We had a birthday party today. Very small but relatively large for those in the know. Recently I have found myself in the right place just when something important happened. This woman (86 today) and her two girls, I would say about in their 50s, settled in for breakfast. I had built a bit of a relationship with them the day before and thus had got through the small talk. They had come to attend Norwegian National Day on May 17, an important festival that we were trying to avoid.

I was looking to buy a cake but had just finished a book by an author she knew and loved, and there was coincidentally, a chapter on the day of celebration May 17. She loved the author and her previous works so she’s starting her book tonight.

They were German and always wanted to come to Norway, especially Trondheim, this special place which is part of the pilgrims history. A special part of this show is Mary who had just begun her job as manager. She was delightful and went out of her way to provide us with information and laughter.
We were leaving today so I took the opportunity to introduced her to a fellow philosopher, our other German  friend. We saw all our new friends before we left and I won’t forget them in a hurry.

Well, we did leave and we’re on a small plane as we speak, so smooth and quiet. We’re flying to Bodo, close to the famous Lofoten islands.

“We are landing in around 16 minutes at about 1600 hours in calm weather. It is 16 degrees and it just happened to be May 16. Sorry, just one of my addictions which also happened on my recent birthday on 24 – 04 – 2024.

We soon landed in Bodo but the sky didn’t explode into an array of colours I hadn’t seen before, and the sun refused to stay above the horizon. So we went for a walk, another long walk out of town and around some beautifully planned and designed mountains and rock slides (you know the architect).

Our plans were not going as well because the ferry idea was sinking slowly, times weren’t working for us; in dry dock everyone was new and all at sea; and it was late and I wanted to witness a day, that stayed all night, so I planned to sleep, when everyone else was awake.

But I couldn’t get to sleep so we planned to have a day off, and sauntered outside to breakfast, talked to ‘national dayers’, and then headed out of town on a bus to a national park.

We headed up into the bush, quite steep and slippery. Too steep in parts which had me crawling. I came upon an educational idea for those with pd who like a walking challenge. I make it look easier than it is so I made a video showing and telling them to take it slowly. Balance is the main issue so don’t worry if you have to crawl.
They were glorious views out to the ocean and lots of variation inland. On one of our climbs after wishing half the nation happy national day, we came across this young  girl with her dad. She was picking a small leafy plant which she found was eatable, to go with lunch. She had a serious type of cancer at a young age, and with her strength battled through and won (this was only part of an incredible story of determination).

Her father had a story also which was about excellent and rare photos he takes which I was lucky to receive from him soon after that day. I will treasure them.

We eventually left father and daughter, and dog, (a gorgeous Australian Shepherd), and walked in the direction of a large Viking grave on the coast, close to some uninhabited islands. It was eerie because I could smell dying flesh. It was that of a more recent death of a large ‘pilot whale’ about 6 metres in length (fully grown).

Day Off
We had a good day with still over 20kms so not bad for a day off. Then it was time to catch a bus (we had an appointment we had to make and still needed some rest). After waiting awhile, I became restless, so I lifted my trouser leg a little, smiled (difficult for some Pd people) and put out my hitching finger. In 5 minutes a lovely young man dressed up in his suit for National Norway Day thought he would fill in time by picking us up while waiting for his mum to make dinner. But first he had to swing his car around, illegally I think, but safely. He was a delight.

Our info. office was now the general public who made our day very special.
They were two young men, three young women, and an older woman, all generous with their time, patient and it seemed, part of the local community. I had asked them for directions along the way.

Queries:
The midnight sun
I stayed awake for the last two nights to witness daylight all night. I fell asleep at times but awoke several times – each time it was daylight. I’m still unclear if this is called the midnight sun because I did not once see the actual sun after the initial sunset. I contacted my friend who supplied me with some magical photos of the midnight sun and the aurora borealis and he replied with this simple and succinct answer to those that were confused re the midnight sun, like me.

Here goes: “The Midnight Sun is a phenomenon that occurs all or part of the summer between the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox between the arctic circle and the poles. Midnight Sun means that the sun, at its lowest position during a single day does not go completely below the horizon and thus, provided the cloud cover is not too extensive, is visible 24 hours per day and here in Bodo lasts from June 9 until July 10 (but longer the further north you go).

The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are a spectacular display of light commonly seen in the night sky in the northern hemisphere. The Southern Lights or Aurora Australis are seen in the southern hemisphere. Both lights occur following massive explosions on the sun.

Weather:
It is less than two weeks until Summer but the Spring cold gets colder still. From 10 degrees three days ago, it is now 7 degrees and has remained that temp, for 24 hours. My painful fingers indicate it’s a bitter 7 degrees. Our first rainy day but easy to walk in, however rain clothes needed.

It is time to go so we are turning around and heading for more walks in Bergen, travelling close to mountain peaks in our small plane.