01/08/2017 Day 11

Bjurholm(S)- Luleå(S)

Distance 310km

Travel duration 5 hours

Fitness challenge push-ups 240

Weather, rain, 12-15C

After Sandra got a little overheated during her morning run and took a plunge into the cold waters, Valerie took her northernmost bath yet, and I enjoyed my breakfast, today's program consisted of finally tracking down the moose.

However, these giant deer are very shy in the wild and we have only been able to see them briefly as we drove by. So we decided to visit the moose farm in Bjurholm.

After a short introduction and some interesting general information, we were able to observe and even touch the moose up close in a huge wildlife enclosure. It was an impressive experience. A European bull moose can reach a height of 210cm, which is significantly larger than a large horse. However, we were particularly fascinated by the 1-3 month old calves, which not only tolerated human contact but even enjoyed being petted and cuddled.

Of course, we had to lighten our wallets at the souvenir shop, buying plush toys and moose magnets.

Back at the caravan, we realized that it had apparently hailed shortly before. The weather was perfect at the moose farm, so we got lucky!

Immediately afterwards, we set off for Luleå.

On the way there, we stopped in Skellefteå for dinner. A lovely little town.

You can already tell that we are approaching the Arctic Circle. It doesn't get dark until around 11:30pm, and as I sit here writing, the sun is already rising again at 1:00am... it's somehow crazy! Our biorhythm is completely out of whack. The girls didn't go to bed until midnight today.