We decided to take advantage of Marabu (the Marathon cabin in the mountains) again this weekend, as Sirdal (the nearby town) was celebrating "Sirdal Days." The biggest draw of the festival is the traditional parade of over 5000 sheep that are brought down out of the mountains to the festival ground. This takes place on Friday night, and is attended by over 8000 people. We had a prime location, as we were just at the turn where the sheep are taken back off the road and onto the trail to the festival grounds. It took about 30 minutes to get all the sheep past, and it was quite a spectacle. There were no people running in front of them daring the sheep to stampede them, though. After arriving at the festival grounds, the sheep are sheared, and many are taken away in these nice trucks with the name of an organic meat company on the side.
We took our time getting up Saturday, as we had been at the festival until around 10 pm. We then drove to Lysebotn to show Jinni the mountain scenery and the road with 27 switchbacks in a 7 kilometer stretch. We saw several people going up to hike Kjerag, but we all agreed that it was far too windy, cool and wet to enjoy a hike there ourselves. We then drove down into Lysebotn and had a picnic on the front porch of the town church (out of the wind and drizzle!)
After lunch, we took a leisurely drive and saw some wonderful waterfalls. The rain had a lot of water coming down the hills, and the heavy cloud cover added to the dramatic effect over the fjord. This area is popular for BASE jumpers (people that parachute off the top of the cliffs) because they can get over 30 seconds of free fall, but the weather even had all of them in.
We encountered another shepherd rounding up his herd along our drive, so we stopped to watch for a little while. His Border Collie was fantastic! The skill of the master and dog and the strategy involved was a sight to see. The dog even takes advantage of terrain to gather the sheep in.
We also met a horse along the way. He was standing partially in the road, so we rolled down our window to say hello. The horse enjoyed the attention, and even seemed to want to get into the car with us. He followed us for a little way, and was sad to see us leave without him!
We returned to the cabin and spent a few hours picking blueberries. We picked a total of 15 cups that made it into the freezer, as well as those that ended up in our stomachs (mostly Sidney's!) Kimber is now addicted to blueberry picking, regardless of the fact that we have no room for any more in the freezer.
After picking blueberries, we grilled chicken on the barbecue for dinner. After dinner, we roasted marshmallows over the remaining coals. We then built a fire in the fireplace and settled down for a game of Ludo, a board game we discovered at Mark and Jasmine's in Germany.
We got up and cleaned the cabin this morning before returning to Stavanger to get ready for the week ahead. Before leaving, we noticed a toadstool growing behind the cabin. I wanted a picture, since the ones with the red tops look almost cartoonish in their appearance. I did not notice the toadstool's "visitor" until I got home and downloaded the picture onto the computer. Se if you can pick him out!
Kimber is scheduled to go to London this week for an overnight trip. I have to finish up baseline assessments on the Reception class at school and start getting my room ready for the student with whom I will work.
Many may remember that when Kimber was interviewing for the position in Norway, she actually was considering a position in Gabon as well. Recent activity in Gabon has been interesting, to say the least. The president (formerly the longest serving African head of state) died a few months back, and recent elections have led to violence from the opposition parties. Port Gentil, the town we would have lived in, has seen the worst of the effects, with oppositionists even breaking into the jail and freeing all the prisoners. From what we have heard, those that are acquainted with us are okay.
That being said, National Geographic has an article in the September 2009 edition rating Norway as the "Least Likely Country to Fail". Interestingly, Canada was rated as less likely that the U.S. to fail among the countries in the Americas.
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