Went to Levi (pronounced like levee) today. It's about 170 miles into the arctic circle. Had seen by the weather report that today was going to be beautiful, still I planned for the worst - mid-length tee, long sleeve button down, pullover sweater, & jacket. I packed the sweater and jacket in my backpack for the 3 hour buss trip. We get there, and it is 17°c (low 60's) and later it reached 21°c (70°f). It was hard to believe I was in the arctic, except the vegetation was different, there was still snow on the mountains, and there was not a cloud in the sky (actually, I haven't seen one since Copenhagen). Needless to say, the sweater & jacket never left the bag, and my long sleeve shirt was rolled up before long.
After getting a map from information, we left for the gondolas at the ski lift, which we were told could take us up the mountain where we would be able to see quite a distance. Then we could hike down. We walked the 3 km to the gondolas, only to find that it was closed for the season (they will open again during when summer peak hits). So started climbing a path that was sort of up and sort of back to town. We walked through lots of mud and snow along the way (my socks got soaked, but luckily I had my "wick" socks and they did not bother my feet after I got over the initial shock of the cold).
Before long we came to a clearing and realized we were most of the way up the mountain (later found we were 2.5km up, 0.5km from the top). Since we couldn't find any easy way down, we made our own path (for those of you who got emails from Croatia, this may sound familiar). There was a summer toboggan run in front of us that was also on our map (although not open yet). So we used that as a guide and started down. We climbed down a rocky area, then through mud and snow. At the first crossing of the toboggan run, I stood on the rim and jumped across, then went on. At the second crossing, there was lots of snow built up around the run, so I could not stand on the rim. So I got as close as I could, and jumped. But with my short legs, guess who jumped right into the middle of the toboggan run, and then took a sort ride (only a few feet). After a few minutes to laugh and shake off the snow, we eventually made it down. I only wish the toboggan run had been open, it would have been fun to ride the whole way down.
Because we still had 1 1/2 hours until the bus returned, we walked on the other side of town, down by a lake. We sat by the lake for a while and I hung my feet in - boy, was it cold, but it felt good on my tired feet. We saw several houses with ladders from the 2nd floor down (safety I presume), but one house was funny, it also extended up to the point on the roof. Given the high slant of the roof, I was convinced they must use the ladder to slide down the roof on the other side.
Grabbed a lunch of salami and cucumber on a rye/sourdough bread (sandwiches are huge here) and treated myself to my 2nd diet coke this trip. I swear it was the best I ever drank.
Coming home on the bus, Cathy saw several elk in an open area sunning themselves, but I was on the other side of the bus and missed it. The only thing I saw was a husky that was clearly a pet. Saw lots of sawed-off tree trunks, though. Some appeared to be a thinning out effort, while, based on the pile of logs, others were done by a logging company. Logging, fishing, and mining are big economies here.
So tomorrow, we're off to Stockholm. Although it will be 40's when we leave here in the morning, it will be 70's when we arrive (actually forecast is showing 60's-70's and sunny for the rest of our trip). Though it will be tough to go back to 20 hour days. Between the gorgeous weather and the long days of sunshine, I am quickly getting over the winter blues.
It is hard to believe it will only be Sunday...it feels like we've been here longer. I could easily keep doing this a lot longer than 2 weeks, so if you don't see me after Jun 10, you'll know why...
No comments:
Post a Comment