[Continued from: To the Arctic Circle, and beyond!]
After breakfast and collapsing the camp, we set out on our way 200km or so to Bodo, our intended destination.
Dr. Tomek
Since our first and only arranged employment wasn't until 5-6 days later, we decided to stop in towns/villages before Bodo in search of work. We stopped in a town for sandwiches of dark bread, gouda cheese, and sausage. Not bad. Then we made 'business cards':
Then we set out, basically knocking on the doors of villagers. It's amazing how most Norwegians speak English. Perhaps not well, but enough to communicate the basics.
We didn't get too many leads, but one farmer we found thought he'd be able to use us for a few days in order to get his barn painted. In Norway, house painting is a major duty each year, because houses get so battered by the maritime climate; every house has it's "Weather Side".
Later on we visited one of Piotr's old contacts that he worked for a few years ago. (Piotr's been doing this Norway gig for the past 3 years and has built himself a decent reputation. Well deserved as Piotr is a very good guy -- responsible, intelligent, rational, reasonable, and has a very excellent command of the English language. Perhaps better than good Micha, who I regard as the best English speaker I know (so far) on the European continent.)
Anyway, we were quite lucky this day. Piotr's contact Earling said he has a friend who needs help and we could basically start immediately - we just needed to go visit him and get the details.
So sure enough, we did. I love how we got directions: "Go down the road towards Bodo, after you cross a bridge you'll see a yellow house with turf/grass on the roof. After the roundabout, go left, then... r-right, yeah, then left, and you'll find it."
We found it, no problem. We met a guy named Rolf, and he wants to make a cobblestone driveway on his property. Perhaps we'll start on Monday (the day we visited was Thursday). So, hard work, but it's work so we're happy. We asked for 80 Crowns/hour each, as that seemed preferable to a contracted sum for the job, as we haven't any idea how to estimate the length of the job. I insisted that this is how we need to do it. Andzrej has repeatedly called me "clever" on this trip, as I don't often impose myself, but after a few times of suggesting ideas that made good sense, I'm feeling that yes, my brain has some value on this trip.
Looking Clever
So we were all feeling happy about the day's results; made it to our destination, have the prospect of at least 3 weeks' work (one job usually leads to another if you work well), and so we decided that it was time to go fishing.
The view from our fishing spot. The camera didn't come close to replicating the light that we saw.
We had 2 rods and went to an old reliable spot of Piotr's. Really cool actually - it's where 3-4 fjords meet before exiting into the sea, so every time the tide changes, this location has thousands of tiny whirlpools, as fjord water is trying to get out, and sea water is trying to get in. This means there's a lot of aquatic life moving around: plankton whirling around, fish eating plankton, seagulls eating fish, and us humans luring those poor swimming fools to an eventual fate of being gutted, stuffed with garlic, salt, and spices and grilled over a campfire.
Fishing is another luxury of our nomadic lifestyle. Free, and tastiest food option we have. Fresh pollock from the sea. We are lucky people.
I'm happy about Piotr's experience with fishing. He showed us how to kill and clean a fish. Squirmy bastards, dead or alive. The freakiest thing is to see a decapitated fish still having muscle spasms. I was clearly the pussy of the fishing experience, as I seem to hate squirmy things that bleed as you kill them.
Anyway, we then went to an old favourite camping spot of Piotr's that wasn't as idyllic as former times. We arrived to find a small hydroelectric power installation nearby, and so the once secluded, beautiful beach was gone, and the intact campsite was surrounded by excavated dirt and construction machines.
But who cared? We had the promise of work in a few days, and 6 beautiful fresh pollock to grill. Besides, there were still some beautiful spots, and the water was clear as clear can be. The morning view was great. Check it out:
It has been a wonderful trip so far, so regardless of the upcoming and backbreaking work, Norway has been wonderful!!
Andzrej and Tomek
I just remembered that I left out the story of when we crossed the Arctic circle. Basically a tourist trap, but there was this interesting point where people would make little stacks of rocks. No Inuits here, so I was confused. Anybody know why?
We didn't get too many leads, but one farmer we found thought he'd be able to use us for a few days in order to get his barn painted. In Norway, house painting is a major duty each year, because houses get so battered by the maritime climate; every house has it's "Weather Side".
Later on we visited one of Piotr's old contacts that he worked for a few years ago. (Piotr's been doing this Norway gig for the past 3 years and has built himself a decent reputation. Well deserved as Piotr is a very good guy -- responsible, intelligent, rational, reasonable, and has a very excellent command of the English language. Perhaps better than good Micha, who I regard as the best English speaker I know (so far) on the European continent.)
Anyway, we were quite lucky this day. Piotr's contact Earling said he has a friend who needs help and we could basically start immediately - we just needed to go visit him and get the details.
So sure enough, we did. I love how we got directions: "Go down the road towards Bodo, after you cross a bridge you'll see a yellow house with turf/grass on the roof. After the roundabout, go left, then... r-right, yeah, then left, and you'll find it."
We found it, no problem. We met a guy named Rolf, and he wants to make a cobblestone driveway on his property. Perhaps we'll start on Monday (the day we visited was Thursday). So, hard work, but it's work so we're happy. We asked for 80 Crowns/hour each, as that seemed preferable to a contracted sum for the job, as we haven't any idea how to estimate the length of the job. I insisted that this is how we need to do it. Andzrej has repeatedly called me "clever" on this trip, as I don't often impose myself, but after a few times of suggesting ideas that made good sense, I'm feeling that yes, my brain has some value on this trip.
Looking Clever
So we were all feeling happy about the day's results; made it to our destination, have the prospect of at least 3 weeks' work (one job usually leads to another if you work well), and so we decided that it was time to go fishing.
The view from our fishing spot. The camera didn't come close to replicating the light that we saw.
We had 2 rods and went to an old reliable spot of Piotr's. Really cool actually - it's where 3-4 fjords meet before exiting into the sea, so every time the tide changes, this location has thousands of tiny whirlpools, as fjord water is trying to get out, and sea water is trying to get in. This means there's a lot of aquatic life moving around: plankton whirling around, fish eating plankton, seagulls eating fish, and us humans luring those poor swimming fools to an eventual fate of being gutted, stuffed with garlic, salt, and spices and grilled over a campfire.
Fishing is another luxury of our nomadic lifestyle. Free, and tastiest food option we have. Fresh pollock from the sea. We are lucky people.
I'm happy about Piotr's experience with fishing. He showed us how to kill and clean a fish. Squirmy bastards, dead or alive. The freakiest thing is to see a decapitated fish still having muscle spasms. I was clearly the pussy of the fishing experience, as I seem to hate squirmy things that bleed as you kill them.
Anyway, we then went to an old favourite camping spot of Piotr's that wasn't as idyllic as former times. We arrived to find a small hydroelectric power installation nearby, and so the once secluded, beautiful beach was gone, and the intact campsite was surrounded by excavated dirt and construction machines.
But who cared? We had the promise of work in a few days, and 6 beautiful fresh pollock to grill. Besides, there were still some beautiful spots, and the water was clear as clear can be. The morning view was great. Check it out:
It has been a wonderful trip so far, so regardless of the upcoming and backbreaking work, Norway has been wonderful!!
Andzrej and Tomek
I just remembered that I left out the story of when we crossed the Arctic circle. Basically a tourist trap, but there was this interesting point where people would make little stacks of rocks. No Inuits here, so I was confused. Anybody know why?
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