Norway Post 21

Day 18

I set out on foot to find a wifi connection so that I could at least check the weather. The only shop in town was for fishermen. I asked if I could use their wifi connection.

"We only have by phone here," the shop owner told me.

"Okay, have you seen the forecast?"

"Yah, it might be sunny in the afternoon."

"What about the wind?" I asked. "I'm kayaking."

"No wind, it's summer." he assured me.

"Yesterday it was really windy." Why was I arguing?

"Yah." He said.

On the water there was no wind. The sea was calm. I had to cross Trondheimsleden. I could do it at the narrowest point where it turned into Trondheimfjorden and headed inland. There might be a current there, but I would spend the least amount of time in the shipping channel that way. Or I could start crossing much earlier at an angle. I'd spend much more time in the shipping channel, but I'd be farther away from the current danger zone and my overall route would be shorter.

The sea was calm so I began my crossing early. As I got closer to my target island Garten at the northern edge of the fjord just off the mouth of Trondheimfjorden the wind and current picked up and my pace slowed to a crawl. I passed a channel marker one inch at a time, and watched as the water poured around it.

I had to poop.

At the southern end of Garten, where the current was at least two and a half knots against me without the wind, I found a well sheltered bay. Though it was an hour early and about six miles before my target for the day, I pulled onto shore, changed into land clothing, and found a quiet corner of the sea for my business.

The small island was mostly populated by summer homes with a few farms and other permanent residents.

I asked a woman if she knew where I could find a market she said "Brekstad, it's 15 kilometers from here [you should go and never come back.]"

I walked around the island looking for a wifi connection. At the end of a small sideroad near the sea two kayaks sat on the grass. I went closer to examine them. Maybe they belonged to fellow northbound expeditioners!

They didn't. When I came to that conclusion the same woman who implied I should leave the island earlier stepped out of her house. "Here you are."

I went back to my boat and asked for water from the family living above the harbor. They gave me water. They let me use their laundry machine, and their shower, and their wifi, and their spare bedroom, and their dog. They brought me with them to their dinner party, and were basically the best people in the world with one of the best dogs in the world.

That bed was so soft.