We arrived (back) in Bergen late last night and woke up to meet Eirik from the local diving club whom I had been emailing over the past few weeks. We then geared up with help from the friendly folks at Nemo Classic Diving – me in a drysuit and Kristan in a very smart foul weather onesie.
We arrived at the dive site – Troholmen, and the rain from the morning cleared for a beautiful view of the small island and archipelago. After a final checkout, Eirik and I hopped in and spent about 45 minutes below. I really had no idea what to expect and was completely blown away by the jellyfish, hermit crabs, starfish (including crown-of-thorns starfish), masses of some kind of anemone / sea slug, and of course the highlight of the dive – scallops.
I’ve never been much for underwater collecting/ hunting as it generally requires a permit (and know-how), but I was happy to help find scallops on the ocean floor, occasionally chasing them as they chomped/swam away. We collected a few dozen and returned to the boat where we then ate a few for the freshest sashimi I’ve ever had. Kristan and I brought about 20 home, gave half to our host and cooked the rest for dinner, saving a few hundred kronor and bringing a fantastic day to a close.
Looks like I’ll have to come back to Bergen for some more diving – after all, I’m now a member of the local 1dykkeklubb. And we know where to stay! Our Airbnb rental was lovely.
Yum! I love scallops! What a great day this must have been for both of you. Mine seems pale in comparison… we hiked around the top of Whitefish Mountain, captured some great shots, then came home to make veggie lasagne. Not as exciting as scallops!
Max, you mentioned “chasing” scallops… how fast can they get away? Did you take any video of the running scallops?? Please bring one of the shells home as they look BEAUTIFUL!
I’m so happy that the two of you are experiencing life and living it…. and that you’re taking the time to share it with us too. Thanks for the blog post and for the great photos. I can almost taste the scallops now….
I didn’t have my underwater camera, but they looked like this.
We cleaned out most of the shells and are hoping to get some home safely!
That is absolutely hilarious! It looks like something from Nemo… not reality! Thanks for sharing it Max. I watched it three times and still laughed!
Enjoy the rest of your trip!