Globitrotter

A few years ago I did something as exotic as horse back riding in Greenland. We flew in to Narssarssuaq in the southern part of the country and took the ferry to the otherside of the bay where horses and a local guide was waiting for us. The second night, after our first day on horse back, we stayed in a house at the end of the bay with this lovely view from the bedroom. This area is stunningly beautiful and well worth a visit.

Everyone I have spoken to since I got home from my 3 months holiday have asked me if it is good to be back. I hate this question because I feel like saying: NO! But I can’t because I realize myself that this is the best time of the year to be in Sweden, it is summer, it is warm, the days are long. It is really amazing when the sun sets at 10 pm, you are still sitting outside, you don’t even have to put on a sweater and there are no mozzies. I am not saying I do not enjoy it. It is lovely to have picknicks by the water with friends at sunset, going for a boat cruise in the archipelago, not having to wear socks and all that.

Despite all this I have what could be called “post travel depression” and I might be the only one that this ever happens to. It is just when I have come back that I want to leave again the most. It usually takes me a while to get used to being at home. I have been back about a month now and I am still waiting for it. I can not remember ever being homesick. But every time I am back from travels I miss it dreadfully, more than I miss home during the trip. I think it is because I know that the travels are time limited and that I will always go back at some point. I also know that if I want to I can just go home at any time. Home is always there. That is kind of the point of it.

Travelling is about total freedom, doing whatever you want whenever you want to. Going from one place to another, discover new things, all the time new experiences. Making new friends is a big part of the fun. I feel like I am leaving a new family behind, people that I would like to get to know better. Maybe I will meet some of them again, maybe not. The maybe not makes me sad. Wouldn’t it be weird if I did not miss being out there?

How can I not miss a city skyline at night,

driving on the wrong (yes, it is!) side of the road,

climbing the highest mountain in the country,

hiking hung over in tropical heat, after drinking ridiculous amounts of Bundaberg Rum with new found Aussie friends,

hanging on 5-ish meters watching the life under water (photo: Andy Durrer),

sailing amongst sand fringed islands,

watching the sun rise on a mountain top.

How can I not miss it?

Thredbo in New South Wales, Australia, looks very much like a ski resort in the European Alps. It is situated at the foot of Mount Kosciuszko, the highest peak in Australia with its 2228 meters.
It was late autumn when I was there and it was getting quite chilly. On 2000 meters the wind was very cold and you had to find a sheltered spot if you wanted to stay for a snack. But of course it was worth it because the view were outstanding.

I stayed at the YHA in Thredbo, which was one of my favorite hostels in Australia. It was a hostel where you wanted to hang around the kitchen and the common area. It was actually cozy! The personnel was also lovely and very helpful when I was planning my hikes.

Because of the season the hostel was more or less empty and I got a 4 bed room all to myself. Nice! It was also the favorite room of the receptionists’ daughter, a 7 or so year old who also showed me the way. I can see why she liked it and so can you in the picture.

Nai’a means dolphin in Hawaiian and that was the name of the dive boat I spent 7 days on in Fiji. This was the most luxurious liveaboard I have been on (they even offered turn down service). I had my own cabin which was about the same size as the one I share with 3 other girls on the boat in Australia. The crew was great, all were very nice people and they were singing and playing for us in the evenings. Of course they also arranged a kava party which is absolutely necessary when in Fiji. Kava is the local alternative to alcohol which they seem to consume enormous amounts of although no one actually likes it. And it does taste awful.

Kava party.

The boat was very spacious and we were only 13 divers onboard. We were divided into two groups and dove from two skiffs which went to different dive sites. This was very nice compared to the Spirit of Freedom in Australia when 25 divers were dumped in the water at the same spot.

The diving was very similar to diving on the Great Barrier Reef with three exceptions; the colors were more vibrant in Fiji, there were lots of soft corals and the fish were generally smaller (everything in Australia seemed to be on steroids). What I enjoyed the most were the colors, I have never seen anything like it. By the end of the dives I often backed off from the reef a little to just watch the colors and the enormous amounts of small fish on the shallower parts of the reefs.

Lovely soft coral. Photo: Marcus Carlberg.

Kansas. Photo: Marcus Carlberg

We dove in general four times a day (three day dives and one dusk dive) and were fed with the most amazing food in between dives. I easily got used to the second brekkie, what a great thing…

Me! Photo: Marcus Carlberg.

Once again I had great luck with my buddy, Marcus, an instructor with a lot of diving experience and a camera. 🙂 He was travelling with friends, Hana and Harry, and we had lots of fun during the entire week. Thanks, buddies! All underwater photos posted here are taken by Marcus.

Harry, Hana, me and Marcus

I can really recommend diving on the Nai’a in Fiji. It was definately one of the best diving trips I have made.

Pygme seahorse. This one was ridiculously small, it is much easier to see what it is in the picture than in real life. Photo: Marcus Carlberg.

Photo: Marcus Carlberg.

There were lots of clown fish around. Photo: Marcus Carlberg.

Cool nudibranch. Photo: Marcus Carlberg.

During my absence they decided to redecorate my subway station, Thorildsplan, in Stockholm. Before, the walls used to feature quotations from the exiled Swedish 18th century poet, Thorild, who named the place. A lot of streets and places in this area are named after Swedish poets like Lidner, Runius, Fröding, Stagnelius, Almqvist and many more.

Now, it has become an arcade game from the 1980’s… I can not say I do not like it, it is a little cute. The architecture of the station with its stairs and different levels is very suitable for it. It is definately a big change in theme from before.