In full sunshine

There is a thing I really hate about camping — waking up in a tent standing in full sunshine. Only an immediate cool bath may save the day. Too bad, on that day there had not been any, and the road to Posio was slow, hot and hilly.

I think that switching from near-zero temperatures, cold wind and heavy rain to blazing sun and heat exceeding 25°C requires a little more time. I laugh sometimes at my thoughts, which I had just after arriving to Norway, that I could experience frosts in Finland. More chance of severe sunburn, I guess.

An opportunity for bath, that cannot be missed

The prize at the end of the tiresome day was Livojarvi. When I saw a clean sandy beach, exposed to the setting sun, equipped with tables and benches, I didn't think twice. Jumped into water straight off the bike. Some Finnish couple having a picnic there just put more clothes on when they saw it, I don't know why. Even though the beach I camped had no cover from the morning sun, it was perhaps the best campsite I had so far. Before leaving I bathed, bathed again, and after having packed everything up — bathed once more.

This is a perfect evening

Unfortunately, not only I was making use of that fair weather. While I enjoyed sun and water, evil hordes were building up. Mosquitoes couldn't have reacted to the weather so quickly, but these tiny flies — yes. Small bastards attack in groups and with swift jumps move from one spot on the body to another. They are much harder to track than mosquito and when they bite, the sore lasts for much longer. The worst is that they are almost everywhere and remain active for entire day. The only tactic working against them is to move, so at least they are not a problem while cycling.

Even the cities can be full of those small parasites, as I noticed in Taivalkoski, trying to use an open wifi outdoors. Speaking of cities, at the southern edge of Lapland they began to have a little more life and some spark of visual design. Kemijärvi, which I passed through a few days ago, had interesting non-rectangular layout of the streets, two-level crossings and the first railway I had seen. Taivalkoski also looks good and there's a nice main square, where functionality had not dominated completely over aesthetics.

Taivalkoski, main square

Life in these cities looks similar. There are more people on the streets as I progress south, but most of them are moving. Elders walk, youngsters wander about on noisy motorcycles or in cabrios with music blowing at high volume. The kids use bicycles more often. Sometimes friends stop and talk at supermarket's parking, but I haven't seen a single outdoor restaurant or pub (maybe because of the insects) and those indoors look empty anyway. Social integration must take place somewhere else. Or I will just wait for a weekend and see if anything changes.

After having left Taivalkoski, I chose a second- or even tertiary road along Iijoki river. Hoped for a good camping spot there, but at first it looked appalling — a slow, obviously dammed river passing through mixed forest and swamps, with private property using up every piece of it's banks. The insects told me clearly that there is no way I could stop and think. Just pedalling ahead. And suddenly in this unfriendly area I spotted a riverside wooden shelter, with fireplace and wood cut neatly and stored under it's roof. Being prepared to pick up the tent in my life-record time, I was positively surprised by absence of insects. They appeared after a while, but in quite small number. Starting a fire and taking a place under the roof solved the problem completely. This must had been a result of long experience that someone put this shelter exactly there. How it works, I have no slightest idea.

Wonderful place, free of insects

The surroundings of Iijoki river are now in full blossom. The heat obviously sped up life functions of the plants and has caused a massive explosion of pollen. Clouds of yellowish stuff roll with the wind here and there, leaving marks on everything and limiting visibility on long distances. When I arrived to Puolanka camping, the swimming area of nearby lake (not very clean anyway) looked awful. It's waters were full of that pollen and resembled thick, yellow soup. With the southern wind still blowing, however weaker day by day, now I must keep to southern shores in order to find a swimmable spot.