Changes in Latitudes

I've been bad at updating this, but with a new puppy, work and training for my second marathon I have not had so much time with the computer.  In mid-July Marius and I brought home Pancho and we drove over to Bergen with him. A week and a half later, Mom and Dad flew to Bergen and we all drove up to Gjelvågan to the Engebrethsen's summer cabin in the north. We used 16 hours the first day in the car and 3 the next day so that we could make it up in time to go to Marius' cousin's wedding. We had a great, relaxing time up north with both sets of parents, Katrine, and other family visits. We're already excited for next summer! Here are just a few pictures from Marius' nice camera. We drove through Jotenheim National Park to get the most scenic quick route north to the summer house. Here it was in the low 40s and windy. We even saw people skiing!!! On the way back south we drove through snow flurries...it was July 31st. Exploring snow for the first...

Under the Surface of Gjelvågan from Justine Diaz on Vimeo .

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 anoth...

Marius and I took a flight at 6:30 am from Oslo to visit the Hansen side of the family for the week. We flew to Bodø via Tromsø, and then took the ferry from Bodø to Vågaholmen. 12 hours of travel later, we arrived to the summer house, Gjelvågan. It was also Rigmor's birthday! Of course the first three days were full of activity. I was so worn out, so, lucky for me, today is a "free day". Clear blue sky and temps in the upper 70s - low 80s (quite warm for here since the sun is very strong). Marius and Tron are working on a set of stairs to make it easier to get to and from the boat, Rigmor is preparing for Saturday's big party and I'm working on job applications and will snorkel. Saturday went by very fast. I don't even really remember what we did. We bought some groceries, picked up the boat from the pier and visited some family on the way. I ran 27 kms (approx. 17 miles) - fantastic long run. And afterwards I took an ice bath in the sea. We rounded...