Changes in Latitudes

Friday we headed up to Stranda from Oslo and had some great weather. Pancho had torn his toenail on a run last Monday, so we didn't go on any extensive hikes since he decided to limp because he didn't like the bandage on his foot. The views as we got closer to Stranda were full of steep mountains. We stopped by Trollveggen (The Troll Wall) and Trollstigen for some pictures before I checked in for the race and got my kit. Trollveggen "Look at how pitiful I am with my paw wrapped in a bandage. Give me attention" A troll hiding out at Trollstigen Saturday I ran the Stranda Fjord Uphill Race in a part of Norway called "Sunnmørsalpene." The course was originally planned to be a 10 km uphill race ascending 1300 meters; however, due to unexpected bad weather (mainly high winds on the mountains), the course was rerouted to be what they thought was 13 km and still an elevation gain of 1000 meters. The race route and elevation I did n...

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...

This weekend I earned my dry suit certificate. Dry suit diving proved to be quite a challenge, and I definitely need more practice. There seemed to be so many things going on! Marius and I took the course together out in an area slightly west of Bergen city center called Laksevåg (Salmon Bay) with Nemo Classic Diving. The course consisted of: A couple hours of theory: our instructor went through the manual with us and showed us the different exposure suits. Then 2 dives. The first dive was on Saturday, and the primary purpose was to get us used to diving in the dry suit. I was given a dry suit that turned out to be one size too big! I was getting air leaking out of my neck and water seeping in towards my chest. Every time I would add air into my suit it would escape through my head and then suddenly I found myself either rapidly sinking or shooting up to the surface! Marius and the other girl in our group had a great dive, meanwhile I was bobbing from 10 m depth to the surface. Wa...

Saturday (the 28th), I took Marius for a day trip for an early birthday present. It was an 11 hour excursion which included a soak in a hot spring, some waterfalls, and a hike on a glacier. The guide had some intersting stories and we even saw the infamous volcano that erupted in 2010 (and nearly ruined our Thailand trip).  It was a pricey trip, but for me it was worth it since our guide could tell us more about the eruption and the glacier, as well as some Icelandic history. Oh and a big thing to mention - the weather was FANTASTIC! --> a geyser on the way to the hot spring --> he was excited to warm up in the river --> the glacier we walked on; looked dirty due to all of the ash