Changes in Latitudes

[I love this picture - Marius is a great photographer] [Over looking the valley with our guide, Raul] [Aguazul] We departed San Cristobal and drove east. We noticed that it was just getting warmer and warmer, but Tron would still wear jeans and a shirt. First stop on the 6 hour drive was Aguazul - a set of cascades that were lined with an endless row of stalls where locals were selling their crafts. We walked up and down the river probably about a mile each way. You could opt to take a wooden barge across the other side of the river, but it looked a bit dangerous without the option to use a life vest and the barge was right between two waterfalls. We watched from the sidelines instead. [Our breakfast stop] We drove to the town of Palenque, and stayed there for two nights. We got up before 6am to begin our drive to Yachilan, an awesome site of Mayan ruins on the boarder of Guatemala. Along the way we made a pitstop at a roadside cafe that was built int...

Marius and I are about 90% moved in at the apartment we are renting in an area of Oslo called Sagene. The living room is mostly finished, except for the bare walls. There's some open holes from the previous owners that I'll cover up with pictures that we have. The kitchen is much smaller than we're used to, but it's good at making us clean up right after cooking to have space to do other things. The couch is a pull out - visitor ready!  [Those boxes should be gone once we get a bookshelf and TV table] [Old pictures from the early 80's taken by Mom and Dad are on display - how Hipster of me] The bathroom just needs a shelf and towel rack, but it was messy so I didn't take a picture of it. The bedroom is also a bit of a mess with clothes that have to be sorted into summer and winter clothes...this is a dilemma for Marius since he has so many shirts.  The area is really nice. Only about 2 miles from downtown Oslo. I have yet to master the pub...

Now you can see how our Mexico trip progressed... [Start in Mexico City - finish in Playa del Carmen] After three days in Mexico City and the surrounding area, we flew to Tuxtla Gutierrez. The temperature increased about 20 degrees F. The airport was at a higher altitude, but over the course of the next week we would descend to near sea level. We were picked up by our new guide, Raul, a very pleasant man who was very knowledgeable on Mexican culture and history - and was particularly good at recommending restaurants and dishes. [Cañón del Cañón del Sumidero]  He drove us to Cañón del Cañón del Sumidero, where we were taken on a boat tour of the canon that he compared to the fjords in Norway. We experienced some slight racism when getting on the boat by a local who was unhappy that our guide had us wait for him on a bench toward the front of the line, and proceeded to tell us that "the boat should only have Mexican blood". The man then ran to the front of the l...

The Bergen City Marathon officials have just released the course map, and I'm so excited! I'm continuing my marathon prep strong and steady, but I haven't been able to put in a solid long run since I arrived to Norway since we have gone skiing both weekends. Now that Marius and I are moved into our new place in an area of Oslo called Sagene, I will use this week to run around the area and explore a bit. Saturday I should run a half-marathon as fast as I can as part of my Garmin training plan. I've recently had some issues with both of my achilles from two different ski trips, so I am taking a break from skiing so much. Yesterday I did a 21 km ski trip with Marius, his parents, and the neighbors. Today the Engebrethsens are out on a shorter ski trip while I rest my heels. All this time thinking about the marathon has me tempted to sign up for the Oslo Marathon, which will take place September 20th. My goal is to run at least 5 marathons before I'm 30. Totally...

Yesterday the World Cup of sprint skiing was in Drammen - a short 30 minute train ride from Oslo. I wore my 2006 USA Torino Winter Games shirt and had my American flag. I can imagine there was another fellow patriot at the event, but I was not able to spot them in the sea of Norwegian flags. P.S. I have posted similar stuff on Facebook, so I'm sorry if this is a repeat. Anyways...I got there while the skiers were warming up. There were many familiar faces and names from the recent Olympics in Sochi, Russia. On the US squad, I saw the one and only Kikkan Randall warming up - definitely in the zone. She has won the world cup sprint title the last two years, so she is a fairly well known name in Norway. Also on the line up was Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell. Caldwell placed 6th overall in the sprint competition in Sochi. On the men's side, we had Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton. And of course, the Norwegians were ecstatic when they saw Marit Bjørgen and Therese Johaug -- and ...

After 3 nice months back home in "quarantine", I flew from Detroit to LaGuardia and spent my birthday with Carolyn in NYC before I flew to Norway that night. While waiting for my bag to arrive at the airport, I spotted Loudon Wainwright (the folk singer/actor) chowing down on some Chinese food in the foodcourt. I was too shy to go up and ask for a picture. The next day Carolyn led us to the famous Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village and had a nice huge slice of vanilla cake, and that night I flew to Bergen from JFK. I landed on the 24th and was greeted at the airport by Marius and Knut. I just tagged along with Marius' work stuff in the southern Norwegian town called Farsund the day after before we finally got to Oslo. I've had a whole week of birthday cakes! Mint chocolate at home, vanilla in NYC, and cheesecake in Oslo. Marius and I have been living with his parents since I got back, but we now have the keys to an apartment and will probably be moved in by th...