Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
22 July 2013
Despite an early night I’ve just drifted off to sleep when the cruise ship in port sounds its very loud fog horn at 0100hrs. Not once. Not twice. But three times. I finally stir from my pit at 0430hrs by my phone’s alarm and head down to reception to pick up the free breakfast and check out. Bus arrives promptly at 0510hrs – it’s to be a 12hr drive to Rovaniemi. There’s just me, an elderly Chinese gent and the local driver who looks like Matt Goss out of 80s pop group Bros but who sounds like Kimi Raikkonen, the Finnish Formula 1 driver. I’m glad I booked 5 months in advance otherwise I wouldn’t have got a seat. We soon pick up four Chinese girls (not in that sense!) and drive south along the coast road. Slightly stomach churning due to all the twists and turns and the rocking and a rolling. When last here in 1998, we had to catch a ferry to the North Cape island but now there’s a 7km long tunnel which makes life easier.
Very calm morning and the sun plays hide and seek through the clouds.
Plenty of deer roaming about and standing in the middle of the road such that we have to frequently slow down and drive around them. Pass 7 cars in the first 2hrs – it’s that busy. The moss and lychen covered rocks of the North Cape give way to a few small silver birch after about an hour of driving and sheep on the road become more prevalent. Most of them are still asleep and they refuse to move as we near. Like miniature clouds glued to the road.
First stop is after an hour and a quarter to allow the driver a ciggie and us a toilet stop. Decant from bus and Chinese gent asks me, “Where is washroom?”. How the flip should I know – I’ve never been here before. After another 45mins we have a breakfast stop for half an hour and Chinese gent again asks me, “Where is washroom?”. Over a coffee I ask where he’s from. Hong Kong. He caught the overnight train from Helsinki Saturday evening then jumped on the Nordkapp bus for 12hrs (doing the same route we’re doing but in other direction (obviously)), saw the Nordkapp at midnight last night but no sun on account of the weather, slept in the bus for the 3hrs it was parked up in Honningsvag and then returning by the same 12hr bus trip and overnight train.
He’ll pretty much have lived on a bus for 2 days. You would think he would know where the washrooms are by now!!?!?
Lunch stop in the Finnish town of Inari. The beer, wine & spirits in the supermarket are more Sainsbury’s prices than the second mortgage prices of Norway.
A few more people board the bus such that every pair of seats is occupied. An old woman boards with her white dog which resembles one of those large white powder puffs your grandmother used to have.
The twisty Norwegian coastal roads give way to straighter Finnish roads and the best way to describe northern Finland, indeed, most of Finland, is that it’s basically a large Center Parcs. Millions of trees, loads of lakes with chalets dotted around. We see lots of trees: silver birch, larch, pine, firs, spruce (OK, I’m making these up now…).
After 5hrs my entire skeleton is in pain. The seat is hard and I’ve managed to break it, my bum hurts and my legs ache. Only 7hrs to go. It’s a monotonous day and all I see is trees. Worse than trundling through Siberia.
Arrive Sodankyla which I remember from 1998 for two reasons. The very large mosquitoes which when you swatted them released an inordinate amount of blood onto the bedroom wallpaper and also the local youths. It was a weekend and all the local lads were just driving up and down the high street in their cars – back and forth – non stop. It was laughable. I saw this again in Reykjavik a few years later – must be what 24hr daylight does to you!
After 12hrs tedium, finally each Rovaniemi, just on the Arctic Circle. Thankfully, that’s the last long bus trip I’ll be doing for a while. Time for a much needed beer!
