I’m back in Norway. I was away for a long time and the travel home was long so it was nice to come home. I am spending my time with family and friends, eating and reading and running and sorting out some smaller tasks. I have a meeting in about a week about a possible job that I think could be very interesting, we’ll see soon enough how it goes.

I think that I will post a few more things on the blog within a couple of weeks, meanwhile I would like to thank those who have followed it.

Here is a selection of pictures from the sea journeys from Antigua to the Azores and from there on to FAlmouth England. I don’t remember the exact sequence of them being taken so I don’t think they will end up in perfect order.

Leaving Antigua. Beautiful light.

Full moon.

Bjørn cooking with me sleeping in the background.

The first few days at sea we usually had fresh food, this is beef. Afterwards we turned more and more to canned food.

Cockpit dinner. Me, the captain Geir and the third crewmember Bjørn to the left.

Bjørn with the wahoo. I got a comment that it didn’t look like full 19 kilos, but unless Geir’s weight was rigged I can testify that it was indeed that big. Amazingly firm meat in any case.

One of many very nice sunsets.

Not easy to see, but a little bit above and to the left of center is a so-called Portuguese Warship. Saw many of them, and afterwards I came to think that maybe it had been a very risky idea to go for a swim…. :/

Most washing was however not swimming but bucket showers. Although the water temperature remained above 20 degrees celcius for a long time it quickly became cold as the relative winds onboard were strong.

A rare sight. I guess we saw about 1 ship a day on average.

Moon rising.

Bjørn by the rudder at night.

Instrument in night mode. From left to right, speed through water, absolute and relative wind directions and course. 

Two whales. The picture is taken close to the Azores I believe - the whale density is high.

I think this one is from arrival at Faial.

Leaving Horta in fantastic weather.

View towards one of the southern villages at Pico.

A few of the days we had more wind, up to 30 knots at the maximum.

Visitor. Ofttimes we had dolphins of different kinds playing around the boat. One of the most beautiful sights I had on the trip, if not ever at sea, was a single dolphin moving towards the boat at long, powerful jumps with over a yellow strip of sea that reflected the descending sun.

Better weather than one can expect over the Bay of Biscay.

Another sunset.

Two days north of Cape Finisterre these two fellows came onboard and remained there for 3-4 days. They were very tame and sat on my hand. Its always nice with unexpected visitors (hitchhikers).

As the weather got worse we came to dine in the saloon.

England greeted us with fantastick weather. If you look closely you will notice the 280 meter long tanker in the backgroun, about 0.9 nautical miles from the boat. Add strong tidal currents and lots of traffick and you see why most sailors prefer other routes.

To the lighthouse! at the entrance to Falmouth.

Finally, Falmouth, a fantastick natural shelter. 

(I started to write this at sea but continued on the train from Falmouth to London). Much of this is probably uninteresting to everyone but I, it’s more of a diary entry (and more personal than usual).

Every night at sea I do my four hour shift at the lookout and rudder. There is little to do aside from watching the endless sea and sky. When there are no clouds there are phenomenal views of the stars or the moon.

Thoughts tend to drift away into trivialities during these shifts. Some recurrent thoughts are however of a rather philosophical nature, such as: What is the meaning of life? What do I aim to achieve? How should I distribute my short time? When is the right time to settle down with a family? How can I improve? Greater minds than mine have struggled to answer these questions without much success; the suggested solutions are at least not very clear nor are they definite.

I don’t think we are here for any greater purpose, reproduction aside (and is that greatness?). It’s only a question of finding the best way to pass time. Best is relative, but I think one should aspire to contribute positively to make the world marginally better. Anything counts. This is why I am picky with regard to what I want to work with. Trading currency doesn’t cut it for me. Given my education I think that involvement in (Greenfield) renewable energy projects at some stage in the set-up might be my thing.

One of my great mind-bogglers the last few years has been my solitary roaming as I’m reaching up towards the thirties while my friends settle down. I didn’t feel ready for the 9-5 life when I finished my engineering studies and decided to do something different for a few years. I’ve done that now and I think the time for finding a place to live is coming. Stronger and stronger I feel the desire to have a family of my own, while at the same time it’s tempting to push it just another year since my liberties are so great now. Enter dilemma: Preferred lifestyle today compromises preferred future lifestyle. I’ve seen people pushing it and before you know it you are forty and alone. By the way, don’t get alone and lonely mixed up, as Helge Ingstad said after having spent 4 years in the Canadian wilderness: Loneliness, my friend, only occurs where there are humans.  I read his tale about those days; the most astonishing and inspiring story of self-discipline, freedom, choice and chance. In some way I have done like him and always chosen to do what I have felt the most like.

I’ll try to make an effort to spend more time in the nature after returning home. Every single time I wake up to see the sunrise in pristine nature I greatly enjoy it, yet I seldom get my butt around to do it. Speaking of which, I started writing this at sea but now I’m on a train from Falmouth to London and the scenery is evergreen and beautiful.

 I will also try to continue to abstain from TV life when I get back. In Nicaragua, during travels and in Barcelona I didn’t even once miss to have one. Unfortunately I know that if it’s there it’s just way to easy to turn it on, while not having one is slightly bothersome since it’s nice to watch occasional football matches and movies. From time to time I’ve been asked how I find so much time to read books; the answer might be that I chose not to watch the telly three hours a day. I spend enough time in front of the screen at work and should cut down on the surfing at home before I start watching another one. It’s important to remember that while it’s very easy and comfortable to lapse into slack pants and TV coma, it’s a choice. One can chose to do behave differently.

I played a few frames of snooker in Falmouth with Bjørn. What a great sport. If there was a decent place in Oslo and I had some friends who were interested I would make it my hobby on cold winter nights. In Falmouth I also enjoyed some very good local food and the lovely British pub culture and humor. That there is no food culture in this country is absolute rubbish.  

Axana told me something a few weeks ago: That one of the things she liked about me was that I wasn’t full of prejudices. It was very nice to hear that. I try my very best and I think I have improved a lot just the last few years. It’s not easy and I think that some of my changed views owe to spending time with Jordi and Pedro, living in Bluefields and travelling extensively. But damn so hard it can be! A very recent example showing the difficulty: Upon learning that my captain was a stock broker I thought; that might be nice! After six weeks onboard and seeing that he lived up to many of the vices and typical stigmatizations for those of his occupation, its comprehensible that people lean on prejudices. Mind that herein lays the trap: Prejudices often arise because people generalize from a few of their single experiences and/or believe everything they are told.

I’m thinking that it would be very nice to have my family with Axana. She is very understanding and rarely intends to misunderstand. I think that I would give her big freedoms and that she would let me keep much of mine. Add that she is caring, a good mother and sheds drama to an extent I have not seen in any other woman I have known - and I couldn’t ask for much more. To the paragraph above: She killed a dogma herself, one I was often told while in blueEnergy: That it’s not possible to find decent women in Bluefields. I hope she can visit me soon. I miss her.

But alas! – The distance. I’m afraid that coming to me would be too difficult for her while thinking about a life in Nicaragua doesn’t fill me with a very positive feeling; I feel half there. And without having investigated I assume that anywhere else is probably impossible because of papers. Which leads me to another though that has occupied me: Where to search for work? On one side I would like to be closer to home and my grandfather etc, however continental life attracts me. Spain would be the most obvious alternative due to its proximity and at the same time southern European culture, but their dire financial state has effectively put that idea off. I’ve started to think that Brazil could be a good alternative, but it’s a bit far away. I bought a Learn Portuguese book in the Azores and realized it’s surprisingly simple. In any case it will be Oslo for now.

This is getting long, but it’s nice to sum up thoughts after 16 months abroad. The English countryside passing by lends a very good atmosphere to thinking. Just passed Plymouth.

With respect to the Norwegian terrorist case and court it suffices to say that I am very glad that I haven’t been and am not at home.

A recurrent advice I have gotten over the years is to spend more time with people I like and less with those that I don’t. The advice is very good. Luckily I have plenty of family and friends that I’m looking forward to spend my time with: Down-to-earth, interesting, open-minded and unsnobby people. Hope to get a long weekend with good friends at John’s cabin in Southern Norway this summer.

Went to pee. Few places offer worse light settings than train toilets and hairdressers.

Had a very nice night out yesterday with Bjørn, an older Swedish sailor and his one crewmember. On top of playing fantastic music and serving good ale, the people were worthy of a study. Few times I have seen a crowd with such a variety of dresses; it looked like the merger of a 80s- and a come-as-you-are party. People wore suits, leopard miniskirts, working jeans, tights, shorts, nicer dresses, training pants, flip flops, dress shoes etc. And no one seemed to care or even notice nor mind that we had one fifty and one sixty year old at our table while the average costumer was twenty-two. Wonderful!   

I’m sad to say that I would never see that in my mother country. One of the things I’m not fond of back home is the conformist thinking and social pressure that has led to the ironing out of characters. And with the characters the clothes; most people buy their clothes from a handful of accepted brands presenting their all-too-similar collections four times as year. If you dress differently you are quickly labeled radical. I’m happy to have gained friends abroad that would stand out amidst my Norwegian friends. I’ll continue the rant about what I’m not looking forward too since I started – the sooner I finish the sooner I can move to something more positive. Well, I’m not looking forward to meet spoiled, arrogant, xenophobe, condescending, money centered, snobby people with flat personalities either. And there are many. I’m also not looking forward to not seeing people in the streets aside from weekends.

But oh! the things I do look forward to! All the friendly, informed, laughing, interesting and sporty people with interests. And there are many of them as well! And the food: Salmon, raspberries, blueberries, multer, Ridderost, cod, mackerel, lefser, rips, access to Italian ice cream and Spanish ham and French cheeses etc, strawberries, lamb, herbs, my mom’s dishes, bread!, Napoleonskake, Segimenn and I could go on forever.  For several of the entries there I don’t know the English terms. What more? Seasons. Four distinct seasons. Gusty wind and horizontal rain and sun and snow and leaves changing colors. And I’m looking forward to meet friends and family and to sit in our garden and do nothing and to get a normal job and to go to Fyret with Thomas and Knut… and return there when the weather is cold and the fireplace is lit!

It stands ever clearer to me that money cannot be used as a measure to anything but, eh, amount of money. My parents have said that they always prioritized family time over extra earnings (implying more work hours) and I wholeheartedly agree with them that it’s the proper way to think. I don’t know where they have found the energy to make our home as nice as it is. If I ever deviate from their prioritization with my own kids please slap me in the face and let me know. It’s interesting to hear Pedro talk about his father who was never home and how he never wants to become like that. Myself, I’m not very ambitious. As long as I have a job that I enjoy it’s enough. CVs and network is utterly uninteresting.

My bank accounts are sad sights these days, but generally I’m not very often short on money. Avoiding drains like a car and cigarettes and spending excessive sums on clothes, the latest phone models and sporting gear that I never use, I have enough to eat well and to travel.

Another significant budget post during university years was parties and drinking. I’ve cut substantially down on that the last couple of years and don’t go out that frequent any more. Despite that my physical condition is not good. Little variation in the food in Nicaragua and lack of good places to exercise and a sport friendly climate means that I’ve lost muscles and weight and become thin. I didn’t have 8(?) kilos to loose in the first place. It’s not good and I will try to gain them back in the summer by doing sport and eating well. I want to feel full of energy again.

We’re approaching London which means closer to home. It’s a bit unreal and I’m unable to make concentrated thoughts about what I feel about the return. In any case it’s been a long travel and it will be very nice to finally arrive; stuff away my backpack, lean back in the chair until I can fall asleep in my own bed. God knows how many hours I travelled on buses, boat, planes and train the last 3 months.

I’m trying to think if there was anything else I wanted to write down about my main sentiments and thoughts as originally indicated at the top, but I think I have touched most of it. Affection for Axana, relief and anxiety and expectations with respect to getting home, intentions of spending time in the nature and with good company rather than falling apart in front of the television when I start working, look for a job doing something I like and don’t worry about money. I’m sure there are other things I could have written, but I’m starting to get unfocused and think I will call it a day.

This last day train ride has actually been one of the nicest stretches of travel I have done since I left Norway. My first stop was London and it will be my last. I think I have time for a bite before I go to the airport.

Have I changed since I left? Maybe a little bit. I’ve learned many things and some of the things I’ve seen, in Nicaragua in particular, have amplified my perspective. The difference between Monkey Point and English Harbor is so grotesque that I don’t even feel like thinking about it. Axana commented once that I had looked more sparkling on some pictures she had seen of me from Norway. I answered that it probably had more to do with the difference in time than space; the more one sees the more pensive one gets.

We arrived to Falmouth yesterday after nine days of sailing from Faial. The journey wasn’t bad, indeed we were pretty lucky with the weather. Bjorn had 30 knots of wind on one of his shifts, while we sat in t-shirts over the Bay of Biscay. England greeted us with fog and rain.

Falmouth bids us great beer and food including Cornish pastries and scallops. The atmosphere is nice here and people are friendly and have a wonderful sense of humour. I like England.

I’m flying home from London tomorrow. The train ride up is supposed to be beautiful. I’d rather spend time with family and friends back home than sailing transport legs in bad weather.

Finally going home is quite surreal.

I’m not on my own computer now, but I will upload some pictures from sea within a few days.

We arrived in Faial about a week ago after a 15 day travel from Antigua which one has to say is pretty fast for 2200 nm with a 41 foot Ovni. Here are some pictures from the last weeks. All pictures on the way over were taken with the other crewmembers’ cameras so they are not included here. 

Sunset at Antigua seen from Shirley Heights. English Harbor which is a very popular Caribbean sailing destination down to the left. 

The main salon. I slept on the left couch on the way over but have got my own cabin now!

The boat from behind. It is very well equipped, indeed the owner told me he had chosen all possible extra equipment when he bought it (except for a depth module for the chart plotter). Its a 41 ft 2011 model Ovni - a French aluminum boat.

Some of the original colmuns that remain in English harbor.

One of many nice sunsets during the crossing. We sailed for about 10 days with winds 90 degrees onto us from port with 17-18 knots of force - a few days up to 21 knots. According to the table its still regarded as a breeze, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it. The last few days we didn’t have any wind at all and we ran a couple of days with engine. Several days we had wonderful starry nights and during one late dinner a dolphin was jumping towards us with the sunset right behind. Amazing. We generally saw quite a few dolphins, a few whales, lots of Portuguese warships and we caught a 19kg wahoo.

Faial. Very green, clean and cozy. 

My dad told me there are several commercials back home trying to attract tourists and I think it could be nice to island jump for a week or two between the eight islands.

I walked across the island one day from Praia do Norte over the vulcano Cadeira down again to Horta. Not the best view from the summit (and damn cold)…

The Cadeira crater.

View towards the neighbor island Pico with Horta in the foreground.

I would say that 50% or more of the buildings in Faial look less than 10 years old, or severely reconstructed in the same period. I think it mostly owes to the EU - according to Pedro the Azores was the poorest area of the EU when Portugal entered the union.

Its a tradition for those crossing the Atlantic with a sailboat to paint their boats logo along the marina walls in Horta (the most typical port of entry). Some of my friends should recognize the logo to the upper right, hahahaha. 

The 25th of April is the Portuguese national day. The celebration was very modest and we didn’t see much more than a tiny photo exhibition. Note the flower in the soldiers gun - no shots were fired during the revolution if I’m not mistaking.

The fire station in Fail - the nicest one that I’ve ever seen.

Street of Horta.

There are several examples of beautiful architecture in Horta.

The main yacht habor of Horta were we are lying.

Bjørn makes sure S/Y Njord (boat name and in Norse mythology God of the sea,wind, sails etc) also gets a logo.

Several nights have been passed in Peters Bar, the classic meeting place for sailors has been upon for 80(?) something years.

Better than most light commercials - there is a scrimshaw museum here that I haven’t been to yet.

The skepticism to the austerity packages that one reads about in the newspapers from time to time reflected in parts of the public opinion.

This is gonna be an unstructured post. Came to Antigua about a week ago and met up with the skipper and the other crewmember. We haven’t been very efficient, the main activities have been: Celebrate the captain’s 40th birthday, stock up for the crossing, do some maintenance on the boat, swim, go to a couple of concerts (reggea and steel pan) and I think that’s about it. We are lying in English Harbor in Antigua, a “must see” for many Caribbean sailors. There are plenty of nice boats here in general and especially these days since a classic regatta and Antigua Sailing Week will soon kick off. Its also evident that you can’t buy style as seen from some of the tasteless motor yachts (and big sailboats). There are many boats of 100+ feet here. A nice contrast to that is an 80(!) year old Norwegian we bumped into yesterday. He had crossed the Atlantic in his poorly equipped 28 foot boat to see the positions that his father had been when he was hit by torpedos twice during WW2 (and survived). He reckoned it would take him about a month to reach the Azores, whereas we will hopefully leave tomorrow and spend up to three weeks depending on the wind. The sea surrounding Antigua has the most beatiful shades of blue, turqoise and green colors I have ever seen, but the island itself is semi dry. There are also way to many tourists, especially Americans from cruiseships, and it will be very nice to hit the ocean. I’m also looking forward to get home and this leg will take me a further part of the way. We have decided not to stop by Bermuda by the way, yet we might go a bit north at first to increase the chance of catching good winds. I will update again when I get to the Azores, that is to say after I’ve arrived, went out to eat and drink and taken a shower. If we get the new batteries tonight, which is supposed to happen - but you never know - we will leave tomorrow morning. I’m very excited to have lots of time to read, sail, think, watch the stars and do nothing.

Had a great time in Trinidad. Of all the countries I’ve been to I think Trinidad has the friendliest people. Arrived on Saturday and went out the first night to Aripitia (?) Avenue to lime. The dancing was amazing - some of the absolutely best grinding I have ever seen. Especially one 250 pound girl who went down on all four and slung her leg over a rail was brilliant. The locals however said that the wining and grinding was generally better on Tobago and furthermore not even remotely close to during carnival. I was also told about the concept of courtesy grinding; a few minutes dance the girls might give to boys they are not really interested in, but dance a little bit with just to be nice. Shark ‘n bake nightfood. Wow.

Sunday we went to Maracas Bay which is a typical weekend destination for Trinis. Nice beach with DJs and lots of people coming to lime. I think one of the main reasons why I like Trinidad is the same as why I liked going to 4 brothers. I like being among black people. It is something about their relaxed way of being that makes their surroundings very comfortable. They aren’t there to show off or, but to have a good time with their friends and care about their own business. But if you want to talk they are very friendly. on they way back we hitched a ride with a very nice couple that also stopped to introduce us to so-called Doubles.

Later at night after dinner at Sweet Lime we went to Veni Mange, a cozy restaurant with nice Haitian art on the walls. We started to talk with the two owners and a couple of other bar guests and ended up having an amazing time with really good conversations until 2 o’clock when one of the guests drove us home. Up until 2007 (?) there was nothing in the Trinidadian legislation prohibiting driving and drinking, and although a 0.8 percent limit has been introduced people don’t seem to care. Aside from the friendliness there is one more thing I remember from that night: At some point one of the participants said the most outrageous thing I have ever heard. It was no more than 8 words, yet so illegal, so disgusting and so immoral at the same time that it was unparalleled. There is no need to reproduce it in order too remember since its tattooed to my brain.

Monday we went to Pitch Lake, one of only three natural asphalt deposits in the world. A very strange phenomenon, I have definitely not seen anything like that before. Our guide presented some interesting “facts”, saying that it was one of the 8 wonders of the world and that all roads of the world are paved with road from this lake since…

Hoodbrook square(?).

Port of Spain neighborhood.

Tuesday we went downtown and bought some music, walked up to Fort George which overlooks the city and later to Movie Towne to watch Porject X (amusing) and Wednesday Pedro left. Wrt MovieTowne the American Mall (and car) culture is everpresent. 

Not easy to see but there is a scarlett ibis in there somewhere. For the first time in my life I went on a birdwatching tour. Nothing special, but ok. I was fascinated by the scarlett ibis which is one of Trinidad’s three national birds. I think I have never seen an animal with a brighter color.

Thursday I travelled to Toco on the Northeast corner of the island and left for Antigua on Friday. 

I’m in the airport in Port of Spain waiting for Pedro to arrive from Tobago. A few observations from my few days in Venezuela.

First of all I got angry this morning, and that doesn’t happen very often. When checking in I was forced to pay a 50% increase in the aiport tax that supposedly wasn’t included in what I’d paid earlier. Might not sound unreasonable to pay an airport tax nor implausible that there had been an increase, but what pissed me off was that:

1. 1. I already paid 62 USD in International Aiport Exit Tax, 52 USD in Departure Tax, 2 USD in Service Improvement Fee (I can see why that’s needed) and 8 USD in Luxury Tax when I bought my ticket.
2. 2. I asked the service center at the airport yesterday if I had to pay anything at all when leaving, and they gave me a firm No. (My flight was early so I slept at a hotel near the airport and my bus out here yesterday dropped me off at the airport so I thought I’d might ask since I heard the taxes were high.)
3. 3. Since I was told I didn’t have to pay anything I spent all my bolivares yesterday, which meant I had to pay this increase in the airport tax in USD. Does it matter what currency it is in? Yes, it does, cause Chavez has decided to fix the rate of exchange with USD to 4.3. The market doesn’t agree with that, offering you 8.5 bolivares for a dollar. That means that if you bring foreign currency in and change it in the black market, everything is half the price compared to taking cash from a cash machine in Venezuela. Needless to say this economic policy is r.e.t.a.r.d.e.d. and doesn’t work as intended (whatever the intention might be - to control the global currency market?).

Fucking swindlers.

Well, my mood imediately turned to the better when I entered my plane. A nice Trini stewardess welcomed me and they were playing relatively loud disco music onboard! Where else would you here that on a plane?! I’m super excited to be back here and have been smiling all morning, from when I saw they name the baggage belts “carousels” and when I ordered a bite at Pizza Boys! Good memories. People are generally very friendly and smiley and relaxed here, and I’m sure there will be some good limin’ tonight.

Just a few more points on Venezuela. My first impression wasn’t great: We hadn’t driven more than 5 meters on Venezuelan soil before we were stopped by the military who we bried in order to avoid them checking the baggage of all the passangers. We paid them off on a second control post later, while we had our luggage revised a further 2 times on other checkpoints. The military uniforms wear their slogan “El honor es su device”.

Gasoline is ridiculously cheap. For 1 USD one can buy about 100 liters of gasoline. Just to clarify, that is not a joke. A couple of things like this made me think that Ortega seems like a political wonderboy.

It’s not as dangerous as people think. Walking around in the neighbourhoods and alone at night is one thing, but you won’t get stabbed in the back in the middle of the day in the center as some people seem to believe. Walking around during the day doesn’t feel bad at all. The crime rate is however very high, supposedly some 7.000 people were killed in Caracas last year. Given that Chavez has been in command for 14 years he has to take the responsability for that.

Something positive I noted is that at least there is liberty of speech. I bought one of the bigger newspaper and it was full of critique of all parties.

What else. Um, there were extreme amounts of trash floating around, I haven’t seen it that bad before in Latin America, and Nicaragua is already pretty bad… Also, people generally didn’t seem super friendly or interested in conversation. That might be because I spent all my time in the capital, and met relatively few people given my short stay.

Well, whatever. Done with that and Pedro should be here soon so I’m off!