We have travelled over the mountains from Narvik to the Abisko National Park in Sweden. Strangely the mosquitoes appear almost as soon as you enter Sweden, it’s as if they are swedes and don’t venture abroad. The Abisko area is quite beautiful centred around a glacial river with many rapids. There are also many lakes which is why the mosquitoes are here. We can free camp here and have found a couple of lovely spots, you just need to get there by early evening to beat the rush and get a good spot. There is a right to park for one night as long as you’re not near a home or on private land. There are campers tucked away in all sorts of places. We took two hikes in the national park one afternoon and one day hike. It was quite tough but very enjoyable - the weather was hot but we needed to wear long trousers to try & keep the mosques away. The paths are part of a national trail that is 420km long and takes over a month to complete, but we were knackered after our 10 mile hike!.
Next for a complete change we visited the industrial town of Kiruna for a visit to their iron ore mine. The mine is nationally owned and a major income for the country. The mine’s visitor centre is at about 1000 metres below the mine head. The mine produces approx 70,000 tonnes of iron ore each day, mostly exported by train to Narvik in Norway for shipping around the world. The mine has caused a massive area of land to subside and to continue the extraction of iron ore the town of Kiruna is being moved 3 km. The tour was quite a political spin on how great the mine is and how the locals are chuffed to be moving. We both had an interesting time - especially seeing some of the huge trucks they use (Vanda in particular!).
We initially thought that the roads in Sweden were better than Norway as they are flatter without the ruts. However on our long drive to the coast we encountered about 20 km of rock road, no tar just rocks and gravel. It was slow and hard driving, but we did come across quite a few reindeer on and/or crossing the road, even a mum & young calf, which was lovely to see. The roads are also quiet and the terrain flat, which means Vanda is happier to share the driving (she wasn’t keen on the mountainous roads in Norway!). We stopped on the way to trek to the remains of a crashed Lancaster bomber that had been part of the battalion that sank the Tibitz in Tromsø. Of thirty nine Lancasters that set off this was the only one shot down. We met two older gentlemen who where also visiting the site who told us the full history of the event. The plane was running out of fuel with just two engines operational and so came down in a marsh outside a local town. On landing the plane Pearce’s to ice and pitched onto its nose. However, all of the crew survived and only the pilot was injured.
We have enjoyed our first few days in Sweden but for the mosquitoes.
Cx Vx