Friday 20th June to Tuesday 23rd June

Friday:  Kirkenes to Neiden, low ebb day. Raining, strong cold wind against us. Started with a bit of downhill to a bridge. Large puddle where road joined the bridge. A coach overtook me fast just as I passed the puddle... Up 2 long, steepish hills. Had to walk up. At top there was a pleasant ride then a steep descent to a fjord, which we then followed for some distance, now with the wind behind us. Lots of up and down but nothing too steep and rain lessening. Stopped for lunch at a picnic lay-by. There was a sort of bus shelter with a bench that was at least out of the wind. Also a toilet that Tom said was called a VIP latrine in the trade (ventilated improved pit latrine). Clean dry and toilet paper, so no complaints. One more steep hill and we came down into Neiden with a camping hotel. Camping not an attractive idea but a room in their 'house' was cheap, had a bath, a radiator that gave the sound of gently running water all night, a toilet that flushed after Tom did some basic plumbing, a nice meal in the hotel and wonderfully thick light duvets to put over our sleepy bags. Plumbing totally forgiven, it was a great stay.

Saturday: Neiden (Norway) to Sevettijarvi (Finland).  Things looking up. Pleasant weather, sunny off and on and only a gentle breeze. Good cafe just before the border and a Supermarket just after that which Norwegians frequent as Finland is much cheaper than Norway. There was an excellent stock of English beer but could only find one Finnish, which we enjoyed. There was Finnsh cider as well, also good. Very little traffic after the supermarket but many more reindeer in the road. We saw no road kill, so presumably they survive modern life quite well. What they don't survive is the man made borders. The region is lived in but the Skolt Sami who traditionally fish and herd reindeer, who range over a large area, fought over by Norwegians, Finland and Russia, and probably Sweden. At the end of the last war those living where the new boundaries were moving had to choose between Finland or Russia. Most chose Finland but we're not able to get to their old lands, or relatives left behind till the end of the Cold War.  Another problem was that the Russians moved all those that were left far inland. wolves and bears who were predators of the reindeer then found it easier to cross into Finland for their food.  Campsite had a sauna, great after a day's cycling. The Rough Guide said that after your sauna you should rush taken to the nearest lake and jump in. We did not take this advice, even though we were beside a lake.

Sunday: Sevettijarvi to Hierajoen.  The latter is not a place as such just a campsite by a lake with a sauna. No we still didn't jump into the lake but we did have a sauna.  sevettijarvi had an interesting little museum about the Skolt Sami people. Also a trade store with a nice little cafe. We nearly missed all this as we expected it obvious along the road and cycled out of the place and had to go back. Things were off down dirt roads and we learnt the Finnish word 'kauppa' meaning a trade store. A pleasant day of cycling, passed lakes and forests of birch trees and conifers. Being more sunny the midges came out. Avon 'Skin So Soft' worked a treat till the nozzle blocked on the third use. Fortunately we had another. 

Monday: campsite in the middle of nowhere to Inari.  Slightly windier and a little rain. It's a shame that the wind is from the North, Arctic, or East, Russia. Both areas being rather cold, the wind can be icy, even if we were there only a week ago and it did not always seem that way, Continued along a road that had very little traffic and not so many deer till the end. It has been the same road most of the way and house numbering has been working down from the 10,000s. Actually I don't think there have been that number of houses. They seem to miss out chunks of numbers every so often. Half way (30kms) we turned left onto a slightly busier road, a car every 5 minutes instead of every 10.  Still gently up and down by lakes and forests. We have met one other cyclist since we left Norwy and that was yesterday. A man from Spanish Catelonia, cycling on his own. He stopped us because he was pleased to see other cyclists. We have found here that campsites are used by camper vans with the owners keeping to themselves. A GB one in a campsite spent the evening watching English TV. A waste of stunning scenery and that night there was the midnight sun. 

Inari has an excellent museum and is a cultural centre for the Sami people and their parliament. The museum had a lot about their life and also traced the arrival of people into the region from the last ice age and comparing it with what was happening in the rest of the world. Like many minority peoples their language was suppressed for many years, thus the translating of Donald Duck into Sami took precedence over the meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev. Also of interest was a display about the flora and fauna of the area throughout the seasons. I liked the way mice and other tiny mammals were able to sure to winter amongst the grass and moss under feet of snow, safe from the freezing temperatures and predators.  

We stayed in a campsite just on the way out of Inari, which was by the lake, a beautiful location and a wifi server that gave us total grief.  Tom's computer cannot be persuaded it is not still there, but maybe it will come out of its sulk sometime.  It gave endless trouble to us in other ways and we should really have turned our backs on it rather than get obsessed .....   But a good night, warmer in the tent with the reindeer pelt Tom had just bought. 

 Next day, Tuesday, we continued on the same road, the E75, to Ivalo.  Continued with scenery of endless woods and lakes. I sometimes think one can get a super-scenery overkill, but it has not come yet!  Now in Ivalo river camping.

Sorry about the lack of images.  For reasons of our resources, both human and equipment-related, we can't do these until the other computer comes out of its sulk.  and we are in a place with wifi.  These area are really remote!

We have had 2 days of good lunch stops, when just at the right moment there has been a picnic site with a Sami trade store serving food and souvenirs. No room to carry souvenirs but they are nice to look at.