Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Norway Post 25

Day 22

The sun shone all all day. In the morning I had a robust tailwind as I paddle between densely packed islands and the mainland.

I stopped for a brief break and noticed an otter floating at the surface just behind me. He was either asleep, meditating, or silently stalking fish from above. It was the closest I've ever gotten to one, apparently completely unaware of my presence.

I took out my camera, which made a beep when I turned it on. The otter's head shot out of the water and looked directly at me. We stared at each other for a moment. My camera made another digital sound when I hit the zoom and with a splunk the otter dived into the opaque water.  I took another moment to set my camera on silent.

I cut straight across a bay between an archipelago and the mainland and then headed north in only slightly more exposed water. Under a large light house I found a kind of seaweed that I had been told was edible and been meaning to try.

At first the large flat leaf was crunchy and tasted similar to the other sea weed I had been snacking on. As the leaf dissolved in my mouth something happened. My mouth was full of ooze. It didn't taste bad, it just felt salty and oozy. I decided to end the experiment and spit it out.

In the afternoon I paddled under clear skies over calm waters. The mountains above me stood proud in perfect kayaking weather.

I ended my happy day after eight hours of paddling just north of Uran.



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