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!
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.
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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