Changes in Latitudes

Sorry, it has been forever since my last post. This year has flown by! I was planning to write a blog about our vacation in Utah this summer, but I am still editing the video - and if I write a post it would be super long! So here's what I have been up to lately. Idar and I bought a house together closer to town. I really miss the view from my old apartment, but we now have an extra bedroom and live just a couple of blocks from Carey (my best friend in Bergen). After a chaotic week of moving, including car trouble, we managed to relax at a treehouse cabin with Idar's family in Telemark. The cabin has no electricity or running water, so we used candles and headlamps and had to fetch water from the river just outside the cabin. There was also a bathtub with a large pot next to it where we lit a bonfire to heat up water for a little bath. Idar and his dad worked on the fire for a few hours before we could finally test it out, and it was pretty relaxing. Although, the rest of ...

I got back on land from tokt earlier than expected and was able to change my flight to that evening to begin my vacation. Idar and Pancho met me at the airport in Svolvær with the van and I was stunned at how great it has become. The electrical was all in place and the couch/bed turned out great! We drove to Henningsvær, about 30 minutes from Svolvær, and parked the van along the side of the road for the night. (Youtube video below blog) Our little cabin on wheels. The next day we walked into the village center and had a coffee at Klatrekaffeen (The Climbing Cafe) and bought a guide book for Lofoten bouldering. We ran into Adam (my coworker) who was set for two whole weeks of climbing in Lofoten and he had some good tips for us. The bouldering spot we decided to try was not far from Henningsvær, so we packed up some campfood and made dinner on the grass next to the boulders. Bouldering outside was much more difficult than inside a bouldering gym simply because of the fear ...

Right now I am on the fishing vessel "Kings Bay" for what will likely be my last mackerel survey. From next year I will be joining the North Sea herring survey, which runs approximatley the same time. Before heading out on this tokt, Idar, Pancho and I did some more building on the van for 6 hours one afternoon before driving our van south to Uskedalen for a music festival called Festidalen. Idar's sister, Ingrid, was singing in one of the bands (Moyka). By the time we hit the road we had boxed in the wheel wells and built a box where all the electrical would be placed. The previous weekend I had managed to find some couch cushions from IKEA that will be perfect for the pull out bed we plan to build. We slept on those on the floor of the van and and it was much more comfortable than our camping pads. We didn't hit the road til 10:30PM and that meant that we would have to take detours around the tunnels because of maintainence. That meant we also missed the last...

Last weekend felt very productive for the van build. We found a guy who would install our solar panel for us next week, bought some mattresses for our fold-out couch to build the bed based on those, and finished our walls! This week I have been working on boxing in the wheel wells so that they can be insulated, and then we will have the electrical system hidden within a bench that can double as storage. Idar will get help from one of our friends with the ceiling since I go on the boat on July 3rd. Very exciting stuff! Materials we used for the walls: 50 mm Glava insulation Spray foam insulation for the ribs in the ceiling (2 cans) Condensation barrier Duct tape 25 mm screws 6 mm plywood  The biggest concern is making sure that the insulation is waterproof, so we are really hoping that this duct tape does the trick. Most van builds we have seen are able to use Reflectix, a waterproof insulation material, but that is not easy to come by in Norway without ordering it o...

Work on the van has been slow, but we don't want to feel stressed with the project either. We want it to be fun! So far we have put in a new sub-floor on top of some insulation as well as one wall. Before we put up the other walls and ceiling, we have to wait to hear back from an electrician if they can put together the wiring for the lights, solar panels and leisure battery (needs to be done by a registered electrician according the the Road Authority). Nevertheless, we took the van on its first long-distance trip on Friday to Lillehammer for our trail race! On Wednesday and Thursday, I  went to Bergen's main music festival, Bergenfest. I missed out on Friday and Saturday due to the race, but I was not disappointed. My highlights included Bon Iver, Ryan Bingham, Moyka (fun fact: Idar's sister sings back up), The Tallest Man on Earth, Novo Amor, Charlie Cunningham and Barns Courtney. We already bought tickets for next year! Idar's sister, Ingrid (to the right...

On May 18th Idar and I purchased a 2011 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter which is to become our adventure van! The following weekend we did a bit of shopping for materials and have so far completed laying out the electrical (primarily lights and the fan), installed a fan, and put in insulation. We were only able to find Glava fiberglass insulation, and it was easy to work with. However, I found a damp spot near the sliding door, so we need to patch a hole and replace the insulation before putting panels on the walls. Luckily, it rains enough in Bergen lately that we were able to find this out before it got too late in the building process! Uffda. But after a bit of research, it seems like it should still be OK as long as we find all the holes to be patched up. There are a few restrictions in Norway with regards to how a vehicle is registered, and for us to change the registration of the van from cargo to camper, we have to make sure that the kitchen area is of a certain minimum size, as wel...

The 17th of May is Norway's constitution day and Idar threw together a breakfast for our friends in Bergen. The sun was out and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves! We took the bus downtown to see the parade and then came back up to our apartment to eat homemade sour cream porridge and pavlova and have a sing-a-long. Our neighbours upstairs enjoyed it from their balcony as well. Breakfast in the sun The two super Norwegians in their bunads Idar's birthday is the 18th, so it usually goes uncelebrated because most people are tired after partying hard on the 17th. But I managed to gather a small group of people for a surprise party at the lake where we like to walk with Pancho. Idar had no idea, and I think he really enjoyed it! At first, only one of his friends was there by the time we got to the lake, so since he was already a little suspicious he thought that would be it, but then gradually more people came and that was the bigger surprise. Her...

This Easter was spent mostly climbing on rock faces outdoors. I did my first outdoor climbing session with some coworkers the Tuesday before at a place called Telavåg where Pancho could join and run around in the grass while we were busy climbing. We brought a little grill and had dinner there after a few climbs. Before we knew it, we had been there for five hours! Arna, Sara and Adam..Pancho on his way to greet Adam down from his climb. A view from the top Sunset over Telavåg. That Saturday, Idar and I drove to Telavåg to climb with his cousin, Emil. Again, we spent the entire day climbing. After a bit of errands, getting our summer vacation booked, cuddling some lambs at our friend's farm, hanging out in hammocks with friends and another climbing trip on Turøy, by Wednesday we were restless to get out of town. So Idar called his grandma and let her know we would be driving down to visit for a few days. We packed quickly Thursday morning and drove a couple of...