whaling in norwegia

the life and times of your favorite scandinavian adventurers haven't been all fireworks and flag-waving as you might have imagined. at these latitudes the middle of may is the lingering end of the preseason: the leaves aren't all the way out of their buds on the trees, the guests are only showing up for rafting trips on the weekends, and the wood stove is still occasionally coaxed into service.

the author did have the special pleasure of going on an afternoon fishing jaunt with a fellow member of team jolster, maria. maria is on her way to becoming a raft guide, getting in her training runs in preparation for guide school later this summer; she grew up just around the corner of the fjord and played host and fishing-guide in her father's sloop.
maria at the helm:

photo by mw

two monsters of the sea were reeled in during the off and on drizzle of this windy afternoon. here the author practices gentle and precise hook removal from the mouth of the first installment of tomorrow's dinner:

photo by maria

heavy lifting. another couple filets for the skillet at the guide house:

photo by maria

meanwhile back on the home front, amos celebrated some time with the house all to himself...

photo by mw

more exciting adventures to come...
"ha det bra"
mefford

from the scandanavian plateau

On April 20th, I rode a borrowed scooter through the snow just after 6:30am to meet a smiling Amos Shuman, waiting with his bags at the Vassenden bus stop. Since then we've been working everyday: training on the river one day, guiding guests the next, building, cleaning, organizing: the typical pre-season mumbo jumbo.

with the help of our fellow team jolster member, ronny, we also have set up a repelling site dropping over some nice over-hanging cliffs just up the lake from where the jolster rafting outpost is located.
i managed to get amos to pose for a photo while we were up overlooking jolster lake:

photo by mw

ronny, same:

photo by mw

much appreciation is owed to the owner of the scooter, the glue that keeps the whole company together and makes sure amos and i are happy and healthy: heidi haveland.
heidi posing at the lake

photo by mw

the past two weekends amos and i have been on the water and into some nice high level jolster river rafting action. the jolster provides some great rapids for rafting; so exciting in fact that we believe the river has the potential for being entertaining for the us guides from now until the end of the season.
amos and the author bringing it home:

photo by erik k. steinset

amos loves the meat; so his guests always have a good time:

photo by erik k. steinset

the author:

photo by erik k. steinset

for now we'll be studying our norsk language and enjoying the comforts of a norwegian home in a land where even on the first of May dusk doesn't arrive 'til after 11pm:

photo by mw

many happy thoughts and well wishes from scandinavia to all you blogging friends and family out there.
mefford.

photo by mw