Stage 3 from 4.09 to 11.09.2022

Stage 3 from 4.9 to 11.9.2022

Today's drive again goes through magnificent landscapes with virtually no traffic. Of course, it's Sunday, but there's never really much traffic here - a pleasure to drive. We go straight through moose country, but apart from the warning signs on the roadside, we still haven't seen one. We actually manage to find the Hepoköngäs waterfall, with a drop of 24m, the largest free-falling waterfall in Finland, very impressive scenery around it. We continue to the area near Oulu and settle at the Nallikari campsite, a huge beautiful place right on the Gulf of Bothnia. We visit the beautiful beach and the view from the lookout tower of the gulf. We enjoy the aperitif and a delicious spaghetti dinner (always a good choice).

We decide to stay here for 2 nights.

The next day, we take bus number 15 directly in front of the campsite to the city center of Oulu. We visit the cathedral (which number is it???) the market, and the market hall (which number is it???) The city seems a bit sleepy but still has its charm, especially the little harbor and the neighborhood with the old wooden fisherman's houses. We walk the 3 km back and have pizza at the cafeteria at the campsite. We have booked a sauna for 19:00, always a great way to relax, especially right at the campsite.

We leave the great place and once again take a ferry - Lossi, which takes 30 minutes to the island of Hailuoto. The island tour takes us first to the small airport on the island and then to the fishing village with a lighthouse in Marianiemi. A walk on the windy beach completes the island program. The ferry takes us back to the mainland, and we take the road along the west coast to the town of Ii, where we settle on a small site on the riverbank surrounded by old fishermen's houses. For dinner, we enjoy delicious reindeer burgers, so at least we get closer to them on the plate......!

We wake up in freezing cold temperatures of 4.5 degrees but with bright sunshine and pack our things once again (for the umpteenth time....) and drive through desolate areas via Yli Ii (the town really is called that..) and cross the invisible border to Lapland. Soon after, we finally see the first grazing reindeer, although only from a distance. We still haven't seen a moose, not even on the plate...! We continue along the Kemijoki River, which by the way is the largest and longest river in Finland, to the capital of Lapland, Rovaniemi. We settle at the Ounakoski riverside campsite, beautifully located on the banks of the river, with a view of the city on the other side. The site is nicely situated between two bridges, a modern one and an old 2-storey steel bridge for cars and trains, within walking distance to the city center.

Today, we go to the city center of Rovaniemi, which is dominated by several shopping centers and many restaurants. We visit the ARTIKUM, a fantastic modern museum, where we learn a lot about the Arctic and Lapland. Here we also see our first moose, albeit only as a stuffed animal, but still an impressive creature!

Back at the campsite, it's time to do laundry, the washing machine and dryer are very helpful.

The next morning, we head out and make a detour to the nearby ski resort, where we admire the ski jumps from below. But without snow, the whole thing looks impressive but also a bit strange. Now we drive to one of the highlights of the trip, Santa Claus Village, where we can finally cross the Arctic Circle. We skip the visit to Niggi Näggi in person, as there are too many people waiting in line. But we do visit the various shops and the Christmas post office, of course. For the onward journey north to Lapland, we have chosen a yellow marked road. After a short drive, we realize that it is actually a gravel road and we will never reach our destination, so we change our plans and reach Kittilä, just before that a magnificent reindeer buck crosses our path or rather the road. We take some pictures. We toast to our 11th wedding anniversary with a cold Lapin Kulta beer.

Today, we change routes again (for the umpteenth time....) because we feel like we haven't seen much of the real Lapland yet, so we decide to drive north via Sodenkylä, via Ivalo, to Inari. Along this route, we occasionally see some reindeer, sometimes right in front of us on the road. After a side trip to Kaunispää, a bare mountain with an observation tower offering a fantastic 360-degree view, we realize that the area is not as flat as it seems at first glance, there are actually some pretty forested hills. We have a site directly on Lake Inari at the Uruniemi campsite, with Swiss neighbors who are on their way to the North Cape. According to a special app, there is a high probability of seeing Northern Lights tonight during the full moon. We prepare our cameras and wait and wait, but at some point, we give up, it seems like it's not meant to be tonight, too bad!

Today, we start with a visit to the Sami museum in Inari. A beautifully designed museum where you can learn a lot about Sami culture. For the onward journey, we have chosen a yellow crossroad of about 160 km. We had previously done some research on the internet to make sure the road is actually paved. We expect an endless road through stunning autumn colors and unfortunately also without many reindeer. There is very little traffic and practically no towns along the road. After about 100 km and a coffee break at a small roadside café with a gas station, the shock comes: the road continues as a gravel road, so we bump through the area for about 50 km. However, this road is quite easy to drive on. Nevertheless, we are relieved to have a smooth road under our tires again. In Mounio, we find a small campsite for the night. We still feel that the detour to Northern Lapland was worth it, even though we expected many more encounters with reindeer, but you can't have it all!