Debi and Jack sailing on SV Iroquois

The weather has become noticeably warmer, not sure if it's because we are further south or because it's later in the summer. It's also noticeably darker at night, not what you would normally call dark, but very grey as opposed to bright sun. When Neil Young sang "...every junkie is like the setting sun" he was not, but might have been describing the need for the midnight sun. It is an endorphin delight, like speed that does not wear the mind and body. The midnight sun does not prevent you from resting, it actually enhances a sleep that cleanses weariness, for only when one is weary do you sleep under the midnight sun, why else would you get in bed in broad daylight unless you were truly weary. In its absence we long for it like addicts. We could have gone further north where the midnight sun is both stronger and lasts for longer, but there the same as after an extended binge the time of its absence is also longer and deeper, like so much cosmic crack. Yesterday we took off our long underwear and fleece pants and donned t-shirts. Most Norwegian men are shirtless these days and toddlers in bikinis are frolicking in the water. Right now there is a group of kids swimming in the harbor and I've just put on my sweater. Last night was a picture perfect Norwegian summer night, after a long day in the sun and water everyone sat around or walked around and visited until well after midnight when it started to get a little dusky. A girl came by in her dinghy and offered us fish--we asked if she was selling it and she said no just giving it away--so although we had already eaten we took it for today and had fried fish fillets for a delicious breakfast. Jack commented that one of the great things about Norway is that you could kill and gut a fish on your boat in the harbor and throw the waste overboard without anyone even batting an eye. It was still beautiful and very quiet when we got up this morning and we set off through the narrow passage to Bergen. When I say narrow I really mean it. There are places where there is barely space for two sailboats to pass each other, yet the fast ferries and many motor boats big and small were zipping around us. It's really not possible to sail and a little like motoring down a river, there's a pretty strong current luckily it was with us for a good part of the day. It's very picturesque and there are some fun spots, like the dog statue on a little island in the middle. We are now in Strusshavn which is a very small and quietish harbor five nautical miles from Bergen. We're rafted to a boat from Stavanger belonging to a very nice couple we had met on the lovely island of Silda. It turns out that she worked in teacher education and has been to Madison and also coordinated some student exchange programs with UW Platteville. What a small world it really is!