Fish heads drying on racks in front of Reine's most prominent peak.
[It's been a while since the last guest post - here Bailey describes our final adventure in Norway's Lofoten Islands - Nena's comments in brackets]
I've been convinced it will stop raining for 5 days now. Every opportunity I use wifi to check the weather and still come to the same conclusion that NOW, soon, the rain will stop. In spite of my unfounded optimism, the weather is relentless. Each moment of clearing skies is followed by another squall of cold rain accompanied by heavy winds. In the past few days I've heard myself express joy over even incremental improvements "well I'm really glad it's not raining up anymore", "ah, it's so nice this pair of socks isn't wet yet", "look, I think I can see where the sun is".
Yesterday we went on a ferry-serviced overnight trip on a remote fjord [Reinefjord]. Despite taking shelter in a rickety post office shed on a dock [in the abandoned town of Kirkefjord], pretty much all of our belongings are completely wet and reek of rotting cod.
After a long morning back in town of avoiding weather by eating countless pastries and caffeinated beverages, we decided to finally motivate for an adventure. Convinced the wind has died down and the rain, for real this time, may stop soon, we meander over to the kayak rental company [Reineadventure]. A long haired woolen clad dudebrah (who possibly smells more like dead cod than we do) happily greets us.
I've been convinced it will stop raining for 5 days now. Every opportunity I use wifi to check the weather and still come to the same conclusion that NOW, soon, the rain will stop. In spite of my unfounded optimism, the weather is relentless. Each moment of clearing skies is followed by another squall of cold rain accompanied by heavy winds. In the past few days I've heard myself express joy over even incremental improvements "well I'm really glad it's not raining up anymore", "ah, it's so nice this pair of socks isn't wet yet", "look, I think I can see where the sun is".
Yesterday we went on a ferry-serviced overnight trip on a remote fjord [Reinefjord]. Despite taking shelter in a rickety post office shed on a dock [in the abandoned town of Kirkefjord], pretty much all of our belongings are completely wet and reek of rotting cod.
After a long morning back in town of avoiding weather by eating countless pastries and caffeinated beverages, we decided to finally motivate for an adventure. Convinced the wind has died down and the rain, for real this time, may stop soon, we meander over to the kayak rental company [Reineadventure]. A long haired woolen clad dudebrah (who possibly smells more like dead cod than we do) happily greets us.
Nena can't smell him, which I find pretty concerning. We tell him we want to kayak for a while, "Today?" he asks. Well yes. He hesitates and exclaims he will check the weather. 6-7 m/s winds he finds, "well I guess that's okay, just be careful as you come around any mountains." We're on a remote island littered with gigantic granite cliffs ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above the fjord - watch out for those I think, okay. Already feeling unnerved, he asks if we're certified. Nena quickly replies she's a level 3 but doesn't have documentation. He turns to me waiting for my answer and I unintentionally emote. Not certified I say. Nena assures him she'll tell me what to do in any event. [yep, that worked out really well...]
Kayak rentals are advertised as 450 NOK but he offers us the boats for 4 hours at 200 NOK each. What a steal, our cheapest rental yet! (About $25). He offers us dry tops but I cavalierly decline. {dumb}. [agreed]
Our kayaking thus far has been in protected fjords on calm waters. We are now at the interface of fjord and ocean where tidal ranges are somewhere is the 10 foot range and it gets so windy it rains sideways. Well Nena is level 3 certified at something, I'll be okay. She kayaks incessantly, if she's comfortable with this then it's totally okay. I trust Nena wholly. Of course, Nena is not paddling my boat.
As we head out into the fjord, I sit rigid in my boat, fighting the feeling of each wave as it passes. The death grip I have on the paddle has made my hands numb, and I'm burping incessantly to squelch the carrot cake making its way back to the world from the depths of my nauseous stomach. The freezing rain pelting against my face isn't particularly comforting.
I'm curious how fast a person would die in this glacial water. I have visions of myself underwater, debilitated by shock from the cold, then flailing in a panic, while Nena patiently tries to explain how to re-enter my boat. I gauge the shore must be less than a quarter mile away. On a good day that might take me 10 minutes - do I have that long? "So, what exactly would I do if I flipped over?" I ask Nena, figuring it'd be easier to get instruction ahead of time. Her answer didn't exactly calm my nerves. [I thought we had practiced this once before...]
After about 45 minutes of paddling against the wind towards our destination fjord (which apparently houses Norway's tallest waterfall), Nena, reading my pale facial tension, comes to the realization that I'm probably going to capsize in a panic or poop in my boat and graciously, but firmly, suggests we turn around. I freak out momentarily when she rationalizes her decision as "this was probably a bad idea". I relent, and we turn around with the wind at our backs. The waves pushing me along are more terrifying than paddling against them. Nena kindly suggests we pause for a photo and comes and grabs my boat. I switch my death grip to her boat and take comfort in the boats wobbling in unison - knowing with great certainty that her boat won't flip. As I relax I drop my paddle and Nena calmly dunks her arm in the glacial waters to retrieve my sinking paddle. Oops. I feel like a 5 year old as I start to calm and the wind pushes us most of the way back. Pictures, okay.
[We paddled around the protected area south of the main road for a while to justify our rental. A narrow opening connects this area to the fjord at all tide levels. The tide was flowing out of the fjord, so we had to psddle quite hard to get through the opening at the beginning of the paddle.]
We make it back to the dock, and I feel wildly relieved to be standing on solid ground again. Victory beers, I exclaim! Total round trip put us at about 3 miles and an hour an a half of terror-ridden adventure. Short but exciting. Wew.
Thanks Nena for yet another day of patience and understanding. It's been fun! :)
P.S. I later karmically spill the entirety of the $10 beer I bought on myself.
Kayak rentals are advertised as 450 NOK but he offers us the boats for 4 hours at 200 NOK each. What a steal, our cheapest rental yet! (About $25). He offers us dry tops but I cavalierly decline. {dumb}. [agreed]
Our kayaking thus far has been in protected fjords on calm waters. We are now at the interface of fjord and ocean where tidal ranges are somewhere is the 10 foot range and it gets so windy it rains sideways. Well Nena is level 3 certified at something, I'll be okay. She kayaks incessantly, if she's comfortable with this then it's totally okay. I trust Nena wholly. Of course, Nena is not paddling my boat.
As we head out into the fjord, I sit rigid in my boat, fighting the feeling of each wave as it passes. The death grip I have on the paddle has made my hands numb, and I'm burping incessantly to squelch the carrot cake making its way back to the world from the depths of my nauseous stomach. The freezing rain pelting against my face isn't particularly comforting.
I'm curious how fast a person would die in this glacial water. I have visions of myself underwater, debilitated by shock from the cold, then flailing in a panic, while Nena patiently tries to explain how to re-enter my boat. I gauge the shore must be less than a quarter mile away. On a good day that might take me 10 minutes - do I have that long? "So, what exactly would I do if I flipped over?" I ask Nena, figuring it'd be easier to get instruction ahead of time. Her answer didn't exactly calm my nerves. [I thought we had practiced this once before...]
After about 45 minutes of paddling against the wind towards our destination fjord (which apparently houses Norway's tallest waterfall), Nena, reading my pale facial tension, comes to the realization that I'm probably going to capsize in a panic or poop in my boat and graciously, but firmly, suggests we turn around. I freak out momentarily when she rationalizes her decision as "this was probably a bad idea". I relent, and we turn around with the wind at our backs. The waves pushing me along are more terrifying than paddling against them. Nena kindly suggests we pause for a photo and comes and grabs my boat. I switch my death grip to her boat and take comfort in the boats wobbling in unison - knowing with great certainty that her boat won't flip. As I relax I drop my paddle and Nena calmly dunks her arm in the glacial waters to retrieve my sinking paddle. Oops. I feel like a 5 year old as I start to calm and the wind pushes us most of the way back. Pictures, okay.
[We paddled around the protected area south of the main road for a while to justify our rental. A narrow opening connects this area to the fjord at all tide levels. The tide was flowing out of the fjord, so we had to psddle quite hard to get through the opening at the beginning of the paddle.]
We make it back to the dock, and I feel wildly relieved to be standing on solid ground again. Victory beers, I exclaim! Total round trip put us at about 3 miles and an hour an a half of terror-ridden adventure. Short but exciting. Wew.
Thanks Nena for yet another day of patience and understanding. It's been fun! :)
P.S. I later karmically spill the entirety of the $10 beer I bought on myself.
Bailey's GPS track map
Photos - click to enlarge
Date: Monday, June 15th, 2015
Duration: 1.5 hours
Distance: 3 miles
Weather: Very cold, windy, and rainy!
Duration: 1.5 hours
Distance: 3 miles
Weather: Very cold, windy, and rainy!
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