Lapland

[Olof_imp]

D+4 continued. Having walked/climbed back from the falls we checked the map and realized that we had less than 90 km to our destination, Saxnäs. These kilometers would however be some of the most interesting on our trip. A string of bends had us climb to the plateau, above the tree level and onto the road which was open only summertime (the red section on the map).



Once there we just stopped. We were completely alone. The first impression was of an almost lunar landscape, but when we looked closely and just stood and listened we realized it was buzzing with life - small hardy flowers, birds, butterflies and reindeer in the distance. Stunning.



There was a some patches of snow in the ditches, but nothing like normal at this time of the year we were later told. Usually there is snow on the ground and some years you'd be riding between walls of snow, the road having been carved out by giant snow mowers.


Photo: Felix Fjällström, Land

We however had none of this drama but only experienced a warm, sunny summer day. There is a strict rule not to leave the road in june and july, to not disturb the wildlife. The county administrative board has found it appropriate to put up signs on this every 50 meters, so it's not taken lightly. We had brought coffee and pastries and simply stopped by the roadside for half an hour. One car passed, that was all. Otherwise all was still.



We continued. Soon the road started to descent into the valley towards Fatmomakke, a sacred Sami.place which we would visit later, and further east the small village of Saxnäs. The trees returned, the wind became warmer and we started to.se some houses and lakes. An hour later we parked in front of the log cabin, our home for the coming days.

[GoldOxide_imp]

I feel the decompression Olof. Feels wonderful.

[Olof_imp]

I feel the decompression Olof. Feels wonderful.

Exactly, spot on!

[Stichill_imp]

The smoked trout plate looks wonderful! I always enjoy the food preparation and presentation in Europe...hard for us to find in the US outside the major cities.

I love the emptiness and desolation...and the silence. That's the way to have a relaxing vacation.

[GoldOxide_imp]

The smoked trout plate looks wonderful! I always enjoy the food preparation and presentation in Europe...hard for us to find in the US outside the major cities.

I love the emptiness and desolation...and the silence. That's the way to have a relaxing vacation.

I feel that way in the southwest U.S. desert regions - and there is an abundance of sweet choice.

[Stichill_imp]

[Olof_imp]

D+5. Insects. They rule Lapland. We learned the hard way that gnats and deer flies come in three sizes - small, barely visible and invisible.



They compensate size with numbers and nets only work against the small ones. They seem to alert their pals too, so numbers keep increasing. Easily drives you mad. We asked the locals what to get and ended up with three kinds.



Interestingly, the eco version (the bottle in the middle) seemed to work best and is based on lemon and eucalyptus oil.

The standard procedure at stop evolved into a) open tank bag and grab spray bottle; b) take off gloves and spray plenty on hands; c) in one fluid sequence whip off helmet and stroke cheeks, neck, ears, forehead and hair; d) try in vain to relax and chat to partner while swarms start to form; d) give up, rub scalp vigorously to crush as many of the front line attackers as possible; e) get back on bike, speed off muttering words not suitable for print.

I found this, pretty spot on.



Admittedly, some up there are things of beauty. In most cases we were either too distracted, or too slow to target, track and shoot,but we got a few.

[Olof_imp]

D+5 continued. Off bike day spent checking out Saxnäs, such a small village that it's easily done on foot.



This was and is, one of the southern outposts of the indigenous people, the Sami who calls the village Saadteskenjuana. It' been a state village since 1824. Farming is not easy up here and back then hunting provided most of the supplies. To avoid depleting game hen the law dictated a minimum distance of 10 km between settlers. Today the village officially consists of 134 souls. Naturally tourism is an economical backbone here and last year, likely due to Corona, the number of visitors sky rocketed. We saw a steady stream of motorhome, caravans and bikes from early mornings to late evenings.





The hub of Saxnäs is the small grocery store along the main road. For many years on the edge of bankruptcy it's now run by a young energetic team an seems to be thriving. It doubles as gas station, post office, pharmacy, liquor store, fishing store and cafe. Most of the time there was a happy queue outside, waiting for their turn to get in.



Behind the grocery store we found this. A book exchange booth. You simply bring your finished book, put it in the booth and picked another and brought home. Seemed to work well.

[Cormanus]

Saxnäs and surrounds look stunning.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Excellent local stories Olof.