I’m super excited to be heading south towards Stockholm, thinking that sometime soon the sun and warmth will be coming my way. After doing a little trip planning last night, I realized I had an extra day before catching my next ferry. So, I decided to spend the night in Finland just for the fun of it.

After reaching Nordkapp yesterday and then making it south to Alta, I decided to catch my breath and work out some of the details for the next leg of my trip. I was able to book a ferry from Stockholm to Estonia and schedule a spa day for the Adventure Baby at a great dealership in Tallinn, where he will get his 8,000-mile service and a good wash.

Realizing I had a little extra time, I decided to stop for the night in Enontekio, Finland, making it a short riding day and giving me an opportunity to get a little glimpse into the country. It turned out the decision was fortuitous as the weather today was bleak – nonstop rain and temperatures in the high forties or low fifties.

As I headed south on highway E45 I almost immediately noticed a change in the terrain. Instead of fjords, coves, and inlets I was surrounded by thick evergreen trees and a variety of rivers and lakes. Although it was a little rainy to get many pictures, I did snap a shot of a little waterfall cascading off a cliff into the river below and another shot of a stream meandering through the forest.

Interestingly, although there was almost no traffic on this three hour stretch of road, about half of the motorists were fellow bikers. Even with the weather as dreary as it was, we all took the time to wave when passing.

After arriving in Enontekio, I stopped for gas and groceries before checking into my hotel. It was interesting that the people were very friendly but very few of them spoke any English. I had started to become a little familiar with some of the Norwegian words but to be honest, knew nothing of Finnish. Using hand signals, I was able to get what I needed and check in successfully. Smiles abounded on both sides of our interchanges even though we didn’t use words.

I’m grateful to be getting a good night’s sleep and looking forward to riding along the coast of Sweden tomorrow.

All Adventures