Det skulle bare mangle at årets andre besøk til Mushamna var skifolk! Etter Sverre Bjørns rekordtidlige januarbesøk, har alle scooterbesøk gått til dundas på grunn av lite is og mye snø. Det måtte en polsk-tysk-fransk ekspedisjon til! Tove og jeg forsøkte å gå dem i møte, men kom snart på gyngende grunn og måtte snu. En time senere så vi fire mann i sør; Sebastian lederhund, Afro-Alan, Peter Pan og ekspedisjonsleder Wojtek. Til stor fornøyelse for de firbente, ble fire pulker firet ned brinken sør av Laguna før fire mann, ei dame og to hunder kunne rutsje etter. Frost og Wojtek ble fort venner. Drahjelp er bra for polakk med medbrakt sofa! Etter mange måneder i Mushamnas tosomhet, var det utrolig hyggelig å få gode venner på besøk. Cedrics timian kom vel i hus, og Alan kunne ofre undertegnede en pent brukt tannkost. Været var ikke det beste, men vi fikk fine dager med godt selskap og Fois Gras fra Frank Delbart. Påskekyllingen ble oppspist, men påskeharen kom likevel med sokker og snop. Hundene syntes Sebastians kite var stor stas; - aldri har jeg sett Tuna løpe så fort i løs snø! Men høydepunktet var scootertur for fire. Med to på setet og to på ski bak, gikk det i ett strekk fra Lille Krypinn og hjem. Snak om økoturisme! Gutta kom på tirsdag og måtte dessverre returnere allerede fredag. Sprekingene skal nemlig gå helt tilbake til Ny-Ålesund! Bombe at det ikke var en eneste nordmann i følget? Litt flaut, mente Karine og Kai, som kom med scooter fra Krosspynten torsdag kveld. Ikke det minste flaut, mente Arne Kokk og Stine, som kom fra Villa Purpur Langfredag. Men vi kan fastslå at utferdstrangen er stor blant utlendinger på Svalbard. Malte, Elke, Daniel, Christiane og Malin sørget for en tysk invasjon av trivelig art! Alle lot seg begeistre over Mushamnas vesle juletre. Og da Linda trakk fram ingredienser til ”Feuerzangenbohle” (tysk pyroversjon av gløgg), var våre tyske venner lett å be. I Mushamna varer jula varer helt til påske! Men påska varer bare ett kvarter (sitat Tove). Natt til lørdag satte sønnavinden inn og forvandlet hele fjorden. Mens temperaturen steg til 0 (!) – dreiv isen til havs. Og snart vandret nervøse mennesker rundt på stua. Ved frokosttider snudde vinden på vest. Temperaturen var tilbake til minus 17 og et belte med is lå langs fjæra. Fangstdama øynet et håp for kommende seljakt, men vindens grep gjorde lite godt for scooterfolket. I Woodfjorden er det åpent hav så langt vi kan se mot sør, mens snøskredfaren gjør fjellpassene livsfarlige. Våre gjester måtte tilbake via Wjdefjorden og var spente på iskanten ved Elvetangen. Resten av påska ble ”avlyst”. Nå gjaldt det å komme seg hjem! Som fryktet, hadde isen begynt å løse seg opp. Men heldigvis kom alle seg velberget ned på isen noen kilometer sør for Elvetangen. Det vil si, - nesten alle. Karine endte turen med helikopterskyss til Longyearbyen. Knekt bein er ingen god slutt på påskeferien – og det midt i Svalbards beste tursesong. Vi kan ikke annet enn å ønske god bedring, Karine!! Mens Karine lå med spjelket bein på Elvetangen, satt fangstdamene lykkelig uvitende i Mushamna og nøt påskeegg fra Marta. Daniel kom ens ærend for å plukke opp søppel og reveskrotter, mens Malte kom fra Gråhuken for å overrekke ferske epler, poteter og gulrøtter. For oss som ikke har andre ferskvarer enn karsespirer i vinduskarmen, ble det en fantastisk lørdagsmiddag til tross for ”rekordkort påske”. Kanskje var det likevel litt greit. Magesmertene som kom snikende til meg torsdag kveld, utviklet seg til hyppige turer til Likjhuset. Besøk bringer gjerne med seg mer enn fersk mat. Vi er ikke vant til virus etter en vinter her oppe! Jeg hadde nok blitt en dårlig vertinne mot slutten av påska. Men vi tror våre besøkende har hatt det bra. De har i alle fall sovet godt! Natt til fredag sov syv gjester seg galant gjennom tre isbjørnjaginger! Jeg ville nesten blitt bekymret dersom Wojtek og Alan ikke våknet da jeg skjøt signalskudd ut vinduet få meter fra dem. Disse barske karer skal tross alt sove seg gjennom åtte netter i telt. Greit å vite at de våkner hvis snubleblusset går av!Easter bunnies
Earlier we expected Mushamna to be crowded by Ny-Ålesund people during Easter. But due little ice and a lot of snow, we’ve had no scooter visitors since Sverre Bjørn was here in January! Four tough German-French-Polish-guys had to save the honor of the Ny-Ålesund people. Tuesday we could see them on the “brink” south of Mushamna; Sebastian leader dog in front, followed by Afro-Alan, Peter-Pan and Wojtek expedition leader. Tove and me tried to meet them on the ice, but the ice was kind of too wavy. The guys had to arrive via “Tove’s scooter”, the new landmark south of the Laguna. Four heavy pulks were lowered down the steep slope and soon after we could all ski back to Mushamna. Wojtek and his hardly movable sofa were happy to have a Frost in front for the last two kilometers ;-). Tove and I enjoyed the company of our four friends. Despite bad weather, we had some great days enjoying good meals with thyme from Cedric and Fois Grais from Frank Delbart. We even ate the Easter chicken! Despite this, the Easter Bunny gave us sweets in the socks. So it could not have been that bad… For the dogs, Sebastian’s kite was the highlight of the Easter. (I have never seen Tuna run so fast in loose snow!) For the rest of us, the expedition to Lille Krypinn was something to remember; two on the scooter and two “frozenwaterskiing” behind the sledge must count as eco tourism! As the guys plan to walk all the way back to Ny-Ålesund, they had to start their return at Friday. Fit guys! Kai and Karine claimed it was kind of embarrassing to arrive by scooter. But Arne Kokk and Stine disagreed. They could not leave little Ylva for such a long trip! The social times in Mushamna continued. Soon we were also accompanied by Elke, Malte, Christiaane, Daniel and Malin from Gråhuken. They were all amused by our Christmas tree. But “feuerzangenbohle” (German pyro Christmas drink) was still not quite expected! It’s true that Christmas in Mushamna last until Easter. But unfortunately the Easter is very short! Friday night, a heavy wind from the south took all the ice away. Temperature rose to 0 degrees before the wind turned again. Suddenly temperature was back to minus 17 and some sea ice appeared just outside Mushamna. This made hopes for seal hunting, but no hopes for scooter traffic. Woodfjorden is open as far as we can see towards the south. And in the mountains, the avalanche danger is severe. Our guests started to be quite nervous. Soon “the rest of the Easter was cancelled”. They all had to head home before the ice at northern part of Wijdefjorden was gone. Luckily they could still manage to get down on the ice some kilometers south of Elvetangen. But for Karine the holiday ended in another way than planned. With a broken leg, she had to fly home to Longyear by helicopter. A sad situation in the middle of the prime time for ski and scooter trips… In Mushamna, Tove and I did not know anything about all this. We enjoyed Easter eggs from Marta when Daniel came to pick up rubbish and fox corps he kindly will bring to Longyearbyen. Soon after, Malte came by with fresh potatoes, carrots and apples. Delicious! For a long time our only fresh “veggie” has been tiny seed sprouts. Now we could enjoy a proper Easter dinner! We were a bit sad that the Easter became so short and hectic. But I would have been a lousy host during the last days. When you haven’t “seen” a virus for a whole winter, you are easily hit. At least I had to rush to the “Little house” quite often after three days with stomach pain. But a short Easter is better than no Easter. We had a great time, and I think our visitors had too. At least they were sleeping very well! One night I went out to chase a Polar Bear three times without anybody noticing. I was almost relieved when Wojtek and Alan woke up as I fired a signal pen out the window some meters from them. As the guys will spend eight nights in tents before they reach Ny-Ålesund, I am happy they are able to wake up in case a Polar Bear cross the trip wire!
Earlier we expected Mushamna to be crowded by Ny-Ålesund people during Easter. But due little ice and a lot of snow, we’ve had no scooter visitors since Sverre Bjørn was here in January! Four tough German-French-Polish-guys had to save the honor of the Ny-Ålesund people. Tuesday we could see them on the “brink” south of Mushamna; Sebastian leader dog in front, followed by Afro-Alan, Peter-Pan and Wojtek expedition leader. Tove and me tried to meet them on the ice, but the ice was kind of too wavy. The guys had to arrive via “Tove’s scooter”, the new landmark south of the Laguna. Four heavy pulks were lowered down the steep slope and soon after we could all ski back to Mushamna. Wojtek and his hardly movable sofa were happy to have a Frost in front for the last two kilometers ;-). Tove and I enjoyed the company of our four friends. Despite bad weather, we had some great days enjoying good meals with thyme from Cedric and Fois Grais from Frank Delbart. We even ate the Easter chicken! Despite this, the Easter Bunny gave us sweets in the socks. So it could not have been that bad… For the dogs, Sebastian’s kite was the highlight of the Easter. (I have never seen Tuna run so fast in loose snow!) For the rest of us, the expedition to Lille Krypinn was something to remember; two on the scooter and two “frozenwaterskiing” behind the sledge must count as eco tourism! As the guys plan to walk all the way back to Ny-Ålesund, they had to start their return at Friday. Fit guys! Kai and Karine claimed it was kind of embarrassing to arrive by scooter. But Arne Kokk and Stine disagreed. They could not leave little Ylva for such a long trip! The social times in Mushamna continued. Soon we were also accompanied by Elke, Malte, Christiaane, Daniel and Malin from Gråhuken. They were all amused by our Christmas tree. But “feuerzangenbohle” (German pyro Christmas drink) was still not quite expected! It’s true that Christmas in Mushamna last until Easter. But unfortunately the Easter is very short! Friday night, a heavy wind from the south took all the ice away. Temperature rose to 0 degrees before the wind turned again. Suddenly temperature was back to minus 17 and some sea ice appeared just outside Mushamna. This made hopes for seal hunting, but no hopes for scooter traffic. Woodfjorden is open as far as we can see towards the south. And in the mountains, the avalanche danger is severe. Our guests started to be quite nervous. Soon “the rest of the Easter was cancelled”. They all had to head home before the ice at northern part of Wijdefjorden was gone. Luckily they could still manage to get down on the ice some kilometers south of Elvetangen. But for Karine the holiday ended in another way than planned. With a broken leg, she had to fly home to Longyear by helicopter. A sad situation in the middle of the prime time for ski and scooter trips… In Mushamna, Tove and I did not know anything about all this. We enjoyed Easter eggs from Marta when Daniel came to pick up rubbish and fox corps he kindly will bring to Longyearbyen. Soon after, Malte came by with fresh potatoes, carrots and apples. Delicious! For a long time our only fresh “veggie” has been tiny seed sprouts. Now we could enjoy a proper Easter dinner! We were a bit sad that the Easter became so short and hectic. But I would have been a lousy host during the last days. When you haven’t “seen” a virus for a whole winter, you are easily hit. At least I had to rush to the “Little house” quite often after three days with stomach pain. But a short Easter is better than no Easter. We had a great time, and I think our visitors had too. At least they were sleeping very well! One night I went out to chase a Polar Bear three times without anybody noticing. I was almost relieved when Wojtek and Alan woke up as I fired a signal pen out the window some meters from them. As the guys will spend eight nights in tents before they reach Ny-Ålesund, I am happy they are able to wake up in case a Polar Bear cross the trip wire!
1 kommentar:
Etter to kalde netter på Villa Purpur var det fantastisk å sove varmt og godt på hemsen i Mushamna. Takk for et minneverdig opphold! Vi krysser fingre for isen der oppe ...
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