{"id":106890,"date":"2015-07-09T21:44:50","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T20:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ponyanddogtrip.com\/?p=106890"},"modified":"2022-01-26T14:38:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T13:38:01","slug":"thursday-july-9th-2015-vuonatjviken-25-km-which-7-km-by-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ponyanddogtrip.nl\/en\/thursday-july-9th-2015-vuonatjviken-25-km-which-7-km-by-boat\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday July 9th 2015. Vuonatjviken 25 km, of which 7 km by boat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Eerste<\/a><\/p>\n

First rowing event today, 500 m. with 3 Americans and a Swede<\/p>\n

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7 km by motor boat, getting all wet<\/p>\n

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With Tosca in my one persons tent<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Today is the day when Han will go back home. <\/span>In the supermarket we heard that today the bus will leave at 4 pm<\/span>. <\/span>And then Han still has to make a long train ride to the airport. <\/span>So just hanging out in Jakkvikk until 4 pm? <\/span>A hangout for young people is not available here, not even for elderly youngsters. <\/span>Han doesn’t want to wait. He makes a sign out of a cardboard box, stands at the side of the road, thumb-up and a text message later informs me that after fifteen minutes he got a ride. <\/span>Well done Han. <\/span>that’s how we know you.
\n<\/span>And where is the German Reinl\u00e4nder, who was gonna leave together with me this morning at 10 am. <\/span> <\/span>When you speak of the devil you kick him on the tail. <\/span>He comes telling me that he has incipient migraine and is unsure what he should do. <\/span>(I’ll be back in a moment). <\/span>But I didn’t see anybody for quite a while. I do not know where he is staying. Because I have learned that one can not get through life without a minimum of healthy selfishness, I pack up my belongings and leave.
\n<\/span>However … After one hour walking the Hamburger from Bonn catches up with me. <\/span>I’ll try it anyway, he says.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/span>German Jan is supposed to be a Dutchman, who is on the way to  Cape North I had heard people saying. <\/span>How do you know about me, Jan asks. <\/span>The Swedish couple, of whom the younger man is English, told me, I reply. <\/span>Because I’m called Jan they think I’m Dutch, Jan says.
\n<\/span>After 1.5 h. of <\/span>walking we arrive at a water, J\u00e4gg\u00e1vvre where we have to row 500 m. across. The <\/span>3 Americans plus 1 Swede, also just arrived there. <\/span>Pictures.
\n<\/span>Jan and I rowed, but not at all in line. The boat<\/span> turned a few half laps until Jan suggests he takes over, despite the headache. Yes<\/span> Jan, everything he can. <\/span>In Bonn, he was paramedic at an ambulance. From<\/span> Bonn he was transferred to Hamburg. <\/span>Works there part time and started studying business psychology this year.
\n<\/span>I found the day very strenuous. <\/span>An uphill climb through a 200 m wide slit almost broke me up. <\/span>The weather was nice, sweltering hot. <\/span>A feast for mosquitoes and knuts (little stinging flies). <\/span>In swarms they swarmed around us and in turn, without waiting, they attacked. <\/span>I tried to understand them, because when again will the weather be warm here? At a certain moment <\/span>Tosca gave up. O<\/span>n her belly she has little hair and mosquitoes seem to know that. <\/span>Tosca only wanted to lie on her stomach. <\/span>The knuts crawled into her fur and many of them together crawled around her eyes and sucked the last bit of stamina from the poor dog. <\/span>Every half minute I had to pull her up again. <\/span>To make matters worse the mosquito net, that was loosely drapped around my hat instead of covering my face, probably got stuck somewhere in a bush. <\/span>If this continues, I can not go on with that dog. <\/span>But it has to. <\/span>Finally gotten above the tree line, it was windy, more cool and the occasional mosquito plague is somewhat less. T<\/span>ime for a break. <\/span>What did I find out? <\/span>The black leash Tosca is wearing, is wrapped very tight around her leg. <\/span>Because she pulls me uphill, and she makes me loose my balance when I have to step from rock to rock, she draws me into the water when crossing a river, for all these reasons, I often jerk on her belt, with the thought: those who do not want to  hear need<\/span> to feel. The dark belt on h<\/span>er dark skin did not show that the leg clamped. <\/span>I had to cut loose the belt set. <\/span>Hey, I thought, we still have a tiny jar of mosquitoe oil. <\/span>I treated myself and Tosca. <\/span>That helped a little. <\/span>I waited with a real lunch break  till the moment we reached the highest point of this range, at about 1000 m., Because the flying teasers don’t like that. <\/span>There I also caught up on Jan again.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/span>The rest of the day we descend to the spot where the motor boat to Vuonatjviken will pick us up. <\/span>The boat was already booked at 6 pm <\/span>by the group of three Americans with a Swede. <\/span>We waited, all wrapped up in our cape and coat against the mosquitos.<\/span> I put Tosca into a mat lying there and of exhaustion she fell asleep immediately.
\n<\/span>The boat trip of 8 km. <\/span><\/span><\/span>\"Over<\/a>across lake Riebnes <\/span><\/span><\/span> 
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span> to Vuonatjviken was no fun. <\/span>Our breezy seats and luggage were splashed all wet by the ice cold water. <\/span>Arriving in Vuonatjviken we hear that the night cabin there was full. For dinner we should have called before and  we had to sleep in the woods the guardian told us. So b<\/span>etween the mosquitoes, I thought.  Jan and I walked a<\/span>nother two hours. <\/span>Tosca was happy like before again, now somewhat cooled off, in the wind and there were less mosquitoes. <\/span>Above the tree line we finally sought a suitable camping spot. <\/span>Turns out that my tent poles are gone. <\/span>No disaster: poles were cut. Diner<\/span> in the tent, then bringing Tosca inside. Killing t<\/span>he masses of flies that escaped from her coat took a long time. Next writing my blog and then going to sleep. <\/span>Hopefully I have enough food for two nights tenting. I hadn’t taken much with me b<\/span>ecause I had hoped to be able to eat tonight in Vuovoatnik.
\n<\/span>When you are walking, and especially in the wind, then the mosquito plague is somewhat bearable, but olala if you dare to stand still. <\/span>They attack with dozens, hundreds. <\/span>Even through the hole at the back side of my hat they crawl inside. One<\/span> bit me on my chest. <\/span>I beat him to pieces: bloodstain. <\/span>You wonder how they come in.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Ditto in the tent. I deliberately bought the lightest tent: 800 gr, not taking into account that it was a  one persons tent. But sleeping outside here is, I think, for Tosca no option. She is bitten all over. Although I have the impression that Tosca stands it better than I do. So I take her into the tent, followed by a massacre of mosquitos and Knuts during at least half an hour. They can not all be entered in the few seconds that I open the tent zipper. The knuts creep into her coat and especially between the hairs around her eyes I see always some. Tosca scratches. She is moulting. Tent covered with hair. Trying to catch sleep, I think of the provisions, which I had put between outer and inner tent, to prevent Tosca from stealing it. Here live bears and wolverine. Should not one hang the food in a tree? Someone, Han ?, warned me that a dog makes a bear aggressive. Yesterday I heard from John that two people were slain by bears. However, those two were hunters, but whether that bear sees the difference between a hunter and a former pilgrim I doubt. Suddenly, you hear all kinds of strange noises and then I fell asleep, with Tosca half on top of me, because, as I said, it’s just a one persons tent. Every hour you wake up. Occasional rain.  Still 70 km. to the next settlement, Kvikkjokk. I wanted to do that in two days. Though my guide book counts three days. That means tenting twice. Yesterday afternoon Tosca was fed up with walking among the bugs. Tomorrow we will pass he Arctic Circle after 2 h. of walking. We’ll see. Washing is skipped because of the mosquitos, ditto shaving, but that’s no problem al all. Supplies stock is moderate since we could not stay in Vua … last night. No mosquito net. So it is not all perfect. Vive la vie.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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