Lulea to Jokkmokk

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Friday 4 August - Lulea to Jokkmokk.... another day of travelling - this time train and bus..... also another fine day with a clear blue sky. The train left at 10am and was fairly empty until we arrived in Boden. Crowds of hikers with large backpacks got off the overnight train from Gothenburg - same train we arrived on yesterday - and got on the train we were on - going as far as Kiruna. We got off at the next stop, a small village called Murjek, where we had a 2 hour wait for the bus to Jokkmokk. There was a restaurant in a no-longer-used Teachers' Training College building just up the road, and we headed there to see what we could find for lunch. Friday's menu was curried chicken and rice or potatoes, and salad, with rhubarb crumble for dessert, followed by tea or coffee - all for $8 if you're a senior. What good value ! Most of the other customers were older locals and this was an meeting place for them. In its heyday there were 500 inhabitants - now there's about 50. Luckily for us, the chef spoke some English.

The bus at 2 pm took us to Jokkmokk - we were the only passengers on the bus. We crossed the Arctic Circle some 7 kms south of our destination - Lee managed to photograph the sign, but the bus didn't slow down or stop for us - I guess it was routine for the bus driver, but rather special for us.

The hotel at Jokkmokk overlooked Lake Talvatis to the pine forest beyond. After checking in, we visited the Sami Museum - one of the reasons for coming here. The museum was fantastic, with interesting displays of all aspects of Sami life. There was a virtual reality flyover of the nearby Laponia National Park, where the Sami graze their reindeer during summer. Parts looked like the Central Plateau in NZ, but mountains all very rounded due to ice-sheet movement during ice-ages. We wandered back to the hotel through the village.

We have tried to put photos in our blogs, but no luck so far - even my techno husband can't manage it... sorry !

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