Changes in Latitudes

Day three we woke up not feeling 100%. We had been eaten alive by sandflies, were not too comfy in our tent set up (Marius' legs were sticking out of the end), and we just weren't feelin' it. But it was the last day, the last 10 kms, the last hours in Abel Tasman. We packed up, the sun was shining and it was yet another gorgeous day. [Packing up on day 3] This section of the track wove in and out from woods to beach. While walking along one of the beaches early in the day, a group of hikers called us over. We took our packs off and went to see what was up. They had found a colony of fur seals playing in the cove about 100 yards from where we sat. We watched them for about 15 minutes. The pups were playing in the water and one of the adults swam by us to check us out and make sure we weren't dangerous. Such a beautiful way to start the day. [Difficult to see, but there are fur seals by the rocks] [Momma coming to check us out] The last six kms of t...

Today I revisited the race which was my first half marathon. One of the races that started it all. I was there for two things: get a new PR on the course and become a Fjord Viking. Marius dropped me off and we took a quick look at the sports expo (not super impressive), and then I rushed outside to start warming up. We were really lucky with blue sky and warm temps...well sorta lucky. I really don't like running in the heat because I need more water. More water stops = slower finish. Marius cheered me on at the start and then had to go because he has a soccer game today too. Between the 4th and 5th kilometer, I saw Marius' car driving towards me with the sunroof open and he was holding a little American flag out of the roof of his car. I got a good kick of adrenaline then, but then I was really starting to struggle. Bigger races have more runners, which also usually means more people cheering. It's amazing how much cheering pumps you up when you're racing. So I...

M.Ytterstad We pulled into the so-called "Paris of the north" - Tromsø, on Friday night, and it was great to see land again. The views from the boat were pretty amazing. Saturday we moved everything from our boat onto another boat that would take the gear and samples back to Bergen. We were pretty efficient so I was able to walk around town as well as take a nice long hike. The weather was of course perfect for a long hike, and after a bit of research I opted for the popular trip up Fløya (671 meters above sea level). I ran from the boat and up a fair amount of trail before halting to a fast walk. It was really warm in the sun, and I was on cloud nine. After a long sleep I had a light breakfast before we had to all catch a taxi to our plane. We flew directly from Tromsø to Bergen, and I was greeted at the luggage carousel by Marius. It was a good survey, though, occasionally uneventful due to how the stations and our work shifts lined up. On Thursday I'm flyi...

April 26th was my third half-marathon. It was intended to be my marathon debut, but some injuries to my heels set me back two weeks on training, so I had to postpone. I couldn't get a refund, so I went for the half-marathon anyways. [Eve of the race] Bergen is the best in the spring. The morning started out with overcast, but the clouds quickly dispersed just before I had to be at the start line. There was a "felles oppvarming" (group warm up) 15 minutes before the race. I found a friend (Knut's sister) who was also running and we started out together. It was her first race, and when the gun went off, she too took off. I think she forgot that we had a good climb ahead of us. The loop began at historic Bryggen and continued along the side of the mountains, including at 4km climb. There were a couple of inclines along the route, so I was glad I did not do that marathon since it was the half-marathon loop twice around.  [Course map and elevati...

First:: If you are curious, see my updated previous post. Marius got a picture of the tiny clip used for the commercial.  [Gorgeous sky] That time of year has come around again, and of course we are at the cabin in Synnfjell for some mountain life. Grandma was with us this time, but Katrine (Marius' sister) is in southeast Asia for a class trip/mini vacation. I've only gone skiing twice this week because my half-marathon in Bergen is on Saturday the 26th, and I want to make sure I'm in running form. Every day Rigmor and Tron ask Grandma (87 years old and previously broken hip) if she would like to go skiing with us. I'm glad to say that she hasn't put on the skis. Marius and I drove up on Monday evening - and I did the driving! I need to get the feel back for driving a manual. I'm included on Marius' car insurance now that I am 25. Tuesday we went on the usual loop called "Seterrunden" - or "summer farm loop". A seter is a farm ...

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...

A week before Christmas I flew into Mexico City to meet Marius and his family for our nearly three week excursion through southern Mexico. We spent our first three days in Mexico City, and were led by a guide the whole trip. We began with a tour of the historical area of the city, which included the Metropolitan Cathedral, remains of ruins under the city, and the museum of archaeology for a brief history lesson of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. [Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral] [Mexico City] We had one free day to do explore on our own, but we opted for a tour of Taxco. Taxco is known for its silver mines. We expected a guide of the silver mining process, but instead were told to put on hard hats, listen to the man tap on different cups for us to guess which was the purest silver, and ended up taking a shot of tequila. Their show room was full of salesmen and more offers of tequila. When we finally got into the town of Taxo, we felt taken back by about 50 years. Most...

2014 was kicked off with a snorkel trip with Marius, his parents and his sister (Katrine), followed by a 2-dive scuba trip with Katrine the next day. The visibility was awesome and the variety of marine life that I had not yet seen in the wild was remarkable!  [One of the best pictures from the GoPro] [Marius] Marius was supposed to go diving with us, but he woke up feeling ill. Katrine and I had two dives. The first one was around 19 m depth at an area called Tortugas. In the first five minutes once we had descended, we spotted two bull sharks! There were also multiple sea turtles; I think they were hawksbill or green sea turtles. I couldn't see the difference. Green and spotted moray eels were also a highlight! The second dive was around 12 m, much more shallow, and mainly reef fish and sea turtles. Spotted a few lion fish - invasive and poisonous! After the dive I bought the video that the dive shop's videographer made, but I have uploaded my footage from my ...