Arctic Christmas

When your inner genius presents itself, surrender your creativity and let it flourish! I only bring light to this inspiring piece of advise because as I sit and ponder what to write about, I am indulging in my avant-garde dessert creation: The Norwegian S'more. Like I said in my previous post, food is now at the fore-front of my thoughts again, and this my friends is euphoric.

The Norwegian S'more consists of two slices of a Norwegian waffle, a roasted marshmallow and brown cheese to substitute for chocolate. And now we hear the crowd gasp in disgust thinking of putting cheese with a marshmallow, I know at least half of you had a reaction to that. Brown cheese is not really cheese, must I repeat myself?! It's sweet so it works splendidly with a marshmallow. Today's lesson: never rein in that little genius, you never know what may come from it.

Clearly all I want to do is tell you about food, but back to the stories of my life abroad.

To slowly ease into travel stories from food, I did catch dinner the other night! Dinner and then some...The healthy sized cod I managed to lure onto my hook was literally right in the middle of dinner himself. In pulling the hook out I also pulled out a crab, and another crab, and another; these crabs just kept falling out of his mouth! Later I found even more in his gut. At least he died with a fully belly, and that to me is important.

When on and Island...

Last time I recorded my thoughts into the internet I was alone on an island dreaming of a white Christmas. I repeat myself but this year was my first non-white Christmas! Exciting but opposite of the assumption that there would be snow in December in Norway north of the Arctic Circle, now that is a story to tell!

My dearest Napoleon was kind enough to leave a surprise early Christmas gift for me this year. A broken window! Huzza! Our handsome ram was challenging his reflection in the middle of the night when nobody was around to chase him off, but good news is, he won! I was not thrilled...

The First Gift of Christmas!

When I asked him if he had broken the window he sassed me! Call me crazy. This ram came over to check on me while I was cleaning up his mess and his response to "You s** of a b**** did you do this to the window?!" was smirking, cocking his head to one side, turning and strutting away. HE STRUTTED AWAY AFTER INSPECTING THE FRUITS OF HIS DISASTROUS LABOR! I GOT SASSED BY A RAM! This is my life right now...and it's fantastic :) Follow-up: he's still walking around the island all proud of himself for defeating his reflection...PoundSignRamPride

The look you get when you ask your ram if he had anything to do with the broken window

A very nice family (the woman who cooked meals for the guests we had when I first arrived) had me over for a traditional Norwegian Christmas Eve dinner. We had stick meat, which is the rib of a sheep that has been salted and boiled, and for dessert molte berries and cream. The molte is THE Norwegian berry; it is almost like a blackberry but orange and a fresher tart taste. It was a Viking-like dinner!

I brought some of my own traditions to share; some makeshift pizzelles (the Italian Christmas cookies) and after dining and drinking we sat down and watched the Polar Express, a Koepke tradition. I stayed ashore that night and spent the better part of Christmas Day with them relaxing, reading and watching the local wildlife. I was gifted a silver necklace of Steigen fish that morning which they said signified I am now part of the community! I cried (on the inside!) receiving it :')

Get artsy at Christmas

This will be a Christmas I will forever remember. The hospitality I was given filled the homesick slot I would have otherwise felt being away from my family. As much as I thought Christmas would be hard away from home, it was not. My weekend was filled with so much joy and good company that I felt at home here; I am connected to these Norwegian people and I share in their lifestyle. But I am still baffled by the lack of snow.

To top off my arctic Christmas, there was a full evening of an aurora show. The most resplendent Christmas lights in the world :)

Christmas lights on Manshausen 

A storm is brewing in the north. The for-runners of the stampede of wind and hail have already arrived and I pray that my tie-down jobs will hold everything to the island.

But now all I can do is wait out the rage, this time with hot chocolate for comfort and Mark Twain for guidance and hoping the sheep will find good shelter tonight.

Two of my favorite things: my sheep and the aurora

Robinson Crusoe

"Do not fear the storm", they say. "This too shall pass." Or that is what I believe whoever "they" is would have been saying if all my senses weren't flooded by the deep roaring of the wind and the shattering of raindrops and sea waves.

All I heard was "welcome to winter on the coast" as the wood and windows moved in time with the weather; so I sat, staring into the dark abyss of the morning and sipped my coffee.

Maybe I'll need a life buoy if this wind keeps up

The eerieness of this morning was not only a result of the storm but the fact that I am now alone on Manshausen, save The Dream Team and Napoleon. Sebastian left yesterday morning and once he left, the island had an immense, yet contained, vastness weighing in the air; I was (and still am) alone out on a chunk of land surrounded by water.

Ladies and GentleRam (this is probably my most popular picture on facebook to date)

Once again, many days (and even a full moon) have passed since I dedicated time to this blog but fear not! there will be no epic of events to report in this post, just everyday life that has been continuing.

Now that my stomach has finally exhausted itself (save a couple flare-ups of pain), food has once again become the light of my life. The Norwegians have something called brown cheese (brunost or G35) which is the whey leftover from making goat cheese. There is probably brown cheese flowing through my veins as I am unashamedly addicted to it...on that thought, somebody get me an IV!...I have an idea ;)

For those that know me well, I don't do anything in the kitchen unless it is eating so you will be proud to know I've been putting many hours into making somewhat eatable dishes! One of which were Norwegian waffles. Thinner and sweeter than our traditional waffles and have the opportunity for a plethora of toppings (yes brown cheese being one of them) and a shockingly scrumptious combination of sour cream and jelly.

Norwegian Waffles

I also had a go at cooking whale (for you granola crunching do-gooders please put down your phone and stop dialing PETA, people eat whale here, it's a thing so calm down). The whale was lacking in flavor contrary to what the brain assumed it would taste like due to the royal violet color of the meet. It was almost like beef heart (or at least it smelled like what we feed our dogs 😋).

On clear nights, the aurora continues to grant us with dazzling performances. Just the other night was the most sensational show I have seen yet. There were storm clouds hugging the horizon to the south-west and there was a tease of a potentially huge display aurora activity. Being patient and optimistic, we waited under the backdrop of the night.

The Seven Sisters in the light of the full moon

The patience was rewarded with multiple rivers of green, violet and a little yellow threading themselves through the storm clouds. It is almost like watching music; the green notes striking each chord in different routines before dissolving back into the night, all as the atmosphere commands.
For this event the camera was inside and will be forever have a place in my mind's album, but unfortunately can only be portrayed through the image of words.

Sometimes it is important to step out from behind the lens of a camera or the screen of a phone and be in life because that memory will stay with you forever (disregarding the possibility of alzheimer's...sorry bad joke).

That being said, pictures are always a nice touch :) 

Look for the Big Bear!

I wouldn't say I can speak any Norwegian at all...but I have been learning a few words here and there. Maybe someday I will be able to carry on a conversation :)

I suppose I could go on forever talking about the stars (stjerne) and brown cheese and the odds and ends of the Norwegian culture that is slowly seeping into my brain, but we can talk about all those wonderful things over a beer in person someday.

I must go back to myself as company and reflect on being the only human being on an island off the coast of Norway north of the arctic circle...in December...with sheep and a ram... (getting to the point of Daenerys length titles now) because how many people can say that?

"Wool ewe share some baarown cheese with us?" -The Dream Team

Sea and Mountains Meet

I have arrived at my next and final stop on my Viking Tour and I have been welcomed with quite the busy week!

I left Tromsø on Monday December 5th with sweet but sad goodbyes. My flight took me a few degrees south from 69th parallel down to a city by the name of Bodø at the 67th.  The flight was brief, but being above the clouds in the north you can see the vast orange of the sun skirting the globe before fading into the navy sky lit by the moon...I couldn't peel my nose away from the window of the aircraft.

Flight Path

By now you would think the seasoned traveler within me would have a smooth journey to my next destination. WRONG! This is me we are talking about and nothing is every smooth or easy. It was a quick walk to the ferry terminal from the airport but of course I get lost because the Norwegians seem to have a weird thing about street signs as in they are not there, or hidden from view. 



Not only did I get lost walking to the terminal but once I finally made it onto the ferry and began the trip out to the islands they failed to announce my stop so I did not get off. I was able to get off the next stop and through language barriers and utter confusion my ride was able to pick me up by car and drive back to Nordskot before taking the boat to Manshausen Island, my current place of residency. 

Stretch to Manshausen

The population on this resort island is 10 at the moment, two humans, 7 sheep and 1 ram; it's like the happy story of Castaway. My new "boss", Børge Ousland, was here for a few days with another one of his guides and some guests, so the island has a flow of other inhabitants. 

Island in Twilight

 
This week was a busy week! The resort is still under development so there are a lot of projects to be done...like putting together Ikea shelving -_-. It was the devil of my day. It was a giant piece of shelving that did not fit in the room it was intended for so I was tasked to assemble the thing and then re-assemble in the room which was far too small and this shelf had no business being built in there. 

But that is not all! O no. Let's recap: I took my first ambulance ride because I was so sick I truly believed I was going to die and that sickness lingered for a solid 3 weeks. During those 3 weeks I banged my knees up on some ice. Almost broke my arm on another occasion. So now, to top it all off, while moving this Ikea shelf I sliced the back of my hand open on an exposed knife. It was a beautiful display of flaps of my skin with a clean cut soaked in red. 

Such is life. 

On an exciting note though, we went to pick up the ram from shore yesterday! I never thought I would see a ram in a small boat let alone ride with one. 

Stoic

Watching The Dream Team's (what I like to call the sheep on the island) reaction to their new member of the heard could have been it's own reality show. They were very unsure of him, and like most girls ran from this new monster as one entity..."what one does we all must do!!!"

After a while some of the ladies got a little ballsy and would delicately inch towards this new monster. By evening though they seemed to all be settling in and the "getting to know you game" had passed. 

"Who is this guy?"

I tagged along with the guests on their kayaking trip around the neighboring island. The area here is almost tropical. You can see down through the clear blue water made light by the white bed of the sea. And to play on the tag line for Manshausen, this is truly where sea and mountains meet. All these islands are surrounded by massive peaks springing from the water. 

I apologize for my lack of luster in the recent posts, I find I have a hard time focusing on writing when there is so much outside of my computer to experience around me. But I dedicated myself to doing this blog for all those that read so I will continue to keep it updated as promised! 

To close, here is a photo most of you have been waiting for. Ta-da! 

Hello oh beautiful remnants of Sun activity!

Farwell to Lakselvdalen

Today marks the last day in paradise valley and tomorrow the next chapter of my journey begins!

Before we jump to the heart felt reflection of my stay here let's discuss the past couple of days. We got the truck back! Yippee! and took a trip into Tromsø to run errands and see the city. Thomas took me to the Villmarkssenter which is another dog sledding touring company, one that he worked for for many years. 

Sleds and dogs

This place was the ultimate sled dog machine. Business buildings, yurts for tourists, the dog building (food, equipment, lockers etc.) and the dog yard. When you run a huge company such as the Villmarkssenter does, you must have adequate equipment to support the comings and goings of your business. 

Waiting for evening grub

I have never had the pleasure to listen to such a great chorus of dogs as I did that day. 350-ish dogs take up residency in that dog yard. 350! AND THEY HAD PUPPIES!!!! Walking into that municipality of dogs you could feel all the energy from the dogs breathing through the earth and the barking and howling shook your core akin to the feeling you get at an indoor concert. You can feel them. It was spectacular. 

Villmarkssenter Dog Yard

Then we come to The Maiden Voyage: my induction to the next level of my mushing career. There is slim pickings of snow outside, but just enough to possibly justify taking  a sled out. And we did. Before going out I was slightly nervous of the conditions and whether or not I was up to the task of driving dogs in whatever it may be. 

It was intense. Of course I crashed about 5 minutes into the run, my left arm becoming extremely intimate with the anchor that decided to make and escape from the sled, and the falling and flailing did not stop there.

Due to the lack of snow the terrain was sharply changing; small drops were dramatic cliffs, frozen rivers were still trying to decide how frozen they really were and stumps and rocks were smirking as they were hiding just beneath the cover of snow. My break got caught on a hidden stump slamming my hands and the top of the sled into my gut, my face was drug through snow that had hardened as gravel and forget being able to use the break over the winter petrified marshland; there were many moments I was completely terrified which added to the thrill of it.

And we run into the mountains

We made it home, and it was one of those events where you look back and think, "Maybe that was not such a good idea" but then shrug it off because you are alive.

My body was warming up and the adrenaline was slowly dying out of my system and my arm was remembering the tussle it had with the sled and anchor just a few hours before. My fore arm had developed a massive bump and was starting to throb where I was getting sick with pain. The thought was that I had broken it, there was very limited and painful mobility in my fingers and the swelling was getting bigger and harder.

Just what I need, a broken arm right after recovering from Satan's stomach bug. Today I am still sore, but I have faith in the fact that my arm is not broken!

Happy for healthy arms!

It is bittersweet leaving here. In my short time here I've bonded with humans and dogs alike, I don't even remember what it was like not knowing them! I feel very blessed to have come here and will cherish these friendships and my memories here forever. 

"Blessed are those that help ones in need, and blessed are those that spread kindness. But those that are most deserving of a blessing are those who have touched your heart and changed your world. Hold fast to that which is precious, to that which is love."

Goodbye lovely valley and my family here! I hope to be back again someday

Home away from home

Finnmarksløpet

Just when the world seemed to be in a tumultuous mess dreading that the snow will never come!....Snowfall, and the world rested with silent content :)

In our ambition we took the guests out on the sleds for the first time this season and it was a success! One of my favorite parts of the first snow are the dogs; the night/day before they seem to sense it and you can feel their pent up excitement with the knowledge that winter is coming and you yourself get butterflies of joy.

Time to dust off the sleds!!!!

 Unfortunately the snow fall was followed by rainfall the next day, stripping and hardening the land so we have closed until the weather has figured out what it wants to do. And the gods hear our cries as we woke to snowfall this morning and it is still coming down in large fluffy flakes.

Something else hit me yesterday...I have not seen the sun in over a week I think? If the clouds are absent, in the late morning you can see a hint of what is assumed to be sunlight grazing the peaks for just a few hours. Early darkness was hard to get used to but now no sun is even weirder!

Ishvonel and Nanuk :)

I regret to say that there are no great stories to recount for this post except for the snow and the continual sting that still lingers in my gut -_- ....In order to make this post worth your read, I will talk about the World's Northernmost Sleddog race: Finnmarksløpet.

Finnmarksløpet takes place right here in the north of Norway and is the longest sleddog race in Europe of a total distance of 1,100km (where the Iditarod distances a little over 1,600 km).  The race starts in Alta and runs to Kirkenes which kisses the Russian boarder and then back to Alta.

Race Map 

There are three classes that can be run for the race: Junior 6-dog class, 8-dog class and 14-dog class. All classes start and finish in Alta varying in route and distance. On the map about the junior route is in green, 8-dog in yellow and 14-dog in black.

There can be up to 180 entries for the race. 180 entries!!!! Imagine all the chaos of dogs and people scrambling to get ready for the big start only to rush into the solitude running across Finnmark where man and beast test their skills and mental strength.

The race starts the second Saturday in March and the leading mushing arrives back in Alta within 7 days.

Thomas (the musher I am living with) has run this race multiple times and last night I was told stories of the trials out on the trail. I  honestly do not know if I could be brave enough to run such a long distance race out in the elements hallucinating in the chill of the winter and never getting sleep.

 Thinking of every musher that has crossed that finish line or the finish line in Nome, Alaska I almost cried with content. The pride and fulfillment these mushers must feel after completing the ultimate journey with their dogs is probably a feeling like none other in the world; a special one reserved for those brave enough to test themselves and their team in the last great races on Earth.

I cannot wait for the day that I get to be waiting in Nome to watch Sofia cross that finish line. It will be a glorious day indeed :)

Cheers to you my little Wild one!

Adventures in the Valley

Today marks one month of my journey! As quickly as it has gone it also feels as if I have been on the road for many months now. I struggle with finding the energy to keep up with this blog, not that I don't want to, but I do enjoy sleep :) And I blame my exhaustion on "The Illness"!! I am quite certain that everyone is sick and tired (yes, pun intended) of hearing me complain about being sick, but this blog is about me and my travels so deal with it!

I had a few days of a raging headache that turned into a relapse of stomach pain that I am still trying to work through today. As existential as this might sound, I HOPE that there is some glorious lesson that arises from this bug.

For the few days I was back on my feet I got a healthy dose of dog time in. One day off, we took two teams out just for training, and of course not without any hiccups. My team decided they didn't want to run on the icy road and took me plunging into the ditch which was actually a hillside leading to the river. There are fantastic battle scares on my knees that help remind me of this run. Despite that, on the way home I had to remind myself where I was and what I was doing. Me. I am running dogs in the North of Norway!

Post falling into river event

"The far reaches of Northern Norway", one must think, "I bet there is a ton of snow and it's really cold!"
O be fooled wise one, we are STILL waiting on snow and continually get a pathetic powdering on the ground. Supposedly there is a lot of snow normally at this time of year, but not this year! We still are using carts, dreamily looking at the shed of sleds that maybe one day before summer will get some use!

This post is all about selfishness tonight, so I will be patting myself on the back and saying that I took my first tourist out on a cart. I feel like I have climbed the ladder of dog sledding professionalism and earned myself a gold bone.

My first tourist!

Aside from dogs it has been nice mulling around and settling back into normal life. Two days ago we went for a nice long hike back in the Lyngen Alps. Always feels good to get your blood flowing even if it means putting stress on the pain you already have, and I am one hundred percent sincere.

Looking back down into our valley

Some nights as I am laying in bed reflecting on my day and my trip I get a surge of excitement and fright. Working with this business I have met so many different people from around the world and learned a lot about different cultures and I find myself taking some of these experiences for-granted.I have to remind myself where I am! The fright comes when I daydream about home. I. Am. So. Far. Away. I can't really seem to grasp the reality of the location on the globe I am currently residing at.

The city I am residing outside of is the northern most city on the map: Tromsø

Guys...I am far away from home. I will not deny that there is a thrill of being so far away but to complete the feeling is that hint of fear.

I have been trying to force myself to take it all in, every iota of every day because that is what I am here for! To grow some roots in the country and really get to know this place. The sickness put a damper on that; when I feel crappy all I can do is fantasize about home. Be here now.

On that note, the wind it swirling around some snowflakes outside my window so MAYBE, just maybe there is snow coming our way!

Closing out with another good day at the office

Where the Sun Sets Early and the Land Feels like Fantasy

I would like to dub myself officially back on my feet *knock on wood*! The past few days I've been able to eat and move around and ACTUALLY participate in life as a human being and not a bag of bones. Still on a teeter-totter of feeling good and bad but I'm on the mend.

My Current Home

We have no snow here, which is unusual for this time of year. The other day we were blessed with what the Norwegians call Blind Ice! A thick layer of ice blanketed the roads and even meadows for a solid 2 days. One of those days I took the ATV out with a team of 6 dogs following on of the tourist groups. Never have I ever felt so out of control. The dogs were sliding, I was sliding; it was Bambi on ice. All said and don, e the fresh air and adrenaline rush helped my immune system beat down "The Illness" a few knocks.

Thanking the Ice Gods I didn't crash the ATV

The lack of snow yields a slow turnover of tourists and not everyday is filled with dogs and customer service. On a day I was still bound to the close proximity of a chair or bed I was taken out on one of the quads and shown the extensive trail system right in this valley. Years worth of a mushing playground is right out his front door! While becoming familiar with the trail system was an exciting excursion, I was all "goo goo eyed" over the land. I am aware of the fact that I keep saying this but I FEEL LIKE I AM IN A FANTASY LAND. I can't get over the green ground cover and the undeniably blue water. It would be silly to only attribute these feelings to just the fresh colors; the air feels like there is a dust of magic, whirling around keeping the ancient land young forever. There was no doubt in my soul that we were driving among little villages of faeries and trolls.

I call this one "Back to the Earth" or "Anna's sitting stump" :)

On our day off Anna and I went for a little walk while we had some sunlight to take use of. The waterfall we walked to was not completely frozen yet, just pools of blue meandering among the pale blue and white ice that took its winter hibernation earlier than the rest. If I didn't know how cold that water was I would have gladly jumped in for a swim in its purity.

Waterfall Hike

A part of me is maturing being here, not strictly in the sense that I'm traveling and getting new experiences as a person, but my wonder is maturing. As I was sitting in the echo of the waterfall and staring up at the mountains jetting from the Earth so sharply spoken, I felt as if I was living my own fairy tale. My spirit is light with the realization that there can always be a magical experience or new adventure if one changes perspective and finds the wonder that is in the world.

The sun sets early....

One thing that is REALLY messing with my head though is the short days of sunlight. With the sun setting around 2pm my body is ready to hit the hay at 5. For those that have never experienced darker days of winter I will tell you it's not something your body adjusts to overnight!
Aside from the sickness, my next hurtle to clear is to not pass out on the couch at 4pm.
God nott!

The Gap Filled

I want to apologize for the tardiness of this post and for its possible lack of coherency (I'm not sure how this will go). I mustered up a least 20 minutes worth of energy to throw some pictures online and update this shenanigan as promised!

Where we left off...Ah yes! I was walking! I ended up moving in with a group of wonderful (and life saving) women for the reminder of my stay in Ísafjörður. Through them I was able to experience the local community through a local choir practice, Icelandic tutoring and recommendations on other hikes to take.

"O Waterfall you look sooo Goood"

I took another walking excursion out to Hnífsdalur (about a 40 minute walk from Ísafjörður) where, hiking back into the farm lands, found water falls and made friends with the Three Musketeers (I swear to god every time I turned around to look at these three horses they looked like a little trio of trouble makers)....they were adorable. 

My Favorite Trio. The one in the back was the sassiest

I want to make a joke saying I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone because every time I looked around or stopped to take in the sights I kept thinking I was in Westeros  or no...Middle Earth? The landscape kept tricking me of my whereabouts in the state of the universe or parallel ones. 

The next day I took the bus out to Flateyri (a town in the neighboring fjord) and climbed to a rock garden plateau (keeping my fingers crossed for troll sightings!)

Troll Umbrella

Worth. The. Trip! This fjord was much more expansive than Ísafjörður's and from this plateau you could see multiple surrounding fjords with the clouds dipping down into them. That day I got a sense of what it is like to be so far north as I was able to watch the sun the ENTIRE DAY briefly flirt with the horizon.

Flattering Flateyri

I was invited to go along with one of the girls and some of her friends to a friends sheep farm for the weekend. Cool! I was nearing my stay in Iceland and eager to see more of it. The sheep farm was about and hour drive away and beautiful one at that. Coming up the pass that lead back down into the fjord the farm was in the sky was pink and blue and the little streams cut through the green basin down to the sea. And the huge cliffs on either side had a hint of snow and it was so beautiful I felt like Little Foot entering the Great Valley after a long battle with the sharp tooths (tree stars, look it up!).

The girls went surfing, I met part of the family and then just as we were sitting down to relax and start making dinner I passed out, and yes I mean completely lost consciousness. Now we come to the part of the story that uncovers the mystery of why I have been gone from facebook and other social platforms for so long.

The Weekend Escape Sheep Valley

To save you all the boring details, many hours of pain and puking later my dream team of amazing ladies called the ambulance to come get me. Problem was my entire abdomen hurt so bad there was no way I could be moved and I was very convinced that I was indeed going to die that night. Couple shots of morphine, excruciating bumpy and long ride back to the hospital (ya that was a good time) I was finally stably out of pain and in a comfortable bed. All the horrible things were ruled out and it was diagnosed as a bad GI infection. I spent most of the day in the hospital but was able to walk myself back to the house.

My lovely Ísafjörður family took such good care of me and then I had (I guess I didn't have to) hop on the plane to get to Reykjavik and make the jump onto my next journey to Norway!

The next wave of the sickness hit when I was headed back to Reykjavik but I had friends to help me :)

I honestly cannot tell you how I made it to Norway. I am still in shock of the fact that I made 3 plane rides and 2 drives being as sick as I am. But I am alive and recovering and finally had the energy to put some words in for the public so that is a start!

Goodbye Iceland. Stepping off the Lonely Planet.

The Cat and I are Checking Out

  

"I went Wandering..."

I will never apologize for the amount of Lord of the Rings references I use in my everyday speech. With that disclaimer, due to my limited transportation, I have put on my Hobbit feet and walked. I have explored the surrounding areas of Ísafjörður with approximately 23 miles under my belt in the past two days and the stiffness in back to hold as proof.

Your feet can take you anywhere. One step, two step, hard step, trip, and suddenly you are in a wonderland far from where you started.  I share this in repetition because I had hours to meditate on the wonders of walking while I was *cue drum roll* yes, walking. 

When I was on a cliff side surrounding the fjords, I was in awe of the place I had come to all by the vehicle of my feet. I felt freedom. I believe that many of us have strapped ourselves to the ease of mobility that the car/train/bus/plane provides us with (and I am guilty as charged). We get trapped by the idea of “distance” and lose the freedom to just go and in a domino effect, stifling our other freedoms. 

There was a rush of relief that when I realized why I had been obsessing over this notion that I could walk anywhere (humanly possible of course, I’m not The Savior and cannot walk on water); it was because I had been re-gifted this freedom that I had stashed away and forgot about. 

If I had not gone walking these past two days, I would have missed out on what I came here for: to see Iceland, to experience Iceland. On both days before I left for my daily treks, I was browsing the catalogue of my excuses not to go: “It’s too far to walk to the trail without a car”, “What if I get lost and spend valuable daylight walking back and forth” etc. Before I even bought the plane ticket committing to this entire trip I was checking out books from my Excuse Library of why I shouldn’t go. In every way, I am glad I put all of them back on the shelf.

Engidalur looking back on Ísafjörður

The bulk of the world’s population lives in misery and frustration, clinging to every excuse not to change in ways that could better our situation. I have come to the conclusion that we are the locks on our own freedom and we are also the only key. 

Icelandic Ponies

Putting aside the existential lecture (but continuing with the awesomeness of my walking adventures), all day today Mr. Johnny Cash was singing to me “I went out walking, under and atomic sky…” and the walking and the sky did not cease to please. Accompanying my sky sights I saw more ponies, some sheep, by the book lush farmland, *cough* waterfalls and a view of the surrounding fjords. Breathe it all in! Wooo!

Rainbow over Ísafjörður

For two hours last night I sat on the water and watched the Northern Lights ebb and flow with tide. The light was not intense enough for my camera to capture a notable photograph but, for those that have been asking, here is one shot to whet your appetite. Fear not! I have a feeling there are many more Northern Lights photo opportunities still in store for me!

Norther Lights

Sentence from video: Eldfjallafræðinger töldu áður fyrr að Kerið væri sprengigígur.

Skál to freedom and an impossible language to pronounce! And if you take away anything from this post take this: “Go wandering”.

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