So begins the long drive home as we leave Karasjok, our final stop in Norway…
But not without its own little dramas: just getting ready for dinner last night and even i heard the huge clap of thunder. Remembered i had not put the roof on the Cat since arrival, so threw on some clothes, dashed outside and got soaking wet fixing it!!!
Also discovered for the first time about Scandinavia’s equivalent of Scotland’s midges…… most unpleasant little buggers: not so much painful as i understand Scotland’s to be, but induced a fair sized swelling and of course very irritating when swarming around you in the rain. Glad to back inside the hotel and away from the little terrors. Should have clocked it when i arrived: flyscreens on the hotel windows!
This is a shot of the hotel’s restaurant: it’s a kind of underground bunker, aimed i guess at making dinner civilised when the winter temperature drops to minus 20c or below as it does in this part of the world. There are eight or so of these little alcoves, each with 20 ish seats and a fire in the middle of the table! The food was pretty good, too…..
One more drama to come before leaving Norway: just after i got up at 6:45 off went the hotel fire alarm!!! I determined to at least be respectably dressed when assembling in the car park and then had my second encounter with the Scandinavian bugs while hanging around for 30 minutes waiting for the Fire Brigade to give the all clear. A rather sheepish looking chef was not the most popular man on site….. John and Alison were smart enough to escape into the XK150, kill all the bugs inside and then be reasonably comfortable. Can’t do that in the Cat of course…..
Those of you interested in such things will enjoy the pic of the 45 year old Datsun sitting next to the Cat: the ancient owner was justifiably proud of his wheels!!!
Given all the furore around the fire alarm i decided to skip breakfast and head off into Finland, planning to get fuel and breakfast just over the border, 15 or so miles away. Border, what border??? Yes, there was an unmanned guard post but i just sailed through, nobody to show my Irish passport to….
Managed to find the gas station, but no coffee!!! Made worse because the Scandic hotel in Karasjok had been the third in a row not to provide coffee making facilities in the room. When was the last time i had to wait until 12 noon to get a cup of coffee???
Complete change of scenery now. Once across the border we had dead straight roads through forest: we could see the roads stretching out two or three miles ahead. Not very photogenic, so no pics except this one of a Finnish roadside loo: another long drop jobbie…..
As we headed south towards Rovaneimi some subtle changes in scenery: more and more like parts of northern Canada with huge rivers rolling along in their stately way through endless forests. I’m getting pretty focused on getting home safely now, so not so many pics – i’m sorry.
Safety quite an issue with some really poor road surfaces and all the Reindeer ambling around Finnish roads: they did seem determined to write themselves off and out of six encounters with the beasties, i had to take evasive action twice. Gotta pay attention….. here’s a vid:
Quite a sizeable town Rovaneimi: it’s main claim to fame is that it lies on the edge of the Arctic Circle: over the couple of days i’ve had to remind myself that we were still in the Arctic Circle with the endless landscapes of green forest and temperatures in the mid 20s….. Don’t tell the grandchildren, but Rovaneimi is also home to several Father Christmas themed parks: Santa Claus Village, is promoted as ‘Santa’s official North Pole residence’ somebody’s geography is a bit off, but i am absolutely certain none of our smaller grandchildren would give a hoot: they’d love it…. Fortunately perhaps i don’t have time to visit Santa on this trip!!!
Rather ropey meal in the hotel, but not only coffee making facilities in the room, but a mini-bar too….. Civilisation!!!
Another long drive tomorrow down to Kokkola: mostly alongside the northern part of the Baltic Sea, known as the Gulf of Bothnia.
Hoping it’s a little more photogenic for you!!!
Tony's Geriatric Adventures 
With the Midges, the fire alarm and the wandering Reindeer you have had a rather strange 24 hours! Hope your next few days until you get home are drama free.
I get the feeling that (even taking into account the danger posed by the Reindeer), you do not find the Finnish scenery as inspiring as that in Norway? But I think that you are right, to the little grandchildren it is more exciting that you have been where Santa lives, and you will be a star!
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Ta, la!!! Difficult for Finland to compete, really…. we came for Norway, it exceeded our expectations by a country mile and like it or not i am now fully focused on getting home safely… Only drama since Karasjok is that i had to replace a duff indicator bulb, which i am proud to say i managed OK!!! I’ll leave it to your judgement whether we should be disclosing to the small people that i have been where Santa lives….. Lots and lots of love, XXX T
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