Thoughts and comments before it gets started!

written on the 5th December 2007

It's 10pm, less then 48 hours for the journey to begin!!!

As usual, at work (doing some planning management at Porto’s Subway and Light Railway Tram Project Management Team, I’ll just call it EGF team ;-), EGF team mates are curious! When will you go? So your off on vacation, where to?” according to the reply I gave, I get the “ah! To Norway… to get some “bacalhau” for Christmas (all year round we eat a lot of this stockfish - codfish dried out, seems that Norwegians call it “klippfisk” - also a must in a Portuguese traditional Christmas eve dinner), or the “brrrr! to the arctic, what for? To see the Aurora?, Northern Lights? Are you sure you’re not trying to see some Norwegian girl called Aurora!”, this one from the male side ;-) from the female side was more like “ah! If you were going to see something with a tropical beach on it (preferably in an all-inclusive resort) an invitation would be most welcome! Now, that...”

I guess, that by this time most of them didn’t even imagine what I intended to do, namely, sticking on a cold (-10 to -20ºC was my believe) dark place, waiting, for hours, that some lights decided to appear in the sky above!!! And for what’s best, with good chances of not seeing anything!!! If they knew this, then more people would take me for nuts for sure, cause they didn’t knew this, they were only doubting if I wasn’t nuts :-D

About these doubtful thoughts, there is also the fact that I was going to Norway and not Siberia (this one is in the top of the list, that people build in mind, of places that you wouldn’t wanna go, much more then Alaska or Greenland, even if you are talking about places whit same latitudes). This sure add me some mental sanity! Norway is seen as one of the most worth-living-in civilized countries! If I change it from Arctic Norway to Siberia, I would pass from little nuts to completely insane! Of course, from an average Portuguese (or west European country) point of view!!! Also is different to say that you’re going to the northernmost part of Norway or to the arctic! Cause almost anyone (including me 4 months ago) knows the country is that long (not large but quite elongated) and have a reasonable arctic region!!!

By this time I think I got everything under control, although still missing final preparations and don’t know how the hell I’m going to put all the stuff I have in 2 bags… but that’s something to worry on Friday (the 7^th). Forecasts are still nasty, although the local photographer as told me that he doesn’t give much credit on them, cause they only measure the magnetic field and fail a lot, I’m not convinced (at all) that he might be right…

Today came the confirmation from NL (another friend at work, not northern lights :-), that she is going to lend me her mobile phone, she even borrowed another phone, from another friend of her, so she could lend me hers :-). She have this phone with wireless internet access, which might be helpful in case I’m on places with wireless lan (free of charge, of course)!!!

So looking at what I got borrowed, I do think I set up an EGF-Team Embassy to the arctic!!! Naming:

This mobile phone from NL; the photo equipment from FS (which also included two other lens, one of them an expensive and heavy Canon 10-22 wide-angle zoom lens that I intended to try out); and also the trekking equipment (warm cloths, portable spotlight and also a backpack) from CR - this guy liked the idea (the first one I met) of going on this quest, and almost agreed on coming, but unfortunately he already had spent his annual budget on his two weeks vacation in Scotland (where he also climbed the Ben Nevis).

:-) Still… the more friends you got, the more you can achieve :-)

Where did I heard this?... :-D