Interlude

Mirabel and Omar flew into Trondheim which is a charming little city half way up the coast of Norway. We had an astonishingly fabulous meal before heading out to our Airbnb which was in a remote area with nothing around us but scrubby, knobby hills on one side and water on the other. This was our midnight "sunset!"

One day we had some sun, so we went and rented a boat, which Captain Omar drove around and down into the fjord. We had the fun of pumping gas from a deserted dock – everything runs automagically with credit cards. The next day we took a very soggy hike. Just as it was getting uncomfortably wet and cold, we came across a DNT cabin and were able to eat our lunch in a dry spot. These cabins are sprinkled throughout Norway, connected by marked trails. They appear in the most out of the way places, and make it possible to do multiple day long hikes without having to carry tents or cooking gear. It is an amazing network to encourage people to get out on trail. Most are fully stocked with dry wood, the means to cook a hot meal, mattresses, and bedding. This one had notebooks dating back to 1969 where people had written entries and drawn pictures. The most current book was just a list of names. We were the 77th party this year.

It was ridiculously windy on top of the hill. We could barely stand up.

We were so happy about the hot tub out on the deck of our place, from which we could watch the waves and the sky.

It was indescribably wonderful to have those two for a weekend. A full reset for me. I put them on their flight back home, and took off again, feeling refueled and whole.