Life in the huskies fortress



Dear wonderer,

Summer was over and most of the summer season earnings were invested into a new “home” and a new adventure. This time a new adventure was waiting far in the north - in Tromsø. Step by step these two travelers have been following their dreams. The dreams that they have been dreaming under a sky full of stars. With every accomplished dream another would follow – bigger, more ambitious and more exciting. So why not trying out living somewhere beyond the Arctic Circle?

Finally they were here! Polar night, northern lights, snow and 300 huskies were waiting for them here at Tromsø.

Like in any other new place everything comes at its own time. They had to get used to an alien land, people, new home and a new workplace. At times it seemed as if they had to learn and develop new skills from scratch to fit in into this new strange environment. 

Here in Tromsø time just flies, leaving you wondering why. Perhaps it is supposed to be that way as you mature or maybe it was because of suns absence for two months. Months passed it still seems like only yesterday you were crossing through a vast and freezing Lapland’s landscape and it seems only yesterday you have found a way to Tromsø despite a snow storm. It wasn’t hard to lose track of time here and soon it didn’t made a difference whether it was Monday or Saturday.

Tromsø Villmarkssenter became a new shelter for Karina and Tadas. For them and their newly adopted campervan named Turtle Buddha. They had new lessons to learn by living in such a tiny space that Buddha had to offer. Living in a house on wheels gave an opportunity to get a taste of the idea of minimalism. They had fewer items but still everything they needed. It wasn’t always comfortable but most of the time very cozy. It wasn’t always warm but you learn to be happy when you have at least 15⁰C inside and extremely happy when it’s 18⁰C. It turned out that you can even have a workshop and cook some special dishes inside a campervan. And who could have thought that these two dreamers would survive in a campervan during a northern winter? Apparently it is doable and made these two travelers love winter even more.

Polar night was not as dark as you might have thought. Instead of expected 24 hours of complete darkness for two months you actually get few hours of decent daylight. It always leaves you with a feeling that somewhere out the behind the mountains sun still exists. And when it finally reappears at the end of January, it makes you shed a tear of joy and leaves you curious whether everyone else has the same feeling. There was some pride in getting to see the sun first, but for that you had to drive your husky team further up the mountains!

 Seeing the Northern Lights makes your jaw to drop open and point at it with a finger like a small child. That’s how you react to the dance, shimmer and change of colors of Aurora Borealis. Sometimes it would appear only for a few moments and sometimes it could keep on dancing for a whole night! Northern Light is like an artist in the sky that performs and leaves the stage only to come back later once it caught its breath. It can also make you imagine a painter with a brush who touches the sky with a brush dipped in green and pink colors. Guides tell their guests that Northern Lights appear only to special people as the phenomenon is very unpredictable.  However, living here gets you spoiled and shortly only the top performances have enough leverage to get your bum of the couch to spend some time outdoors gazing at the sky.

Three hundred Alaskan huskies appear in all different colors! These are not typical all fluffy and blue-eyed Siberian huskies or huge malamutes. Alaskan huskies are not necessarily blue-eyed or fluffy, instead they are very athletic looking like and super friendly creatures. Some look very much like your beloved dog at home. As you enter into the dog yard huskies of all shapes and sizes come out from their huts to seek your attention and cuddles. Everyone tries to get as much your attention for themselves as possible.

 Mushers working here learn to know not just their names but also everyone‘s unique character. Every dog is different and has its own behavior, but there is one thing they all have in common - passion to run. Every person working here can’t help themselves not to fall in love with these dogs. Many eventually want to adopt one. 


Karina and Tadas enjoyed a company of awesome colleagues. During a bussy season the center had around 80 employees. Even the owners of the company Tove and Torkil worked with everybody as equals. So many people and so little time to get to know everyone! Of course it’s impossible to hang out and make friends with everybody, but 10-15 people will stay in Karina’s and Tadas’ memory because they worked with them almost every day.

Five months and autumn turned into spring. Meanwhile back home in Lithuania spring begins with awakening nature and green grass, here at Tromsø spring is different. Spring here is like a sunny winter. You still have snow but way more sunshine. On some days it doesn’t stop pouring more snow leaving you wondering how hard it will be to get Buddha out from under a layer of snow and ice to get it back on the road again.

And now it has been already five months and it is time to move on. These wanderers gathered five months of experience and knowledge of living here in the North and in their tinny campervan. They managed to overcome the challenges and now they are no strangers to this new and beautiful place. They met a few new people who will stay in their hearts. They have also adopted a new family member Saturn. Now they have new adventurous plans in their minds. Yes, Karina and Tadas are leaving Tromsø Villmarkssenter – a place which became their home for five months.



Inspired by adventures,
Woolen socks hitting the road


P.S. Some pictures belong to:

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