I've Neglected My Duties

Good day everyone! I know, I know, it’s been a few days since I’ve written. No excuse. I guess that shipboard life has made me lazy. Too much wine with dinner each night and that continual low level sea sickness have made for little incentive to write. Mostly I’ve been staring out the window with music from my iPod in my ears and an unread book in my hand.

My mom and I have been desperate for two things the last few days. First, to get off the boat and onto some solid land. So despite heavy rain, we get off and power walk through whatever little village we stop at, waiting until the last moment we get on board. I have to feel sorry, I think, for these small towns we stop at. Here this big boat comes up, and hundreds of like minded slightly seasick land kissing foreigners disgorge themselves from the ship en mass. No one really knows where to go and the first ones off the boat are unwittingly the leaders for the rest. Talk about a herd of sheep. We walk all over the road and sidewalks and from the townspeople perspective trying to drive down their own streets, it must seem like some shepherd has lost control of his flock.

Second, my mom and I want some “real” food. I don’t believe a word of the what the tour guide the other day said: “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” I’ve had enough good, no great, food! The trays of fishes and meats, salads, breads and cheeses (I’ve had so much of my beloved brie that I don’t think I’ll be doing wine, banquette and brie with Sara for a long time – sorry Sara!), and the immense array of such decadent desserts – oh, my stomach churns to think of it all. I want a hamburger! I want fries. I want a tofu burrito, please! My mom and I even skipped lunch today and will secretly rendezvous in the café to get burgers and fries when we are sure our waiters can’t see us. The only thing…I’ve seen them put canned corn on these burgers…WTF?!

At the End of the (old) World

As I stood for my obligatory picture at the northern most tip of Europe (so called the end of the world, but that’s just foolish on a globe shaped planet) I realized that about 15 years ago I stood on the southern most tip of Africa meaning I have now been tip to tip in the Old World. I’ve decided, just to be fair about it, I’ll have to do the same thing in the New World. So, I’ll be planning my next trip for Argentina and Patagonia, and then move on up to Alaska or Canada, whoever lays claim to the northern most point of North America. Just to be fair of course.

On our little excursion to the North Cape (as the English translation of the northernmost point is called – so original don’t you think?), I did see my first reindeer. First, at a Sami camp. This Sami camp brought out all my ugly, I hate being a tourist sentiments because it was a Sami family living along the tourist route who dress up and stand there with their token reindeer for some loose change the tourists will give while snapping photos. Truly, it turned my stomach. That didn’t stop me from taking some photos and throwing a few coins (here with the tanked dollar, a few coins meant $20) in the basket. My only excuse is that I’m my mom’s photographer for the trip. But still…

However, it was fun that as we drove along we saw one of the last herds of reindeer left on the coast along the highway. The look like white and brown small and fat deer. These were the last not because they are a disappearing (quite the contrary, there are too many of them), but because all the reindeer in northern Norway are privately owned herds of the Sami. Last week they started herding them up into the mountains for the winter. This herd was a little behind. It is interesting that they take the animals into the cold, snowy mountains for the winter and come down to the barren coast in the summer and not the other way around. Reindeer actually eat almost nothing all winter long, kind of like herring. Reindeer are so plentiful now that there is a moratorium on anyone owning a new herd. Herds now have to be inherited by a single child, usually the eldest son. And the fine for hitting a reindeer with your vehicle, Kr 10,000 – that’s $2,000! Can you imagine that fine if you hit a cow or sheep? Wait, my agricultural co-workers, don’t even think about it. By the way, it’s all open range here and I saw another small herd of reindeer mulling about in a small city park eating the grass! Can you imagine a herd of cows grazing in Alton Baker Park with a $2000 fine if you hit one of them?!

Remnants of the Vikings

Trondones Church in Harstad:

750 Years Old
200 Tourists
8 1/2 minute service
3 languages
1 god

With the alter squarely set over the old Viking sacrificial stone.

The Anti-Erosion Problem

This post is mostly for my agricultural friends. They have an anti-erosion problem here that we would just envy back in Oregon. They are gaining land. Nice, nutrient rich farmland. Turns out that the weight of the ice in the last ice age that ended 10,000 years ago pushed the land into the ocean. The land is still springing back up at a rate that is now about 6mm/year. But over 62 meters have been exposed up to now (that’s about 200 feet) of prime nutrient rich sea bottom. And it’s still coming. You can actually see the old sea level because all the houses are built along the original coast line since the prime farmland is below. In the area we went through yesterday they claim the worlds sweetest strawberries. The days are long and cool in the summer allowing for greater sugar conversion before they go bad. Too bad for me it was too late in the year to try any. :-(

Painting the Town Blue

Sortland, a medium sized town along the ferry route is engaged in a city wide art project…to literally paint all their buildings blue. They are off to a good start, but, oh, the color blue! I would like to come back here in a decade and see how their community art project is going. It will look pretty strange in this bleak environment.