Finally in Sweden

5102 kilometers, Härnösand, Sweden

No matter how much we love traveling, there is a certain something about walking into a shop and being able to read all the signs, or saying hello to people, knowing they will answer you in the same language. Welcome back to Sweden.

We left Sinikka's place all bubbly. It was just one of those meetings where there is a certain connection, which is especially interesting as we hardly knew each other before meeting. I love gatherings and events where you meet a lot of people at once to share stories. But sitting in a kitchen over a cup of tea beats any gathering hands down. After we shared journies, prayed and ate we walked away feeling that we had made a new friend, knowing that we had given and taken in equal measures. Lovely.

We were sad to leave, but felt that our days left were running thin. Stayed the night on Seskarö, one of the northen most island in the baltic sea. Finding a place to spend the night after a pray on the shore proved to be more difficult than we thought. 2400 kilos of Mr.Blues proved to be an easy target for the soft sand, leavin the tires deeply embedded in the stuff. Luckily we had experience from last years adventures in Latvia, teaching us to place the car-mats under the tires. After a mere 20 minutes of digging, emotional self-control and prayer, Blues was free from the clutches of the sand. Instead of sand we fought mosquitoes the rest of the night.

Next night was one of extensive driving, all the way to the south of Umeå, where we spent the night. This morning we both woke up feeling rather blah, for unknown reasons. We kept heading south until we came to Höga Kusten, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We climbed Skuleberget, a daring and exhausting venture, which wiped away all blah-ness. Just a powerful experience, standing on a cliff, 285 meters above sea level, knowing that water once was lapping at our feet. With the ice-age 3 kilometers of ice covered the land, pressing it down with its weight. Now the land has risen with amazing speed. If you haven't been there, please visit soon.

After that we were warmly welcomed by the Arenanders, my sister in law's parents. Clas even drove us around town, showing us the sights, including a lesson in tree recognition. Resa has alredy gone to bed, and I'm just about to join here in a minute. A short art exhibition tomorrow before we finish our journey in Stockholm tomorrow afternoon. If a miracle occurs, that is, as we just put our last money in the tank which by no means is enough to get us home. However... I'm not worried.
Motto of 2008: "It will work out. It always does"