Monday 18 August

Field Trip Day!!!

The weather remains extremely iffy: frequent showers and deceptive bouts of sunshine and fluffy clouds in-between...

Nevertheless, I known KNOW where I want to live in Sweden: HERE!!! The sea, the rock art, the forest, standing stones and ancient sites dotted around the place. This is IT! I want to have my shamanic course centre here, in the countryside, ideally next to a place like Blomsholm. I don't mind being the guardian and keeper of a ship formation and I don't mind looking out over dozens of grave mounds from every window...

We rented car this morning and made the most of seeing ancient sites in the vicinity of Grebbestad.

As we left town this morning I saw two elks in a field, wow!!

Our first port of call was Blomsholm: standing stones in a ship formation. Nearby were many grave mounds and a 'Domar Ring' - a circle of stones with a big stone in the middle.

All this TOTALLY made my day. Imagine living next door to an ancient power place like that. I did a quick meditation to talk to the Spirits of Place... asked them to lodge and plant my request to live there one day. Now wait and see!

The problem with flying family visits is that the children hop and flap all over the place. There is no peace for meditation or journeying. I could have spent a whole day at all of those sites. I could have spent a whole night sitting out. I would love to see those place at sunrise and sunset..... but you can't have everything.....

Next we stopped at Ulmekaerr labyrinth. That was like 'visiting an old friend' but last time we didn't have the boys with us, we were driving up for Anders' 40th birthday party at Siggeboda.

Soon after we made a 'bonus stop': Grevby Gravfaelt - the largest collection of grave mounds in Bohuslaen. Amazing place!! The weather held long enough for me to take some pictures with a deceptively blue sky.

Last but not least was, of course, Tanumshede and Vitlycke. I can't see enough rock art.... Always keen to see more. Took lots of photographs - some of them in the rain, with streams of water running down the grooves in the rocks. I LOVE those figures... I want them in my backyard!!! I want to take my students there!!!

Talking of which: Elliott pointed out a white van on the quay here this morning. It bore the legend: BERENDSEN - AT YOUR SERVICE! With a picture of a bear.... OK, got the message... this means: go back to healing work in September....

All in all it was a brilliant day. I may use some of the photographs for my talk at Steiner House in London in September on 'Seidr, Norse Gods and Goddesses and Ancient Sites in Sweden'.

Elliott got an email from Farmor BiBi in response to his "Ottie Blog". He is calling her back just now.

While we had the car we also fitted a trip to the System Bolaget (state licensed alcohol "pharmacy") and the, so called, Euro Cash - to do a massive food shop before we sail into Norwegian waters (and Norwegian prices!!!)

It is 9:40 pm. We just had dinner in the cockpit but right now torrential rains are coming down violently. Flashes of lightning are hatching the sky. The sea looks like a furry carpet, a shag pile. The rain is doing funny things to the bright lights of the town.

Brendan and Elliott are curled up on the sofa together with the i-pad. Quinn is hiding in his 'internet grotto' in the front cabin. We won't see him until tomorrow unless he needs to loo...Dinner was pizza and salad and white wine in the cockpit...

I can't help but think of all that rain pelting down on the HAELLRISTNINGAR (rock carvings) all around us. There is a lot of discussion about painting the images or not. When I was teaching the Seidr course in the Uppsala area earlier this year someone made the point that if you don't paint them, they fade within decades with erosion being what it is (air pollution, tourists, water erosion) and these images are just too amazing to fade from view... Yeah... Sigh....

OK Husband, let's pour another glass of wine and cuddle up. At least we are not in Wales in a leaking tent, floating down a muddy slope and getting completely waterlogged while trying to sleep..... No compost toilet here either.... No, I admit, sailing wins over camping.... By two degrees...

There is one more glass of wine to share for us, announces Husband!

KAERLEKEN GAR PA BILLIGT VIN.... (Monika Tornell)

Imelda Almqvist