When I had my baggage checked, I said to the bus driver, 'To Kilpisjarive.' But his reply was in Finnish, so I couldn't understand. In Helsinki, they spoke English well, but it seemed different here.
I bought a ticket in the bus. It cost 63.70 euro. Because I was not sure whether I could use credit card or not, I got one way ticket this time.
The bus left Rovaniemi Station on time at 8:20. Lapland has numerous nature. If I get off the bus and enter some of paths, I could start hiking. I became excited, though the weather was getting worse.
After 2 hours from departure, the bus stopped at Kittila. It was very cold. Temperature was not changed, but no sunlight. Next stop was Levi. According to the temperature gauge, it said 5 degree C, I felt much colder.
We arrived at Muonio at 12 o'clock, and had a lunch rest for an hour. The thermometer showed 10 degree C. I felt much colder than 4 degree C at Rovaniemi. I had sandwich and coffee. After lunch, I tried to go for a walk. But it was really cold!!! Kilpisjarvi is located 200km north from Muonio. I became worried. How cold would it be in Kilpisjarvi?
However, the weather was getting better since then. At 16:30, we reached Hotel Kilpisjarvi. It took 8 hours 10 minutes from Rovaniemi, in other words, 424km from departure.
Maybe you think strange because it took very long time compared with the distance. It's not because roads in Lapland are punishing ones like Costa Rica, where I visit 2 years ago, but because the bus driver has a special task. That is to deliver newspapers and mails. It seems a very important task for the people living in Lapland. Perhaps this is why the driver is get along with everybody. Thanks to him, we could see the expressions of people in Lapland. This is very valuable for me, for seeing expression of local people is one of my goal when traveling.
By the way, he started delivering newspaper from very early in the morning. But when do people in Kilpisjarvi receive newspaper? The answer is ... in the evening. It is a really long way.
This is a photo of a mail box. These kind of boxes are dotting the road. Are you anxious that there is no key? There is no need to worry. And the driver passes mails by hand. ...This mail is not real mail. Real mails are delivered by Postal Service. Maybe this is a personal one.
(to be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment