Usken runde

a quick padle round the island Usken, fabulous autumn colours, but much need for gortex although the water was really quite warm and flat - luckily there was a superb refuge spot for taking lunch - the "water bus stop", much tea and sandwiches and pastries before setting off once more seeing seals and plenty eider ducks and cormorants, around kalvøy, hellesøy and lindøy too (where it is rumoured they leave you if you've misbehaved), perhaps about 20k today

paddling round the monastry

turned out to be another most incredible tour with the local kajak club round Mosterøy, past the Fjøløy Fyr (Lighthouse) (although you'll get a much better resolution from "norge i bilder" - water was so unbelievably flat, the eider pairs were back in the area with their young, aswell as many skarv/cormorants, rather an extended lunch break including a snooze in the sun and some extremely well planned "packed" lunches - the things you can pack into a sea kajak!! we saw a flock of 15 hegrer/herons fishing around the monastry, utstein kloster where we pulled in for afternoon tea, here's what the monastry may have looked like in its hay day during the time of the augustine monks around 12-1300ad, a bit more paddling and base camp was set up - a couple of 100m high local tops taken in just to top off the full body training and to watch the sun melt into the sea - a very warming bonefire was constructed from drift wood and more cooking before we caught a glimse of several shooting stars in the crystal clear sky and would you believe it the northern lights aswell - a fleeting dark distant shimmering to the north over the sea but unmistakable before colapsing into the tent - the following morning dawned equally calm and flat, quite unbelievable so an easy drift home via the memorable "oystercliff formation" and the harbour porpoise that played between the boats for a few minutes before continuing down the fjord - all that within 1/2hr of the flat and for a 300kr annual membership - bargin

yet more nordland

a chance to have another outdoor session so late in the season - had to be a slightly early dash out the office but a few routes in the fading light was a thoroughly rewarding evening - topped by a warm glow from the sunset, amazing the warmth of the rock