The sunny fun part is over. I’m in the real north now. I got up late and did the daily morning routine at a relaxed pace, knowing there’s only around 106 kilometres today.
That’s what the insects here do to your legs.
When I started driving today, something felt different from the days before. The sun was missing, the sky was cloudy, and it was colder. While the ride started with acceptable 20 degree Celsius, temperatures quickly dropped to 16, and later 14 degree Celsius. There was an exhausting head wind for the first half of the day and I had to add some layers of cloth. 14 degrees isn’t too cold, but it’s a difference of over 10 Kelvin compared to the last week and the wind and humidity make it feel much colder.
After a few kilometres, it was time to say goodbye Sweden and hello Finland.
The border follows this river.
A new country means looking up and memorising new supermarket chains and their logos. In Kolari I entered a “Sale” for my daily shopping. Nice to see Euro prices again, and smaller packages than in Sweden, and yoghurt in little cups instead of 1 litre boxes.
Not so nice: 0.40 € deposit per PET bottle. Also the Euro prices make you realise how cheap groceries are in Germany. Swedish was kind of readable for me who is proficient in German and English, so signs and food labels were understandable in most cases. Finnish is not.
After a quick lunch, I added some warm clothing to my outfit.
The region seems to be focused on fishing tourism. Even the supermarkets have large shelves of fishing gear.
When I reached the planned camp site in Muonio, there was no offer for tenting, and I had to rent a small cottage for an acceptable 28 €.
Haven’t slept in one of these for some time.
There’s no running water, but a fridge and a stove.
Beside 1.5 litres of soft drinks, waffles, yoghurt, sweets etc., I had this travellunch interpretation of fried potatoes with ham – on a plate.
All in all around 2800 kcal. Tomorrow will be the longest of the remaining stages with 156 km. I expect an early start, since there’s no tent to pack.