Lofoten

After our trip to Nordkapp we spent few days home, preparing ourselves for the next Norway excursion. This time the destination was Lofoten islands and our crew had grown bigger: we were now traveling with my dad's camper van, accompanied by him and his partner. Our journey began on Thursday evening as we headed towards Kilpisjärvi, located in the northern "arm" of Finland. We arrived in Kilpisjärvi late that evening, parked the camper and settled there. The goal was to hike the Saana fell the following morning, but C was anxious to climb somewhere already on Thursday. There was a smaller fell, Salmivaara, not far from where we parked the car. Although it was already midnight we decided to go for a brisk late night hike, and it didn't take long for us to reach the top of Salmivaara. The view to Saana and the surroundings was spectacular as the sun was setting behind the hills. We weren't far from the Three Nations' Border Point where Finland, Sweden and Norway meet, so from high up it was possible to see the Swedish and Norwegian mountains in the horizon. We enjoyed the view and took some photos until fog rose from the seaside and hid the mountains. We walked back to the camper and went to sleep.

Next morning we woke up, had a quick breakfast and drove closer to the starting point to the hike up to Saana. It was just me & C hiking since the rest of our crew decided to use the time to refill the water tank and buy the last minute supplies while still in Finland: the border of Norway was just few kilometres away and EVERYTHING is  more expensive in Norway. The first half of the hike was climbing up steps that seemed so endless, that joking about 'stairway to heaven' was quite fitting. The second half was walking along trails reaching to the very top of the fell. The day was warm, sunny and beautiful, making the already popular hike almost crowded. Saana was also popular amongst the canine world, we saw at least 5 dogs while hiking. After relaxing a bit on top of the fell, taking dozens of photos and having a snack, it was time to return to the car. We counted that 742 steps lead people to climb to the top of Saana and ran the last part back to the car. We showered, had delicious reindeer for lunch and drove across the border to Norway.

As we drove through Norway towards the coast the landscape changed from countryside to woods and clear blue rapids and finally the road started narrowing as we reached the Lofoten peninsula. We drove through numerous tunnels and along winding roads. There was a strech of road under construction, and driving through the already narrow section of road with no railing that was now also bumpy and filled with rocks got us all serious for a moment. I remind you now, we were traveling with quite a big camper van and driving in the fjords, on a strech of road between the mountains and the sea. Dad got us safely through the exciting roadwork section and kept on driving until we found the perfect place to stop and stay for the night: a big roadside parking lot with a spectacular view. The sun was already setting by the time we decided to stop somewhere for the night. We took out some chairs and blankets, opened a few refreshements and sat next to the car, gazing to the sun slowly falling behind the mountains on the other side of the fjord. We enjoyed the beautiful sunset and went back inside first when it got too chilly to sit outside. We had a late dinner, made the beds ready and soon went to sleep.

On Saturday morning we kept on driving towards the tip of Lofoten and our destination, Reine. C had shown me photos of his last trip there and wanted to hike up the mountain Reinebringen again. As soon as we reached the town we changed our clothes into something more appropriate for climbing up a steep mountain, had a snack and started walking towards the starting point. It was again just us two hiking, the steep climb didn't interest the others (and I have to admit, I was a bit anxious about it too). Compared to the hikes I've done before, this one really was more so climbing up the mountain: we had to grab trees and branches and pull ourselves up the tough parts with the support of an old and worn out rope. The soil was partially very muddy and slippery, partially covered in rocks and gravel (that started making their way down as soon as you stepped on them) which made it extra hard to find a safe place step on. I genereally trust my feet and am not hesitant to hike in even quite difficult surroundings. However, I am scared of heights in the sense that I get light-headed very easily. When we stopped every now and then to catch our breath I made the mistake of looking down, realizing how far up we actually are and instantly felt the unpleasant fear of loosing my balance and falling forward.

I didn't fall down, we continued to the top and had a break while admiring the view. I felt shaky again when I leaned over the edge to see how steep the fall was, and then sat firmly to the ground to calm myself. There was a narrow footpath continuing onwards to the mountains next to Reinebringen, we even saw people hiking there. We decided to stay where we were, there was no way C could've persuaded me to walk the foot wide path with no safety rope. After taking about a hundred photos and eating a snack we started heading down. Now this made almost as nervous as the hike up had, I remembered the slippery gravel and mud all too well. With my backside safely touching the wall of the mountain I carefully slided down the scariest parts, grabbed every rock, twig and brach that I could to support myself and bravely made it all the way down with no bigger problems. The local kids seemed to have developed some sort of a muscle memory for the hike, since they simply ran up and down the moderately challenging trail. We walked back to the car with shaky legs, I showered in the van, C decided to rinse off in the sea. After dinner we started making our way back to where we came from, we drove to the same spot where we had stayed the previous night. C and dad went fishing, I collected shells and rocks smoothened by the sea from the shore. Tired and sore I slept like a baby that night.

On Sunday morning we decided that we'll drive home through Sweden. We drove until we reached the Abisko natural park, found a good place to park the car for the night and for the first time stopped before late at night. There was a thunder not far from us, but being surrounded by mountains we only got a few drops of rain and a spectacular rainbow. I made crepes with Norwegian brown cheese and banana for us as an evening snack before heading to bed. For the first time on the trip we decided to set up the tent we brought along for us. Unfortunately, the night was still so warm that it got seriously warm inside my tiny 2-layer tent when two people tried to sleep there. I was doing okay, but C said it was like trying to sleep in a sauna. We got some sleep towards morning but were still very tired when waking up.

It was Monday, the last day of our trip, and we still had a good while of driving ahead of us. Before crossing the border we stopped in Haparanda and went grocery shopping to ICA. We all bought mostly Norwegian brown cheese to bring home, it was even cheaper there in Sweden. It was already evening by the time we reached Rovaniemi. Tired, but filled with happiness and new memories I went to sleep (very early) that night.

North Cape

We just got back from northern Norway, where we spent an intensive 48hr or so holiday. Trip to the northernmost point of Europe & a dip in the Arctic Ocean have been something we have both dreamt about for a while now. Since I was on summer holiday with no plans whatsoever, we decided to rent a car and just do it. Rental cars are significantly more expensive in Finland than say, New Zealand, since the season is short and there aren't too many options (rental car companies) to choose from. Instead of a very expensive yet relaxed week with a car, we chose to save some euros and rent a car for 72 hours. Roughly 1400 km of driving ahead of us, we set off on Wednesday morning.

I've lived in Rovaniemi for most of my life, but have never been further north than Inari. So it wasn't only C who was excited to go explore the north of Finland. We stopped in few places worth seeing there along the way; Saariselkä, Inari and at the beginning of Kevo Nature District hiking route. If we would have had more time, I would've wanted to go hike there: the Kevo hiking route has some amazing views and a canyon. But on we went with our journey, it was pretty much just us on the straight road in the middle of nowhere. Soon we passed the border to Norway and the landscape started to change: fells turned into mountains, reindeer to sheep and the weather from cloudy to sunshine. From Karasjok we headed north and before long reached the fjords. I was astonished already - little did I know it was only gonna get better. 

As we entered the actual island of Nordkapp we drove through a tunnel over 7km long and 200 meters below sea level. Nervously we laughed to the thought of ships or whales possibly cruising right above us. First we drove to Honningsvåg to see what the city had to offer. The otherwise plain little fishing town worked as harbour where massive cruise ships unloaded hundreds of tourists every day. We continued onwards following camper vans and tourist buses, all headed to the northernmost parking lot in Europe. We too, decided to set our tent there, although it did take some debating since the "entrance fee" for parking our car to the better side of the gates was really expensive. However, the sunset and amazing view won us over. We watched the sun set and then rise again before setting up our tent and going to sleep. 

The night was cold and windy, so we didn't sleep all too well. C woke me up for breakfast, then we packed our stuff back to the car and headed to the parking lot of the Knivskjellodden hiking route. The 9km trek leads to the actually northernmost point of Europe, 1km further north from Nordkapp. The 18km roundtrip was not all easy, we were tired and starving by the time we got back to the car. It was definitely worth it though - we even got to pick some cloudberries in the northernmost point of Europe. That night the weather turned foggy and rainy, so we decided to skip the camping in the tent and stay the night indoors in a cabin. The sleep and a hot shower was well needed, and next morning we woke up rejuvenated. 

It was Friday, our last day with our Toyota Yaris, the silent hybrid-sweetheart we fell in love with. We had visited Nordkapp by now, but a swim in the Arctic Ocean was still to be done. We were both down with a flu and came close to call off the whole thing - until I spotted the perfect beach for a refreshing swim in the sea. To give you an idea of the surroundings, the temperature was just about +8 C and windy. We were dressed in layers and wearing woollen hats. However, we went ahead and did it. We had actually brought along our bathrobes for this occasion, and those came handy when getting up from the freezing water to stand in the freezing wind. We felt awake, and continued our journey back home. We arrived in Rovaniemi around 2AM, tired but happy to be home.

A woman who married a horse

Today I heard about an interesting exhibition by a Finnish photographer Wilma Hurskainen. "The woman who married a horse" displays beautiful, almost fragile looking women with their horses. Makes me miss those creatures and surely fills my dreams with longing: I wanna go live on a ranch. Preferably in Canada, but I'm not too picky on the country. The reason why this troubles me, is that I was offered a job in Iceland working for a horse trek company. I decided on a career-wise safer job in Finland, but lost the horses, volcanoes, glaciers and hot springs of Iceland. Maybe next year?

More information about the exhibition here. 

Oh so many places to go!

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