Ivalo to Tankavaara 61km.
We have done a total of 372km (232 miles) since the start of this trail. Today was characterised by a very cold north wind. We were going South so benefited from it being behind us. It was cold though. We have been told that this is the coldest summer for 20 years. Last year it was 30 degrees at this time of year. At least we are not getting biting insects! We are now crossing a mountain range that is the watershed for water draining into the Arctic and now it is draining into the Baltic. We went through Saariselka, which is on the edge of a ski area. No snow now, but the trees were very sparse, so we must have been quite high up.
Tankavaara was a gold prospecting place from the mid 1800s and again in the 1970s when the price of gold went up. Now there are people panning for gold as a hobby. It has also been developed as a tourist attraction with a rather good museum about gold mining and its history and a big mineral collection. You can also pan for gold if you don't mind the freezing water. There are apparently people still doing it in the winter, mainly Russians. We could have camped here but a log cabin with a wood fire seemed much more attractive.
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