It’s finally happening. We’re flying to Svalbard in a few hours.
I am beyond excited for this trip, which has been in my sights for years. Even more importantly, for the first time, I won’t be doing something this “stupid” on my own: as a matter of fact, my girlfriend Laura is coming with me to this far-away island.
It took a bit of convincing, and a lot of trust on her side, but eventually we decided to go a few weeks ago. Despite Lufthansa’s best efforts to cancel our flights, we are all set. The suitcases are closed, the equipment is ready, the “polar summer” activities all booked and paid for. We just need to get there.
As always, the day before departure is always stressful. At lunch time, I slipped and fell back-first on a marble staircase, almost losing consciousness. Crucially, I did not hit my head. Somehow I kept it together with Laura’s help, which possibly happened out of sheer anger at what an idiot I was. What an omen!
Everything seems OK for now, besides a somewhat acute back pain where I hit the floor. It’s not like I have to carry something heavy in a few hours or anything…
There is zero chance that I would let something like this change my plans however, as my old readers will surely know. Even in a coma, I’d still board that fricking plane.
It was scary, however. Just a tiny change in how I fell and it could have been “lights out, and away we go”, as Crofty likes to say. Madness. Though it puts things into perspective, and it makes you think a lot harder about your life choices.
The call of the wild has grown louder and louder inside me over the past five years. Now it’s time to quench that thirst for adventure, and feel alive like only an experience like this can make you feel. Doing this with someone will also enrich the experience, I’m sure. As we all know: “happiness is only real when shared”.
Speaking of sharing, we just had a lovely time on the island of Jersey, in the English Channel. The perfect excuse for visiting was the wedding of my friends Curtis and Nikki, which was fantastic to say the least.
I can totally recommend visiting the island, which features a rich history, fantastic views and a great atmosphere.
Here are some pictures (no editing, sorry for the poor quality) in case you are curious:
But now it’s time to think to the week ahead of us. I’ll try to post here every day, but please forgive me if I can’t. Internet coverage should be OK but far from guaranteed.
We expect sunlight for the whole week, as there should be no sunset and certainly no real nightfall. I wish life were that way.
It will be up to us to make use of all of the sunshine that is given to us. This will be the first, long-awaited, step in that direction. Together.