On to the second half of our time up at Gjelvågan/Vågaholmen! We pick up from Tuesday - sorry this is a big post
After a relaxing day of snorkeling, kayaking and running. We took the boat out to an island for camping. We didn't think of leaving til after dinner, so by the time we had gotten packed in the boat and out to the island it was already nearly midnight. There were many islands, but only a couple to choose from because the others were designated areas for bird nesting.
Marius made a fire while Rigmor, Tron and I set up camp. I ran around our island with a cup to pick cloud berries. The island was mostly a marsh, so we slept very comfortably on the moss. We cooked some hotdogs on the fire before we went to bed around 2:30am. By then, the sun was already on the way back up, so it was a little difficult to fall asleep. Nonetheless, we slept til 9 the next morning and had an easy breakfast before we took the boat back to Gjelvågan. I would have liked to camp out another couple of nights.
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| [So quiet] |
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| [Approx. 12:30am] |
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| [Fresh cloud berries] |
The next few days were also tame, spending tons of time outside til after midnight. There was some excitement on the deck of the house since we had arrived though. There was a pair of white wagtail birds that had made a nest and laid eggs under the stairs. Every ten minutes we would hear the dad chirp and then suddenly lots of chirps from the chicks in the nest. They grew up very fast! We set the GoPro under the stairs to get video of the action.
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| [Both are cod - mine is just bigger ;)] |
Thursday Marius and I took the boat out together to get some more fish so that Rigmor could make one of my favorite dinners - fiskegrateng. We used nearly two hours, but we got two more cod. Marius pulled up one first, about the same size as the one he had caught a few days before. Finally, I caught my fish. It was big! Not as big as the fish that I caught here two years ago, but still a very nice sized fish. Now Tron and Rigmor said that I should make sure to come up every summer since I have brought in big fish and the weather has been so nice.
On Friday we prepared for the family party in a hall that Rigmor had rented. Every year they hold a family reunion up here, but this year was a little bit extra since it is Rigmor and Tron's 60th birthdays. Meanwhile, the little wagtail nestlings were preparing to leave the nest! We kept a close eye and made sure the hawks weren't lingering too close. Marius and Rigmor had gone outside a couple of times to scare a pair of hawks sitting near by to get a meal. It took the whole day but all of the chicks left the nest and now it's quiet, we miss hearing the chirps now.
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| [The two remaining nestlings plotting how they should fly away] |
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| [The last baby leaving the nest - the world is so big!] |
Saturday I took my long run. I managed just over 29 kms. My goal was 30 kms but I managed to fall in the last km because I was so tired and the sun was starting to really get to me. Marathon will be hard!! It was good to be done with it though. It made all the food at the party taste even better!
I met Marius' whole family. There were 55 in total: Rigmor has 6 brothers and one sister, Grandma Reidun, 20 cousins and a handful of great grand kids. I think I remember all the names, but let's see if I can remember that for the reunion next year.
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[Hansen siblings and Mom (L-R): Ingvar, Kenneth, Tore, Sven Rune,
Beate, Reidun (mom), Torgeir, Rigmor and Kjetil] |
Today we were supposed to head back to Oslo. We caught the ferry over, but our bus left before we could get off the ferry!! So after some stress we booked new flights for tomorrow. It isn't the worst. The weather is nice and we already planned to do one last kayak trip and a run.
Wildlife highlights seen on this trip: 7 moose, 3 dolphins, 2 fox, 1 eagle, 2 owls, 1 puffin, 1 otter
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| [One last picture from the cove] |
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