Warriorbern on the Move

I seem to have ended up with a paid holiday in Cape Town, staying in the best location at the Waterfront on the Nansen docked at Quay 6. On Wednesday evening last week, the Nansen limped back to Cape Town from the trawl area at half speed. It took the entire night to get back to harbour and at 8am we were met by the harbour pilot to be guided to our berth. The berthing process was very slow as we were pushed into place rather than using the engine and side thrusters. No-one wanted to take any chances that the engine would fail and inertia would crash us into the quay. Most of the scientific crew went home and only three of us who were not local Capetonians were left onboard with the ship crew. The view on the way back into Cape Town on Thursday morning. From the bow of the ship looking towards the Waterfront.  We were back in harbour on Thursday but had to wait for an engineer to arrive from Norway to have a look at the engine problem. In the meantime other less pressing but also s...

Yesterday, just after I had finished writing the blog, I felt the ship start to move and in the excitement of an immanent departure rushed up on deck to see what was happening. We were just moving back to the harbour at the Waterfront so that the freezer repairs could be completed. The captain allowed all of us to go ashore until two thirty pm as he predicted that we would be able to depart at three pm at the earliest. Jess, Odd, Charles and I ended up at the San Marco Restaurant where Jess and I tried the San Marco signature cocktail called Scorpino while the guys stuck to coke as they had to assist with the ship’s departure. Back to the cocktails though – the best I have ever had. It was a mix of lemon sorbet, champagne, vodka, ice cream and cream (as far as I can remember) and neither of us passes over having a second one. We did a little bit of wandering around at the Waterfront before being back on the ship at the correct time. The freezer had been fixed and a pilot ordered for a...

Last year when the hake survey came to an end I vowed that somehow I would get back on the Dr Fridtjof Nansen. I had had such a good time onboard. The work was hard but fulfilling and we just had such a good time in between all the work. As 2010 progressed though there seemed little hope of getting back on the ship because of where it was operating and various other factors at work. Then just before Christmas I got a call asking me if I was willing to partake in the hake survey again. Initially I said no but really wanted to do it. I checked on how long the individual legs were and how much leave I had available and emailed the organiser back saying I could do the first leg only and he was happy with that. The view from our berth on the East Pier in the harbour at the Waterfront. I organised the flight down to Cape Town and here I am, back on the Nansen. It was really wonderful getting back on the ship and this time far more relaxing - I know most of the people and also what the work...

Today I tried skiing for the very first time. Charles' neighbours kindly loaned me some ski boots and a pair of skis and I fitted into an old ski suit that belonged to Charles' son. I was hoping for warmer weather but it was -11 degrees! In the end I didn't feel the cold because I was all wrapped up in all the gear. So here follows some photos that Charles took. Starting off This is not so bad! They say pride comes before a fall - here I am in the ditch I landed in after Charles had untangled me from the ski poles and skis and helped me up. I have a banged up knee thanks to this little detour off the track. They say you should get right back in the saddle again ... or in this case on the skis! I could get used to doing this! Looking a little disheveled but happy. It was not bad for a first attempt! Despite having a bruised knee, I really enjoyed myself skiing. Not sure that I will tackle downhill anytime soon but will definitely give...

This morning my friend Margie commented on yesterday's blog saying "Cold nose or not who cares when your eyes are viewing that kind of beauty" and this morning before going out I completely agreed. Once I was outside in -10 degrees though it was a whole different story! We put on our warm clothes and trotted down to the railway station. I was frozen before we had gotten half way there! Fortunately we could wait inside for the train and it was marginally warmer there. The train arrived and we travelled for an hour an a half through the countryside along the edge of the fjord to Trondheim. We arrived in Trondheim at about 10h30 and all seemed good until we left the train station. The cold was despicable! I wrapped my scarf around my face to try and protect my nose but it didn't help much. Before long it felt like my entire face was frozen solid. Our first stop was the Nidaros Cathedral the building standing currently dates back to the middle of the 12th century. It is...

Today we decided that we needed to get some exercise, sitting in the car was doing us no good. We went for a long walk around the small part of the fjord on which Levanger is found. The red line shows our route. For me it was a strange feeling sweating away under all my layers of clothing while my nose and chin were freezing cold. The walk took a couple of hours and was really enjoyable. Last Sunday we had driven this way but it was good to see everything slowly. Norway, however, seems to be all uphills LOL! Below are just a couple of photos that I took along the way. It was really great to get home and out of the cold and to settle down on the couch with hot chocolate and marzipan cake. Tomorrow we will have an early start to catch the train to Trondheim for a day of sight-seeing. Take care everyone!

This is going to be a short blog today. This morning we went to Steinkjer to visit a store that has all sorts of electronics items. We had a good look around and I managed to keep my money in my wallet LOL! I will have another shopping opportunity on Monday though when we go to Trondheim. We had some coffee at the shopping centre and then went looking for moose along the edge of the fjord. This section of the fjord is the most northern part and it was really pretty. The water at the edge was frozen and a little further out was slush. Unfortunately we did not see any moose about. Either we are really bad at finding them or they are all hiding out in the forests. Maybe we are looking too hard and when we stop looking, then we will see lots of them. Have a good Saturday evening everyone!