The Power of a Sunset
I went for a short walk with a very nice Spaniard that I had met at the previous hostel. We took pictures of the landscape and basked in the chilly Arctic air. We went our separate ways as we both wanted to be alone for a while. Then, I came across him writing in his journal and listening to his Discman. It was then that he introduced me to his CD that he had recorded. It was quite good. Granted, I could only understand about half of his lyrics because it was in Castilian Spanish, but I liked it none the less.
I told him how much I loved the sunset there. He then jumped up and told me that I had to see something. We walked only about 10 minutes to the other side of a small hill. My mouth fell open. Tears nearly came to my eyes. I was so awed that I had to sit right where I was. There, before me, was by far the most impressive sunset that I had ever seen in my entire life. It was now about 11pm and the sky was about every shade of yellow, red, and orange imaginable. Thin clouds licked through the sharp craggy cliffs where puffins played. The ocean reflected the sky and softly danced along the rocks and into the deep fjords.
Normally, I would have jumped up and run to get my camera. However, this time, I was so happy sitting there that I didn’t want to get up in fear that I might miss out on just one serene second. I tried to sketch it into my journal, but I knew that no matter what, it would always be in my memory. One of the things that makes a sunset so memorable is the way that you feel at that moment. And, the moment that I felt this sunset, I was filled with absolute serenity. I felt everything slip away.
Robours
The next part of my trip wound up being one of my favorite parts. I went to the island of…well, I can’t really write it because I don’t have Norwegian letters on my keyboard. But, I think that it is better to not say the name anyway. If you think that it sounds like a place that you would like to go, then if you do just a little bit of research, you could get there too.
I wanted to see the puffins quite badly. Why? I am not sure. Since my trip, friends have asked me why I wanted to see puffins so badly. I really couldn’t tell you. I am really not a bird watcher at all. However, I was the same way about seeing blue penguins while I was in Australia. They are just funny little birds that you don’t often see. This unnamed island is known for its birdcliffs containing (among other birds), tons of puffins.
I found a hostel that cost me about $8 for a night. The owner even picked me up from the ferry terminal. Like most hostels in the North of Norway, this hostel was what they call a “robour” or a fishing house. In the winter when cod fishing is high, all the fishermen live in them, but they are all empty in the summer. So, the owner picked me up and we drove down a dirt road with huge fish drying racks on either side for nearly a mile. Then finally he stopped at one of the many red buildings. I had my own room and shared a kitchen with just two German girls.
Stray cats were so abundant that you couldn’t open the windows or they would jump in. I love cats and all, but these cats were actually a little bit scary. Most of them were wild. Some of them looked like they’d crept out of a Stephen King novel. A British poet stayed in the building next to me and came out to talk to me once while I played with a friendly little kitten (the only friendly and cuddly one of the whole bunch). Other than that, it was very very quiet on this island. Whether that is good or bad completely depends on what you look for in your travels. For me, it was absolutely perfect.
I signed up for the birdcliffs tour and the hostel guy took me there but first insisted that I get someone else from the hostel to go along because “it’s better to have a group of girls traveling together.” I humored him and his old fashioned ways and invited the other girls to come along.
It was a very small boat and they were only expecting one more person, but they smiled and invited everyone aboard. Most of the other passengers looked a bit like bad tourist yuppies. I wondered what on earth they were doing on this little desolate island dressed in sport coats and Dockers.
We saw a few puffins, but because my good camera wasn’t working and I was borrowing a small automatic camera, I was unable to get any good photos of them. I was not horribly disappointed though. For some reason, that didn’t seem important at that moment. Already, Norway had inspired me to enjoy the moment rather than try to catch it on film.