5th of August, 2022.
Hitchhiking in Finland.
I sleep so well that I don’t even see the time passing. I wake up with someone slamming the car door. I have no idea what time it is, but I feel rested so it can be too early.
Back to the restaurant I discover it is just a bit after 8 o’clock. The restaurant is already packed with people having breakfast. Where are all these people staying? And why so many people hiking a national park eat in the restaurant instead of camping food?
Anyway, I just need to have my breakfast and then I am on my way. I finish my delicious muesli, again with hot water, with the blueberries I collected yesterday.
There is a lady starring me. At first, I don’t know what is going on, but when she is leaving, I finally see the man with whom she is, and so I think they could the couple who drove me here yesterday, the last 6 Km from the main road. Why didn’t she say anything? Why she didn’t come to say “hi” or simply waved? I didn’t recognize her at first but it wasn’t on purpose! Could she have thought I am ungrateful? Does she know how many people pick me up and I meet every day? Anyway, I can’t help but to feel a bit bad.
I walk a few kilometres until somebody finally stops. I am waiting by the road, resting, when Markus and Seppo stop.
Markus is a nice guy, who looks much younger the he is, and he was hiking the wilderness areas of the park for the last few days with his super cute little dog, Seppo. Seppo reminds me of Maylow, from the film The Mask. I am so jealous of them! That is so cool! Even though Markus tells me there was quite a lot of rain, they both have enjoyed a lot! Seppo keeps coming between the seat, from time to time, to get some cuddles. He is so adorable! But he is also tired, so he is fighting to keep his eyes open, while laying down. SO cute!
They are going back to Helsinki, so I get off in Sodankylä, at the exit to Kitiilä.
It starts to rain a little bit. I cover my backpacks and hope for the best.
An elderly man in a van going to Kitiilä stops. He is called Peko but he doesn’t speak English. When he drops me off in a crossroad, he tells me to go right. And I do. But there is a misunderstanding about where I am going because of what I have written on my sign.
The national park I am trying to go now, the last one I will visit in Finland, is called Pallas-Yllästunturin, and that is what I have on my sign. But the place where I want to go, one of the entrances to the park, it has the name of the mountain, Pallas, only Pallas. The direction which Peko sends me, is actually towards another part of the park, a ski resort area. Actually, both directions lead to where I am going, in a kind of circle, but this way it takes more time. How do I get to know about all of that? Let’s not rush! First things first…
A young man, called Urko, offers to drive me to Ylläsjarvi, a village. Because of the name, I think it is in the right way. Urko is a nice guy and he drops me off in an exit to what it seems to be the place where I am going because there is a big sign talking about the national park.
There are not many cars passing by. There are a few restaurants and souvenir shops nearby, which is kind of weird considering the location, but that is because I don’t know about the sky resort yet!
A couple passes by but then comes back. Ina and Mika leave locally, and are taking their adorable dog for a walk. They are both very charming people, but in a humble way. We pass by their two boys on the road, who are riding their bicycles.
I tell them quickly about my travels and they are very surprised! They are so kind that they offer to drive me all the way to Yllas mountain, where the resort is and where Mika works, in Lapland restaurant, as a chef. But when we get there, I tell them that it doesn’t look like the place I am planning to go. When I explain everything to him, they realize what have happened and they are the ones who tell me everything I have just told you above.
They also tell me where would be the best place for me to stand and now try to catch a lift to Pallas, and Pallas only. And they drive me there! They keep repeating that they had time, the whole day, actually, because they are just taking the dog for a walk. How sweet!
Using only the upper part of my sign now, I am only for a few minutes on the road, on the right way, when Mintu stops. I like her immediately!
Minttu is going to a hotel spa, about 12 Km from Pallas, because they are testing a new sauna and stuff, so they have asked her (and I guess a few other people) to try on and give her feedback. Nice! She is so lovely! I really feel like I would love to be friends with her! We talked a bit about our lives and stuff, and she is very enthusiastic about my travels. We exchange Instagram and later on when I check her photos, she is so cute! She has two babies (you cannot tell at all) and has the cutest photos with them.
My last lift of the day stops as quick as everybody else. Sami is going all the last 12 Km I have to make it to Pallas. Why? He works at the reception of the hotel there. What? Yep! He tells me that the visitor centre is closed, so he can tell me about the trails and stuff. He also can speak with the people in the kitchen about getting me some leftovers. How sweet and amazing! And, of course, he takes care of me having a place to drop my backpack.
The trail I am doing is about 9 Km in total, all the way up to the highest pick around, and it takes around 3 to 4 hours, as Sami tells me. The weather is not great again (it is becoming a habit, Finland!) but this time I decide to spend some time in the top of the hill, if it is foggy, and wait.
It is funny how you can see almost the entire trail all the way to the top. For some reason I feel like in a movie, in those long walks people have to do in the middle of nowhere, with the film kind of being fast-forward, with those little jumps when the character disappears from this point and appears a bit ahead. Was that clear?
Anyway, I pass a group of reindeers with one white member, but they are too far so no good photographs.
At the top… fog. Thank you! Here, in the top of this mountain, the Olympic torch was lightened up, on 1952. There is a little marble plate to prove it. Laugh. The mountain is called Taivaskero.
It is fucking cold up here so I don’t think I last more than 10 minutes. And it really doesn’t seem like it will clear up. I start going down. Only some metres ahead, you can see a quite nice view! It is still a bit fuzzy, but you can see. I like it! It doesn’t last long though.
It feels like an eternity going back. The last part is along the skiing lifts, which are not very nice.
Back to the reception, Sami asks me if I would like some salmon soup. Wow! Salmon soup? That is what I am having for leftover dinner? Yep! There is a food-truck in front of the hotel, and they had some left. Great! He even warm up for me on the microwave. Owm!
Sami just keep helping me more and more. He suggests I can camp by the fire place, just around 500 metres from here. And when I am ready to leave and starts to rain, he says I can wait by the reception until 11 o’clock, when he has to leave.
The weather prediction it says “rain all night long… (all night long)”. I am sorry, I couldn’t help myself. When it gets very thin, just that annoying wet air, I decide to go anyway, otherwise I might not have another break like that soon.
The longest 500 metres of my life! As usual in these situations.
When I get to the place, there are several different small buildings and two tents. The buildings are two for toilets, a big one like a cabin for living, all equipped, but it is locked; and the last one I don’t check because I assume it is for the fire wood. As I would figure in the morning, it was actually a small hut, with a fire place in the middle, and seat all over. Now, I don’t know if it was filled with people already or if it was locked and some ladies, who I have seen leaving the place with lots of rubbish bags, came to open and clean it. But I don’t think so.
Well, I pinch my tent as quick as I can so it doesn’t get much wet, and it doesn’t. The I get myself in. It is quite windy during the night and the rain gets strong and noisy at some point. But in the morning, the sun shines and my tent get all dry outside. I pack quickly before the weather turn bad again, have my breakfast (cashew nuts and blueberries), and try to find my way out of Finland into Sweden.
10 Years Around the World 