"It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." Eleanor Roosevelt

The first ice has arrived. Mikayla says that the trees look like they are dusted in icing sugar and decorated with diamonds. Joshua and Mikayla don't seem to feel the cold and were outside playing when the temperatures dropped to -11º. According to Joshua, that is because he is a Viking...well how can you argue with that. Keren is still getting used to wearing gloves and dressing like the Oros man every time we step out.

We have afternoon all day here. The sun does not rise too far above the horizon and by 4pm our daylight is dissapearing. African sunsets are bold and dramatic. Red, burnt orange and every shade of yellow. They are an overture by Tchaikovsky or something from the Soweto Gospel choir. Norwegian sunsets paint the sky in peach, apricot, lilac and pinks. The sunsets are "The Orinoco flow" by Enja.
And then, the most beautiful thing happens here; the candles come out. Everyone puts candles in windows and outside their houses. Even shops have lanterns outside. So the light doesn't really leave.
We hope to see some lights of a different kind in January when we travel north into the Arctic circle to Tromso. For now we are enjoying the sunsets the ever increasing twinkle of Christmas lights, candles and the glow from the fireplace.