Geoff
A wet morning but it cleared up to give a dry day. On leaving Strömsund we stopped by the outside of the branch of Swedbank and used their free wifi to download the paper to our iPads. Swedbank is generally good for this and requires no sort of registration to go online, unlike the other main bank, Handelsbanken.
We started our journey along the Vildmarksvägen (Wilderness Road) along a very unassuming road out of the town. Strömsund being on the E45, the Vildmarksvägen is a big loop of road going west and then turning north to closely follow the border with Norway and then heading back east to rejoin the E45 at Vilhelmina. We shall cover a total distance of 370km. We don't have to drive this route and it is quite a detour on our journey north but it is worth doing for the scenery and possible wildlife sightings. It is only open to traffic between June and October each year, although presumably locals who live along it can travel freely with the right type of vehicle. Snowmobiles are probably used.
Much of today has been through more forest but this afternoon we have been driving alongside lakes with far reaching views of mountains, some of which still have patches of snow on the parts that don't get as much sun.
Roadside rapids
We stopped in Gäddede where there was a small tourist office. In a modern linked building was an excellent display of local wildlife and the life of the Sami, the indigenous people who have lived in the northern part of Sweden for thousands of years. Sami also live in Norway, Finland and a smaller number in Russia.
We detoured to the Sami village of Ankarede where we saw a number of traditional Sami wooden huts. I don't think they live in these full time as nearby were wooden chalets that were obviously occupied. There was a camperstop here but we couldn't work out the instructions for accessing the facilities so moved on.
We are overnighting at Ankarvattnets Vildmarkscamping, a site on the shore of lake Ankarvattnet. It is very remote and approached down an unmade road about a mile. There are other vans and some caravans here. The facilities are good and we look out across the lake but the weather has turned quite chilly and it's wet and windy this evening.
Amanda
It was nice to be on a real campsite. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but a big plus was underfloor heating in the shower block, which encouraged me to have showers last night AND this morning. There was also a pleasant kitchen and seating area. I cooked in the kitchen, but we ate in the Camper.
As we left this morning we watched - discreetly - the activities around a neighbouring motor home , where the couple had apparently locked themselves out. Their efforts combined with those of the roadside assistance they had summoned had not succeeded in breaking in while we were there. I suppose it is some comfort when your motor home is that difficult to break into.
First stop Swedbank, which still obliges with its easy internet access. It was so fast downloading the papers that I completely forgot to download the Archers and the final of Brain of Britain, so they will have to wait for another day. Then off on the Widerness Route in the sunshine, which enhanced the beautiful views at every turn. Will we ever get tired of forests and lakes?
We stopped at Gaddede, which is a little metropolis about a third of the way along the route from Stromsund before it rejoins the E45 at Vilhelmina, a total of 370 km. The rest of the route so far has had few houses, and sometimes five minutes can go by without seeing another vehicle. But the road is excellent, wide and well maintained, and in some parts very recently resurfaced.
In Gaddede the door of an unprepossessing low building opened up into a tardis of an Information Centre. In the corner a mock cave like tunnel took us into a magical small but perfect exhibition of the customs and wildlife of the area. It all looked very recent. The grandchildren would have been entranced. The girl on duty was very helpful with tips for the rest of the Route, and reminded us that it is Midsummer Day on Friday - a bigger celebration here than Christmas, she said! Perhaps more of that later.
Next stop was Ankarede, a "Sami Culture Site". There were lots of the typical Sami little wooden tepee shaped houses, and a church. There was also a Camperstop, but using the facilities required payment via an app, and there was no 3G signal, so we moved on and are at a very pretty lakeside site a few miles on. This morning's sun has gone, there is a biting wind blowing our way across the lake, and the rain feels icy! Well, we are less than 200 miles from the Arctic Circle! Oh, and there is snow to be seen on the tops of the mountains!
We have already boiled water ready for a hot water bottle tonight!
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