The ScandiTrip: Day 9
Inari to Nuorgam and back (approximately 336 km / 208.7 mi traveled)
Since we were staying in Inari, we were close to reaching our goal: to drive the length of the country, south to north. It was going to be a long day, so we started out super early, since we had so much to see and explore.
Our first major stop was a hiking trail near Lake Inari which led up to the Bear’s Den Stone (Karhunpesäkivi). We passed by this place the day before, but today we made time to stop and go on a walk. It was otherworldly! We were surrounded by tall pines on all sides, and instead of grass, the ground was covered by tree- and bush-like vegetation. The hiking “trail” wasn’t really a trail, but a series of steps and wooden planks! I imagine that was to protect the delicate greenery that covered most of the area. We passed by the Bear’s Den Stone, which was really a rock with a hollow cavity inside, large enough to stand inside.
The stairs were quite the butt buster. We hiked up to the end of the trail, and were rewarded by a gorgeous view, mostly lots of pine trees and hills. As we were turning around to leave, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I turned around and saw the most gorgeous man I’ve seen on the trip to date! We greeted each other and then continued on our way. (Yeah … I wish there was more to the story than that, but … well … there isn’t.)
After returning to the cafe at the beginning of the trail, we took a break with some delicious strong coffee and cinnamon rolls, then continued north. On the way to our next stop, I suddenly stepped on the brakes and pulled over because …
Look at this sign!!! Isn’t it stop-worthy? Turns out I’m not the only one who thought so — when I googled the name later on, it turned out people have written whole blog posts about the lake called Lihavakalajärvet, or, in Sámi, Buoiddesguollejávrrit. Google Translate says this means “meat fish lake.” Not sure if that’s the best translation, but, well, the sign looked cool!
Next, we spent quite a bit of time a the Utsjoki church huts in the town of the same name. The parish village consisted of 14 huts, dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Sámi families owned the huts and people typically stayed in them during market days and church ceremonies. The huts looked a little bit like hobbit dwellings from Lord of the Rings!
The church huts marked the beginning of the St. Ulrika Trail, a pilgrimage route that also highlights Sámi cultural history. We didn’t have time to walk much on the trail, but we bought locally made mementos later on. We also spent a bit of time walking around the church hut area and relaxed in the little cafe. Another cafe patron was a Finnish language teacher! She struck up a conversation with us and tried to teach us some phrases. It didn’t work … Finnish is an incredibly hard language. I gave up.
After Utsjoki, we kept driving, and then …
… we did it! We drove the entire length of Finland, south to north! We made it to Nuorgam, a tiny village of ~200 inhabitants on the Teno River. It is the northernmost point of Finland and the EU. Mission accomplished! We pulled over on the side of the road and found a cute little plaque marking the spot. At this point, we were about 500 km (310.6 mi) north of the Arctic Circle, and … it wasn’t even cold!
Our goal met, we still had more adventures in store for an already action-packed day. Finnish Highway 4, the longest numbered road in the country, ended shortly after passing through Nuorgam. We weren’t too far from the border with Norway, so we decided to keep going.
I mean, we tried to, except … we got stopped by Finnish border cops.
Spotting our car, an officer waved us down, almost in the middle of the road, and started asking us questions. Nuorgam is a remote and obscure border crossing, with very little traffic. I could tell he was really shocked to see us. He asked us where we came from, and when I told him that we had started our journey in Helsinki several days ago, you could have knocked him down with a feather. We were 1,320 km (820 mi) away from the capital. I told him we wanted to cross into Norway just to see what was on the other side of the border, and he looked at me quizzically. He said there wasn’t really anything to see, but let us pass.
So, we pressed on, until we literally ran out of road!
We did drive around a little bit after crossing, but like the border cop said, there wasn’t anything of note to see, so we turned back and started the long drive back to Inari.
About 15 minutes after passing back through Nuorgam, we happened upon an interesting looking historical site. It was the Välimaa Sámi Farm, a preserved homestead dating back to 1866. We stopped to investigate. It looked completely abandoned, but at the edge of the farm, I noticed a little hut with a door. When I walked up to it, I got a shock. There were a few sheep hanging out inside! One of them bleated in surprise. I guess somebody is using the old farm as a sheep hotel!
Our last stop was a little restaurant we spotted on the side of the road. It was the only place to eat between wherever we were and Inari, so we had to stop there since we foolishly forgot to leave something for dinner in our Airbnb.
When we entered the restaurant, it was almost empty, except a cat and a couple of other patrons. I heard an unusually loud “HELLO!” from behind, turned around, and spotted a cheerfully drunk, red-faced man and his friend sitting at one of the tables. I almost busted out laughing, and the man invited us to sit with them.
Thinking we were going to be in for a really entertaining meal sitting with these two, I accepted the invitation. In the worst case, we could just get up and leave, and I knew I’d get a good story out of it.
Bonus Mom placed our order (a simple dinner of sandwiches and tea), and we sat with our new acquaintances. It turned out they weren’t Finns, but Norwegians, and I didn’t get a chance to find out what they were doing in Finland because Sh*tfaced Guy immediately started barraging me with questions. Even though he was already clearly inebriated, it didn’t stop him from ordering more shots of whiskey. At first I did find it all quite entertaining, but over time he just became grossly inappropriate and annoying. He tried to entice me with tales of his (likely imaginary) cow and reindeer herds and asked repeatedly for my phone number. I laughed in his face more than once because of the absurdity of it all. The real kicker was that his friend barely said a word and looked at him with contempt the entire time, yet never told him to shut up. Sober Sidekick was probably just enjoying the sight of Sh*tface making a complete fool of himself.
After about half an hour, neither Bonus Mom nor I enjoyed the spectacle anymore, so we quickly gathered our things and made a dash for the exit. As we were leaving, Sh*tfaced Guy “coincidentally” decided to take a bio break and followed us towards the entrance, stumbling his way to the toilet. He probably wouldn’t have made it in time had Sober Sidekick not been there to keep him from falling on the floor. I got in one last laugh at Sh*tface before we took our leave. Geez.
Relieved to be free of the Sh*tface Show and to finally have some dinner in our bellies, we drove through the rain back to Inari. It had been one heck of a ride, the most action-packed day of the entire trip. We saw some beautiful natural and historic sites, drove our car until we ran out of road, set foot on the northernmost point of Finland, survived questioning by border cops, and fended off an overly flirtatious drunkard.
That’s enough for one day … don’t you think?
What a journey! May sound weird but, I'm jealous if that "Lihavakalajärvet Buoiddesguollejávrrit" sign photo! :)