens of sea eagles, sea otters, snow-capped mountains and countless islands. I’m glad to have had Jeff push the pace so that I’ve put miles in I never thought I could accomplish. We recently had two days in a row near 45 nautical miles each day. Of course, the trip continues to be a wonderful series of encounters with amazing people.
Shortly after my last post we were hosted by a gentleman and his family. His name is Ingvar Hals and he picked us up at the end of a long day, brought us to his home for a delightful visit. We gave a presentation for his kayak club that was very well received. I even got the chance to talk with a greenland paddling enthusiast. Ingvar also was able to track down a very nice tent for me to use as I continue on during my solo portion.
Leaving Ingvar, we next encountered a wonderful host, who didn’t know us from Adam. We landed at her farm cold and tired from battling strong winds. We were to meet a local for another presentation, but before he could get to us, she brought us into her home, had us hang all our wet gear, in her living room, fed us and even offered a room. It turns out that her farm being so close to the outside of the island attracts paddlers and adventurers. Just last year, she had a random encounter with a group of brothers rowing an open traditional Norwegian boat from the tip of Norway south for the entire coast. The man who took us in that night is a club member in Trondheim and paddles a folding kayak, uses a greenland paddle, and is going to be studying boat building with a Norwegian master in a couple of weeks.
From there it was the big push to get to Bent and Inga’s sea kayaking B&B. They own Havnomaden and their website is http://www.havnomaden.no
This is a very special place in Hegeland and nestled in view of the Seven Sisters, which is a series of tall mountains that led in large part to the myth of trolls in Norway’s mountains. I’m sitting here now gazing out the window at this amazing setting wishing I could share this moment with my loved ones.
Bent and Inga’s place was a focus for Jeff and me because it’s here that the expedition entered a new and challenging phase.
As I mentioned, I’ve continued on solo while Jeff has returned home for teaching commitments and another series of very challenging and historic projects. In any case, this is the year for me to give it my best shot and the support and interest I’ve received from family and friends both in the U.S. and here in Norway has been very humbling.
So far on my trip from Bent and Inge’s to here in Bodø, I’ve held my own reasonably well, which means I haven’t gotten lost and I’ve managed on most days to get out of that warm sleeping bag in time for a good day’s paddling. I’m feeling strong, lost some weight, and my confidence level has settled in.
The scenery continues to delight and intimidate. These snowcapped mountains so close to the water are stunning. Yet they’re so large, it seems impossible that I’ll ever reach them much less get past them, yet somehow I do. They do make judging distance a bit difficult, as they are often farther away than they seem. There’s an interesting phenomenon where you get into the zone paddling, lost in thoughts and the mountain or headland never seems to get closer, then all of a sudden you come out of your reverie and you’re almost there. Yet it seems that this last stretch of being almost there lasts forever.
Before I sign off I have to thank two more wonderful people. On a beautiful rugged island of Rodøy, two days north of the Havnomaden center, I met a wonderful shopkeeper named Odd. He saw me arrive, came down to greet me, took me in for coffee and let me refill my water. His grandfather bought the shop in the 1930s and they’ve been running that business since. His daughter is a kayaker as well and talked about rolling, forward strokes, etc.
What makes the story really memorable is that after leaving his shop, I got to the top of the island in a hard driving wind, nearly 30-35 knots with a sleet so painful I couldn’t look into it. Rather than risk a crossing north, or set up camp in that wind, I took a chance and returned to the shop only to find it closed. Spotting his van at a nearby home, I rang the bell and surprised him. I asked for help finding a room (not too expensive) to spend the night. He didn’t hesitate, he took me to the home of his uncle, which had an empty flat available and they let me stay there.
Not only that, but he came up that night and brought me down for a very nice dinner of lasagna and beer. The next day, I showed him our home in Maine on a Google satellite image and how to track my trip.
He then introduced me to a friend and sea kayaker visiting from Bodø. We spoke shortly and said good-bye. As it turns out, when I arrived in Bodø, that same gentleman was actually standing on the ramp to shake my hand.
This was 3 days later as I took a day off the water for the wind to die down.
Finally, much to my delight, my host in Bodø, is a wonderful woman, Frøydis Grinstein, who is a Captain in the Norwegian Air Force. She not only picked me up, but arranged for me to be able to stay at the Air Force
base. Since I’m retired Air Force myself, there was a welcome sense of home and connection here, I couldn’t help smiling when I found out and I proudly showed her my retired military ID card. She also kindly ran me downtown, to visit a beautiful city, get some shopping done, and to spend time in the library catching up on e-mail and blog posts.
Tomorrow I’m off for a big push to try for Harstad which I hope to get to in four days or so. Wish me luck.
Mark
