Freelander

Surely good willed yet somewhat thoughtlessly, Arctic Alaska’s employee recommends me to take an alternative route to Umea, very pretty, via Vihelmina, since there are construction works along the Bla Vagen. According to my maps, though, that’s a dirt road; but the guy claims it’s mostly paved except for some short stretches. Thus, relying on his knowledge and good criteria, I head that way. Certainly for the first few kilometres it’s paved, but shortly afterwards the asphalt ends and, though I keep going for a little while, I can’t see where the pavement begins again as far as my sight can reach from atop the hills.  Now, I don’t know what he meant by short stretch, but it’s starting to rain and I don’t want to end up covered in mud, so I turn back and retake the Bla Vagen, hoping for the best.
Upon inquiring at the first petrol station, they tell me the works begin much farther, past the fork to Sorsele, which means I can head that town then take highway 363 to Umea, thus dodging the trouble. Good information, unlike the guy’s at Arctic Alaska. Too often, I’m afraid, we give advice oblivious to the fact that what works for us doesn’t necessarily work for others, and that often–or even most of the time–people don’t like what we like. Continue reading →

Sweden has the misfortune of sharing one thousand miles of border with one of the most stunning countries on the globe: Norway, and so it always loses when compared. In that battle, the Swedish are so beforehand defeated that they don’t even try to compete: neither its endless forests nor its numerous lakes, reindeer flocks or other natural beauties suffice to impress the tourist who crosses that border from the west.
Like me, for instance.
A rainy and dull morning in late August I cross the imaginary line (barely a road sign, fifty kilometres southeast of Mo i Rana) dividing Norway from Sweden, and whence the road is called Bla Vagen (Blue Way) because of the many rivers and lakes alongside it, all the way down to Umea, on the Botnia Gulf. Continue reading →