SofaWolves

Day 83 – Reindeers and canyons

Journey: Rovaneimi – Auttikongas – Korouoma – Posio

Sunday mornings don’t get any better than reindeer feeding and cuddles. Though Mark wasn’t keen, I nipped back to Santa’s village to meet the reindeer. I had the place to myself and had a lovely long chat with their owner, got to feed them and meet a 9 week old who suckled from her mum. Their antlers grow 2cm every day and are quite sensitive. The males shed their antlers in April whereas females wait until after they have given birth in June/July. While more rare a white reindeer is 1:100, these are not albino – albinos have pink antlers and are 1:1000. Meanwhile Mark was outside photographing an adorable red squirrel. We have spotted quite a few of these in Finland, and they are tiny compared to grey’s.

From Animals to science, we visited Arktikum science museum which had brilliant exhibitions on climate change, Sami culture, life and nature in Finland, the winter war with Russia and an environmental photography exhibition. I highly recommend it, we spent a good few hours in there. It has to be noted that in the 3+ weeks we have been in Scandinavia this is the only place I’ve seen a moose…of course it wasn’t real, but we keep looking. I’m beginning to think moose are like unicorns…much loved figments of our imagination 😂

After lunch we took the pups for a short walk round Koivusaari nature reserve before driving on to Auttikongas which is a lovely forested canyon with a log shute. We especially liked this walk as they made it so dog friendly with doggy detours and special wooden planks on the metal bridges so the dogs wouldn’t hurt their paws.

Our last walk of the day was at Korouoma, another canyon walk but in winter there is impressive frozen waterfalls. We had dinner and then reading the trail details which described it at arduous due to altitude gain thought we would do just a small part of the route. It turns out the start is a steep walk down into the canyon and in the back of your mind your thinking oh god I’m going to have to walk back up this. That said we were enjoying the trail and Mabel was so animated we decided to push on and did the full 5k loop – that went down, then up, then down, then up again. I know Mark was cursing me, but in fairness it was a great if somewhat demanding walk.

We are low on water so had to drive on to Posio, but had forgotten it was Sunday and all the shops were shut, so we are camped by a lovely lake and despite it being 10pm I forced myself to go on a 3mile run and actually enjoyed it! Not as much as the tumeric latte I’m drinking in bed but it felt good.

Day 82 – Went to Santas village!

Journey: Kansallis Puisto National Park – Rovaneimi

Today was a quiet day; a lazy slow start and then a lovely long trail walk at Kansallis Puisto National Park, where we all managed to avoid the bogs (there are 35 different types of bog in Finland)

I was then cruel and drove Mark to Santa’s Village, where we visited the post office and checked with the elves if my neices and goddaughters were still on the nice list – pleased to say they all are ❤️ Mark thinks I should be on the naughty list for dragging him there 😂 Tomorrow we are doing science stuff again so he will be happier ⚛️🔬

Having not had pizza for two weeks we were very tempted to go out for dinner, but it’s so expensive – equivalent of £16 each for a pizza plus drinks. We opted to save the £40 and had healthier mango and courgette rice dish in the van instead. Maybe in Estonia we will get pizza 🤞

Having set up camp and done bedtime walk by the lake, we found a BBQ hut, made a fire and melted some chocolate to dip fruit in. Seriously loving Finland right now, so cosy ❤️

Day 81 – Mabel leads the way…into a bog

Journey: Karhunpesakivi – Pitkajarvi Lake – Saariselka – Tankavaara – Sodankyla – Pyha- Luoston National Park

After a lovely relaxing evening reading with the pups, our morning walk was to see a bear den in the woods. To be honest it’s likely a tourist gimmick as no evidence of bears living there but Jasper checked just in case and then we all ventured inside. Pretty nice den, if the van breaks down we can all fit in here 😊 We continued to the top of the trail for the scenic view before heading down for our second coffee of the day. I’m still struggling to get up and out before 10 🙈

I then drove a little off route to Pitkajarvi Lake…Mark is already bored of lakes so didn’t get out to look at it…in fairness there are hundreds, but it proved a nice lunch spot and a couple of reindeer walked right past the van. For the first time the dogs actually spotted them and Ernest was desperate to go play, he was still barking long after they had wandered off.

We nipped into Saariselka which in the winter is a thriving ski resort but in the summer mostly a supermarket, so we stocked up and drove on to Tankavaara which has a nice woodland trail next to the gold mine and a bit of war history along the route. We could hear the tannoys coming from the gold mine and realised they were holding the gold panning championships!

Our next stop was a little art gallery in Sodankyla where a local artist had painted a series of works detailing the Sami culture and stories from his life. There was also a reindeer photography exhibition and I loved the shot of just his nose peaking out behind a tree. We see so many reindeer along the roadsides and lots of babies this time of year, it’s magical.

Having put it off yesterday I braved the cold and went for a short run along the river while Mark made dinner and then we found a lovely spot to camp and went for a bedtime walk in the Pyha-Luoston National Park. Mabel caught a scent and I stupidly decided to follow her off route so she could enjoy the tracking. The videos demonstrate my complete inability to discipline, and instead my natural reaction to try bargaining, bribary and pleading with a dog who chooses not to hear or understand me when fixated on a scent. Needless to say we never found a creature, but I did get wet bog feet and Mark was really pleased with us both when we finally returned 😜 Come on though it was fun 🤣

Now for our bedtime hot chocolate and reading (The Happy Brain – another neuroscience book, this time about happiness)

Day 80 – Driving South

Journey: Honningsvag – Inari (Finland)

Today was a driving day, having taken the big detour up north we needed to come south again so said farewell to Gustaf and drove back along those stunning roads, through the various unlined tunnels (some of which were 7m long!) back into Finland.

We kept hoping we would find little walking spots to stop at enroute, but the places we stopped at were very boggy or just not really walking spots. One was an odd little Xmas shack lol.

Arriving in Inari we went to the Siida museum which gives interesting accounts of Sami life, the local animal and fauna and some of the natural phenomena like aurora borealis and the midnight sun. This evening I’ve yet to go for my run but once done will settle down with a hot chocolate and read my Sami mythology book.

Day 79 – As far North as we can go…

Journey: Alta – North Cape – Honningsvag

What an amazing day, given we weren’t planning on going to Norway and certainly weren’t planning on heading too far north…we have reached the northern most point of the European continent – Nordkapp! Or at least we are pretty sure we have, it was such thick fog we couldn’t see anything 😂

When we arrived a young man was having his photo taken with the globe. He has walked from Italy to North Cape some 5000km! We have invited him to stay with us this evening, so our van is extra cosy, and we have heard lots about his amazing trip.

In the morning before our mammoth drive, we went to Alta’s rock art museum which was fascinating. The art ranged from 7000-2000 years old and the booklet described the possible meanings. It was interesting to see the change in style and emphasis of what they depicted. I made a couple of necklaces from moose bone and reindeer antler, and we had lunch at the architecturally striking Northern Lights Church.

Post lunch we tried and failed to find a trail called Lille Raipas, but I did pick up a hitchhiker who had been on a long hike with his family and needed a lift back to his car 30km away. He showed us the start of the trail he had done in Stabbursdalen National Park so we waded across the river and took the pups for a short walk. It was shorter than planned as we stubbled upon a wasp nest when crossing a bridge and the dogs went nuts…fortunately nobody was stung and we all ran away…like the intrepid adventures we are 😂

The drive up to Nordkapp was breathtaking. The landscape and scenery is just stunning and the further north we went the worse the weather got, but still it had a bleak raw beauty. In his 20s Mark had inter railed across Europe and had meant to reach North Cape but caught glandular fever, so regardless of the drizzle and heavy fog, some 40 years later he has made it. Plus they had a cinema film which showed what it looked like on a clear day…so we sort of know.

Day 78 – It’s true Norway is stunning!

Journey: Äijäkoski – Pallustunturi Visitor Centre – Havgajavri – Hetta, Pikefossen Falls (Norway) – Altaelva

In the last two days the temperature has dropped from 33 to 7 degrees C! We have all felt the difference; Ernest snuck into our bed around 3am, and I had buried us under the duvet and didn’t want to come out. Going to have to put the winter duvet on again.

Wrapped up against the elements we headed to Pallustunturi Visitor Centre and did a nice 3k loop trail. The wind and cold does make a difference and I was glad to be back at the van for coffee, I’m not really made for the cold lol. Mark was happy…he much prefers cold over hot. I bought a lovely little book on Sami mythology which has some amazing illustrations. I do love cultural mythology ❤️ On our drive to a second walk in the Pallas Yllästunturin national park at Hietajarvi we saw dozens of reindeer of various ages along the road side.

The landscape is more sandy, raw and has shorter mostly pine trees. Mabel loves rolling about getting dusty and we have a few theories as to why she is rolling about so much:
1. She just loves being filthy
2. It’s a defence mechanism so the big scary new wildlife can’t smell her
3. She wants to smell like said wildlife so she fits in should one pop out of the woods and try to eat the rest of the family
4. She likes testing her dad’s patience for how much dusty dog is allowed in the van
Whatever the reason her dusty self is still with us, filthy and snoring on the sofa, no doubt ready to roll again soon.

Our next stop was Hecca for a lovely Sami museum with photography exhibition and a display of handpainted local birds. Their nomadic way of life has been increasingly restricted and they are losing their language but there is a small resurgence with primary schools once again teaching it.

Dinner was at Pikefossen Falls in Norway! Having crossed the border the scenery got more dramatic and the roads are great. Mainly long and open, windy in places. We drove past lakes, saw stunning views over the valley, horizons that went on for miles and through an epic gorge called Altaelva. We have parked by the river on our way to Alta… tomorrow we just keep driving North

Day 77 – We made it to Finland!

Journey: Gallivare – Karesuando – Äijäkoski (Finland)

And the hoody and winter coat is back on… definitely feels more like it should temperature wise at 10C. The pups went to the vets for their worming tablet and got the all clear to travel. This active lifestyle has meant we have all lost weight. Mabel is svelte at 21kilos, Jasper 31 and Ernest 20. We are going to up their food further as they are doing so much exercise. I also need to up Marks cookie consumption as he is wasting away; me less so but lost some. It’s all helping to keep us under our 3.5ton weight limit 😄

As we head further north there are less attractions and those available are more commercial (husky sledging, aurora watching, horseback treks). We are obviously out of season for these but to be fair they wouldn’t be easy to do with the pups, so we are happy just driving, soaking up the scenery and stopping whenever we spot a nature reserve.

Before crossing the border into Finland we did a couple of short walks at the rest stops and visited a little church at the border town of Karesuvanto. They also had a cool critter dressed in reindeer hide that Ernest was fascinated by. We were 2239km from London and we have driven almost 7000miles since leaving Norwich in mid May!

This evening we have found a nice little scenic spot for a walk and paddle before snuggling down for a hot chocolate.

Day 76 – Perks of being unorganised

Journey: Jokkmokk – Harsprangs – Lancaster Bomber – Sodra Stubbs – Gallivare

I do love a lazy Sunday. We were late getting out of bed, had a coffee, took ages to get up, pottered about, had a second coffee and finally organised ourselves to go into town.

Today’s mission was to plan how far north we would go. I had spotted a tri point where Sweden, Norway and Finland meet but it’s not accessible by road and having spoken to a chap at the Arctic circle cafe he said you had to trek and get boat so as Mark wasn’t keen anyway…it was going to prove nigh on impossible to persuade him. Instead the cafe owner suggested going north towards Masi in Norway. We had originally ruled out Norway as the dogs would have to go to a vet for special worming and then travel between 24hrs – 5days later. With three dogs that was expensive…but turns out you have to do the same for Finland! Plus there are only three vets in north Sweden and only 1 enroute in Gallivare which is 1 hour from Jokkmokk. Thank God I researched before we got to the border! The huge perk is that now we can go north and do a little of Norway and then travel back into Finland, plus we can weigh Ernest and see how big he has got. Hoping the vets can see the dogs tomorrow 🤞

So knowing we couldn’t go too far we popped into the local tourist information and they were so helpful. We showed them what we had planned and the first thing she said was that dogs aren’t allowed in the National Parks this far north due to the wildlife (reindeer, bears, moose). We honestly had no idea so were glad not to have driven several hours only to be turned away (can’t walk without pups it would be mean). Instead she suggested some little walks we could do that proved perfect. The second lady there was from Finland and she was a fountain of knowledge and has basically sorted our route through the country with several recommended stops ❤️🇫🇮

Our first walk was at Harsprangs, which is a manmade waterfall and pool created as a result of the upstream dam. The second was close to Marks heart as we walked a bog land trail to see a Lancaster Bomber wreckage. His mum had been on the assembly line for these and he commented it was odd to think part of it may have been assembled by her some 70+ years ago. We then drove up to Sodra Stubbs and caught a glimpse of the remaining snow capped mountains, before exploring Gallivare.

After dinner we took the pups for a walk by the river and Mabel gave herself a roll on tan getting absolutely filthy in the dirty sand 😂 I can’t shout at her when she rolls it’s her true pleasure. Mark was not impressed and forced her to have a good brush down before being allowed back in the van… supposedly she is not allowed on the bed until she has had another proper bath…we will see what he says at 6am tomorrow 😜

Having done really well with my exercise and nutrition all week I was a bit frustrated with myself for accidentally going over my allowance today with a lazy dinner meal but after a 3mile run the endorphins soon lifted my mood and I can focus on tomorrow being a new day. Visualising my goals and working towards them to be happy and healthy.

Day 75 – 31 celius at 9pm in the Arctic Circle!

Journey: Gimegolts Nature Reserve – Arvidsjaur – Grodkallen – Storforsens Nature Reserve – Arctic Circle near Jokkmokk

Blimey what a scorcher – it was 33 degrees for most of the day despite us being in Lapland! When it’s this hot our strategy has to be short shady walks and driving with air-con as the van gets so muggy and warm.

Our first walk was at Gimegolts, a short trail along a canyon edge out to a scenic point overlooking the lake. The walk was lovely, not too close to the edge or too steep, still Mark kept his distance as it’s not his idea of fun. There was a shepherd hut we could have slept in overlooking it, but we would have been eaten alive by the midges. It was quite funny last night Mark stayed up looking out over the pond trying to spot wildlife while I was busy trying to kill midges that had snuck into the van with evil intent – my veganism doesn’t extend to midges, I’m covered in bites. Hazard of parking near water ☹️

We wanted to do a little research on the local area so stopped in Arvidsjaur for an iced latte. They had a cool moose sculpture…our closest encounter with them…quite possibly our only but fingers crossed not. We were recommended a couple of nice spots and I’d been intrigued by Grodkallen which is a natural bubbling spring with a beautiful turquoise colour.

The spring is beautiful and such a surprise in the landscape. It was a resting place for the Sami people and it’s name translates to the frog spring as they observed frogs hibernating there over winter. Given it is a boiling spring you might think it is warm…it’s not…it’s really not! I braved a swim and oh my gosh my whole body was tingling with the cold. Jasper was barking at me to come out as he wasn’t allowed to join me and I tried to reassure him through gasping breaths. It’s…ok….Jasper..mummy…just…needs…to..catch…her….breath. I did a couple of laps round and climbed out. God it was cold. I’ve since googled and it’s around 6 degrees 😨 Still I was instantly warm again as soon as I got out. Sadly Mark was struggling to hold all three dogs so doesn’t have a photo of my shocked hyperventilating face 😂

We had been recommended Erik-Lasaberget as a nice mountain trail but had to turn back a couple of kilometres from it when the road got so bad part of our ceiling came down from the rattling 😂 It’s only the sun roof blinds and I soon fixed it with my screwdriver, but it was a sign of things to come.

Hoping for better roads we drove on to Storforsens Nature Reserve. Here is the largest waterfall in the Nordic area and the sight and sound is quite a spectacle! Around it there were also rock pools and little tributaries and on such a lovely day it was heaving with people who had come to relax, eat and play.

Even though I’m driving Mark really hates gravel roads and to his dismay we encountered yet more. It seems the main inland road North is having major roadworks and we had 30+km of dusty bumpy gravel that I confess is a bit tricky to drive on especially into the sun. By the time we got to our campspot we realised we had lost our back number plate and waste water tap…things to add to tomorrows to do list 🙈 On the plus we saw more reindeer who trot along quite merrily and even a baby white one ❤️

Our magical campspot for tonight is the Arctic circle! We crossed it at 9pm, just outside Jokkmokk and it was still 31degrees which is crazy. We have done the obligatory family photos and then our exciting Saturday night was spent filling as many empty water bottles as possible as we are drinking masses – we did 22 bottles which is much better than recycling the empties and buying new. Should last us 3 days if we are lucky

Day 74 – Paddling about in Lapland

Journey: Skuleskogen National Park – Fredricka – Vormheden – Gimegolts Nature Reserve

We were up bright and early for a 5.5km woodland walk before breakfast while it was still cool for the dogs. We reached two lovely lakes that the pups had a dip in…Ernest fell in and I had to fish him out – he thought lilly pads were solid 🙈, Mabel got the tips of her toes wet and Jasper wades straight in and lies down if shallow enough.

Post breakfast and coffee we started the long drive back to our original route which is the inland road rather than coastal as it’s much more interesting. We passed the Lapland sign, and are hopeful our chances of spotting moose will increase as we get further north. We stopped at Fredricka for lunch and Jasper and I had a proper swim in the lake, it was so refreshing, especially when followed by an ice lolly.

We drove on to Vormheden where the river is just stunning. There is a patch of rapids you can park up at, so we stopped and did the trail walk to the scenic spot overlooking the river. It’s obviously not walked much as our legs got scratched up but Ernest has learnt to roll about – shame he is daft so chose spikey bracken instead of sand 😂 I did my exercises on the picnic bench to avoid the ants and then we had a lovely risotto overlooking the river.

We decided to follow the river north (spotted another reindeer on the road!) all the way to our campspot at Gimegolts Nature Reserve, it’s tucked away in the middle of nowhere, with yet more roadworks and gravel roads – there have been a lot today! But we are now back on our original route and have more walks planned for tomorrow