Rambling, Reindeers and Rain!

So again I need to open with an apology, Sweden has been a joy to motorhome around, but it's left me without many opportunities to get this blog written! Anyway, as I write this, we overlook some stunning snowy mountains, very close to the Norwegian border, but more on that in a bit.

The last post saw us back two weeks ago at Utansjo and the gateway to the High Coast.

The weather hadn't been on our side for a couple of days (a theme which continues through the next few weeks in fits and starts, away from the rest of Europe basking in a heatwave!), but on Saturday 15th we rolled away from our service station stop and onto the High Coast for real. The first plan was to take the High Coast road, a scenic drive around the inlets and coves - some of it lakeside and some along the Bothnian Coast - simply stunning, especially when the weather cleared.

We also had a couple of walks, first out to the coastal beach at Rotsidan featuring incredible smooth, flat rocks.

Secondly, a rocky walk around Norrfallsviken which is said to be an example of one of the finest rubble fields in the country. The boulders were deposited here by the retreating glaciers and laid into the form we find today.

Our overnight spot was at Docksta. a picnic place where we were able to pull the van right in next to the water, again stunning.

Sunday morning and a much sunnier start to the day. After getting a few provisions locally, we headed into the Skuleskogen National Park for a lovely coastal walk and picnic - the walk itself followed through a lovely pine forest complete with the three toed woodpecker which we did spot briefly, but no pic. Running then out onto the coast with scenes that felt more like the Caribbean than coastal Sweden.

We headed a short way out of the park and found a lovely cheeky spot near Bjasta, entirely lakeside and for the first time in Sweden, a pitch entirely by ourselves (just as well as there really was only room for 1 van!).

Monday and another lovely day. Our first stop today was the Fjalls Raven outlet shop for a spot of retail therapy - an unusual treat for us these days, but I managed to get some new walking shoes having now worn out the pair I bought in Chamonix back in April 2018!

After that we headed back into the National Park, but this time the north entrance. Our plan was a walk to Slattdalsskrevan - an amazing split between rocks. The first attempt at the walk was halted about 15mins in as it started to rain and we'd left the roof vent open! Back at the van we ate our picnic lunch and waited for the rain and thunder to pass. It didn't last long and we were soon on our way - up! The walk was very tough at times and very steep too - rocky, rooty and slippery in places, but wow was the view worth it - back out towards the coast and the archipelago, almost feeling like we had it all to ourselves. The walk was a mammoth 10.5 miles in the end, with what must have been a good 300m of height gain, back at the van, we both felt every bit of it! A great achievement though and so worth it.

Tuesday morning and both feeling more than a bit sore, we opted for an easier day. The weather was great so we headed back to Docksta for a restful day (complete with some hand washing - Sweden is perfect for motorhome in every aspect, with the exception of laundry - most apartment buildings have their own washing room, so there is no need of launderettes). With wild camping being positively encouraged, and with such scenery, neither of us want to compromise location in a campsite, so hand washing it is!

Wednesday 19th and decision day - with our original plan of being in the Artic Circle for midsummer we needed to crack on and get some of the journey done. Our first plan was to leave the lovely Skuleskogen National Park and head north following the coast most of the way before turning inland near Umea. The journey was lovely, not least spotting 2 moose on the cycle track near Umea - great in the first instance, but secondly because it meant I won the bet with my brother-in-law - he reckoned I'd see a reindeer before a moose, and was willing to stake a 4-finger Kitkat on it - result!

Our overnight spot was a lovely beachside location with some great views at Robertfors. Jase had another go at fishing, and I had a quiet afternoon reading. Of course, moving further north and getting closer to midsummer, the nights are staying lighter and lighter, the 2nd & 3rd pics were taken at well gone 11pm!

Thursday 20th and after a very quiet night we rolled away from our beachside spot and towards Pitea for some provisions. We'd planned to stop overnight at the Storforsen waterfalls, but with no overnight parking allowed (an unusual thing here in Sweden, but given their relaxed stance, you definitely don't want to take the mick) and wet weather we decided to roll on.

The atmosphere in the van was getting a little tense, what with wet weather and striking out on our place to stay, but this was fortunately tempered by the spotting of my very first reindeer - just awesome. They are fairly tame to a degree (or a bit thick when it comes to traffic), and nowhere near as skittish as the deer we know. They are also much bigger and inquisitive than I expected. The males lose their antlers each year following the rut, and they regrow in the spring, at this point their antlers look almost like velvet.

We did eventually find an overnight spot, just away from the main road on part of the old E45 which was a little eerie, but with pouring rain it was safe and on tarmac!

Friday and Midsummer 21st June. Our first port of call was the Artic Circle rest place where we could service the van and take the obligatory pictures!

It was here we met up with fellow motor homers Motoroamers - Myles and Karen from the UK. I'd been following their travels for some time, and we realised the previous day we were likely to cross over near Jokkmokk and so it was. We had a lovely cuppa and chat over our respective trips and plans.

After lunch we headed towards Jokkmokk and with (still) very wet and cold weather, we chose to park by the reservoir just out of town. Although we were happy to have made the artic circle, it wasn't quite the midsummer we'd planned! Hey ho, after a few tears (me) and chats (both), we decided that it's only weather, as my dad said "it's the artic, what did you expect?", we just need to get on with it really!

Saturday morning and again wet and cold. Determined not to be dragged down by it, we drove back into Jokkmokk and visited the extremely helpful TIC. With armfuls of maps, brochures and leaflets, we did a drop at the van, and then headed into the Sami museum. This was extremely interesting to read a little about their culture and way of life. Their traditional area of settlement (Sapmi) covers from the Kola Peninsula in Russia, across Finland and all over the northern regions of Sweden and Norway. Their main livelihood now revolves around reindeer husbandry with the nomadic lifestyle following their migration routes through the seasons. What I hadn't realised though was what crafts people they were and how ornate their dress costumes are, with each region having it's own colours and design - all looking so warm and cosy!

After lunch we did a short drive to Porjus where we spotted a lovely roadside reindeer at close quarters.

Sunday 23rd and with a slightly clearer morning, I spotted a couple of snowy mountains towards the end of the lake previously hidden by cloud.

Intrigued and armed with our various bits of TIC information, we headed on the road to Kvikkjokk - essentially and out and back route which ends at a car park, where you can access the Kungsleden (King's Way) hiking trail which runs for some 440km from Abisko in the north to Hernavan in the south. The journey was spectacular, following the massive lake with hills all around. We spotted 4 different lots of reindeer, one a group of 11, which was incredible.

On arrival at the car park, we did a short walk to see these stunning rapids.

After dinner we decided to brave the midges and have a further short walk. Initially around the hiking hut, and then down towards the lake. While walking towards it, I spotted what looked like a tree stump (in our wildlife searching we see a lot of bear stumps, reindeer rocks and moose pipes!) but this time I was wrong, there was a huge moose sitting in the grass minding his own business! Amazing - we were within 10ft of him I reckon, and he couldn't have been less bothered.

After getting a few pics, we left him to it, and continued on down to the water.

On our way back up, Monty (as we called him) had got up and was having a wander about. What was incredible, though as we drew alongside, he went behind a small beech tree, and literally disappeared. How something so big, can just become invisible is beyond me!

We headed back towards the van, when I spotted something else moving - this time a mountain hare, almost in his summer colours (they are completely white in the winter for obvious reasons). What a day.

Monday 24th and with a sunny morning we did a walk from the Kvikkjokk car park - initially following the Kungsleden but when this was waterlogged, we used a fire road instead. Again, great views all around, and finally managed to spot & net a picture of a bullfinch plus the only frog that lives in this area!

After lunch we headed back towards Jokkmokk, spotting a few more reindeer along the way, as well as our first white tailed eagle (sea eagle).

Back at town we visited the Sami Tenn silversmiths, and I made a purchase or two! The owner was lovely, and gave us a top tip for seeing the midnight sun. We headed to a high point in town and kept our fingers crossed. We were not disappointed - it might have been a few days late, but we did get to see the sun set, and rise within seconds. Its a very surreal experience and will definitely be in our Jexit top 10.

Tuesday morning, and after a very late night we did have a lazier start! We headed back to the artic circle for a quick van service - complete with hose flying off & soaking me! We decided to take another drive, this time to Laponia UNESCO World Heritage site. The drive up was pretty, although not as open as Kvikkjokk, but within the last 10km, wow, the road just opened up to reveal lakes, waterfalls and more snowy tops than I ever imagined. We also spotted a few reindeer and an osprey. After taking on about 15km of a very bumpy road, we turned back and pulled into a lovely layby for the afternoon and evening.

Wednesday morning and with a nice morning (although very cold) we headed to the Laponia visitors centre. Not been in a museum that asks you to remove your shoes, but provides slippers and has a central fireplace - makes it very hard to leave though! The Laponia centre talks about the concept of 8 seasons rather than 4, as well as the benefits of nature and wildlife to mental health.

The drive out was great too, and we spotted what we think was a golden eagle and a rock ptarmigan to add to our increasing tally.

After leaving Laponia, we headed for a site home to a wreckage of a ditched Lancaster which suffered twin engine failure on the way back from Tromso. What makes it unique is that it's the only surviving Lancaster in pieces or otherwise of the famous 617 Dambusters squadron. Equally it was a modified version for special operations. She was code name Easy Elsie and it was expertly landed in the only clearing for miles, and all crew got out safely.

Our final destination was Gallivare which is a big mining town - not the prettiest of places, especially not compared to what we've seen in recent days, but we did manage to get a nice view point for the night.

Thursday and after a lot of discussions overnight, we needed to make inroads towards Norway - the weather here is not great at the moment, cold, windy and often wet so we did have a wobble as to whether it was worth it, or if we should turn tail and head south towards the heatwave. Neither of us wanted to retrace our steps, so in the end we've agreed to head to Norway and travel south that way. If the weather is as bad as it looks like it might be, we can always head back into Sweden and make a run south.

We started the day with a head clearing walk (complete with body warmers, gloves and hats!) up to the viewpoint. Along the footpath we came across a lovely lone reindeer at close quarters. The views at the top were great, and with more snowy peaks towards Norway, it definitely felt like the right move to be exploring further.

We then headed towards Kiruna, another mining town, and not somewhere to linger in our view! We found a lovely spot further up the E10 near a lake for the night.

Yesterday we did a very short drive (both feeling like we needed a bit of a break from driving) and arrived into Abisko National Park with views that are stunning. The weather was much clearer today than we ever imagined, and we had a great riverside walk.

There is also examples of Sami style buildings, with this one being my favourite - the pole house - designed for the most precious of items, with upward pointing nails in the ladder rungs to keep out the thieving Wolverines!

We also bumped into Karen and Myles again, enjoyed a fabulous evening of sharing tales of our travels as well as combining our culinary forces to share a chilli and a curry, yum.

And so to today, Saturday 29th June. The weather overnight was pretty lively with wind and rain and about 4 degrees overnight. What that has given us though is more snow on the tops making for even greater scenery. We've done a lovely walk along the canyon and down to the lake this morning - complete with lakeside sauna!

We also visited the border defence force museum running from post war through to the cold war. Interesting to learn how the Navvies built a railway from the mines in Gallivare and Kiruna through to Lulea in the east and towards Narvik, Norway in the west for transportation of iron ore.

Our plan from here is to bimble along the way to the border over the next few days and then head towards Lofoten Islands for a tour around. Fingers crossed the weather plays ball, but even if it doesn't, we'll have a blast I'm sure.

That's it for now, hope you are continuing to enjoy the blog and I hope the photos do the place justice, Sweden is just astoundingly beautiful, and for the most part nowhere near as expensive as you think. It's a complete joy for the motorhoming way of life, and may just be the best place yet.

Til next time, stay safe all

J&J x