| 19.2.2004
Did you hear
my story of RaidLag? I had almost 3 car accidents on Monday : just not
used anymore that there are also other people and cars on the road...
The bad thing was also that it would have been my fault each time
Yeah, sometimes, one needs some luck... (veerle was with me in he car
& couldn't laugh at all, what I can understand of course...)
Yesterady we went to a restaurant and they had a hearth (fire place).
The smell was so good: I was just flashed back to Finland (Ski trip in
Hetta, sauna in Vehu,...)
My first day at work was just horrible, now it is going better, but still...
I keep on dreaming and that is just the best...
Tante Rik
Addendum:
As in each
good book, there should always be an addendum. In this case it is because
I forgot to add something. It is about when we were driving from Honningsvåg
to Skarsvåg (Ferry arrival in Norway to our hotel which was the
base camp to go to the Norh Cape). The road was very steep and as we were
heavy loaded, we had to gear down to first gear and lost grip… There
we stood, on a steep slope, in the middle of a snow storm, visibility
of about 50 to 75m. In order to get going again, we opened our large “get
away in difficult and slippery circumstances” box. Trick no 1 consists
of driving the car backwards and parking it perpendicular to the side
of the road. As such, when you start, you have 1 to 1.5m “horizontal”
which can be enough to get going again. Frans was standing outside and
giving directions so that I wouldn’t drive too far back and end
in the snow wall. While we were “performing” our trick, the
snow storm got worse and visibility was zero meters: I couldn’t
even see the end of the motor hood. Frans shouted to get going again and
there I went. I thought the trick worked and that I was going forward.
I opened my door to ask (read : shout) Frans if it would be possible for
him to jump in (our speed was just dead slow). And as I opened my door,
Frans shouted to me to stop and put the car back perpendicular to the
road, since I was going backwards with the spinning wheels. Very strange
indeed. Anyway, since trick no 1 was not sufficient, we added trick no
2 which is bumper sitting. The combination of Frans on the bumper and
the perpendicular start, was successful and Frans stayed up the bumper
for a few hundred meters till the road was more or less horizontal again.
Tante Rik
PS: If you are wondering
about the visibility: it changed continuously: from very good to zero
and back. Sometimes in a few seconds, sometimes in a few minutes. And
each condition could last for a very short period of time, but could also
last very long. Luckily, the zero visibility conditions were always very
short.
14.2.2004
Day
10: Hetta – Oulunsalo
And now,
the end is near,… and is the end of not only the 10th Raid Laponie,
but also of the last Raid Laponie. It hurts, but it has been a fabulous
Raid.
Yesterday
evening we had the SuperFinn Party. Nicole organized the last Raid Olympics
Game and the overall winners were Karsten und Fritz. They won a cool 123
electronic ignition.
Also every
participant received his or her SuperFinn Certificate and many received
a big thanks and a small gift for their help and support to the organization.
I can’t mention everybody who came onto the stage last night, but
some are certainly worth mentioning like Serge Narcy as Raider of the
Ages. He participated the most times to the Raid Laponie. Also 2 Raid
babies were nominated (born exactly 9 months after the 9th Raid Laponie):
the son of Manfred & Birgit and my own son Jonas.
At the end
of the ceremonies, Gert-Jan and Serge (and others) organized a Hapansillaka
(=Sörströming) meal/feast for Jukka and Henkka. They also gave
Henkka, Jukka and Veikko a token for our gratefulness for the organization
of the 10 Raids Laponie.
The party
was a lot of fun and ended with the real die-hards in the sauna at around
04h30!
Today, it
was hard to get out of bed and it took more than hour to really be awake.
We did have did have to get out rather early since we had a long drive
of more than 500km. We did some extra kilometers because we wanted to
avoid the big roads as much as possible. We did find a small road, actually
the second smallest on the map. It was printed as a small black line,
if you want to go smaller, the road line on the map is dotted and the
actual road wouldn’t be accessible since not cleared. After about
30 km, we were like wondering where we exactly were since there was a
junction that was not on our map. We took another map and there this junction
was printed, but another part of the road wasn’t. So we had to combine
both maps in order to find our way. The scenery was very nice: everything
was white: trees, roads,… The road was so small that there weren’t
even guide poles at the side of the road. This made driving sometimes
very difficult since it wasn’t always clear where to road was going.
One time, we were really convinced that the road was going straight ahead,
but in reality there was a bend. Frans noticed it just in time, otherwise
we would still have been there digging out our 2CV (calling for help was
impossible since we were out of reach of the mobile GSM network)!! This
road was about 80km long and it took such a long time (we could only do
between 20 and 45 km/h), that we were obliged to take the big road for
the rest of the day. We finally arrived at the hotel at 22h00.
Another thing
we, as a group, did several times, was giving interviews to the press:
television, radio, newspapers (local and national),… The reporters
were curious, not only because what the Raid is about also because the
Scottish team participated with a 4X4 2CV, a rare model with a very impressive
look. I don’t have to tell you that it received all attention.
This is the
end of the diary, which at the same time closes the Raid Laponie. It has
been great fun and we will certainly see each other again.
This may
have been the last Raid Laponie, but a lot of friendships have been founded
on and during one of the 10 Raids and they will go on!!
Many many
many many thanks to the organizing team,
Tante Rik ssssf
14.2.2004
Day
8: Skarsvåg-Hetta
Day 9: Hetta
We did get
off the Norwegian Island, although it couldn’t go fast enough at
a given time: the Norwegian Road Clearance Service was really pushing
us. They cleared the road from Skarsvåg to Honningsvåg just
for us. This was done in 2 stages: first with a big bulldozer with a big
chopper machine mounted in front and then with a classic snow plough.
The chopper bulldozer machine is bigger than I am and if such a machine
can’t pass, then it is really hopeless. After the clearance by this
machine, we could pass with a snow plough in front and one in the back
of the 2CV convoy. It was very strange: at some places, there was no snow
at all (all blown away) and at other places there was more than 1m (where
there was none the day before). Driving back was not too hard, or maybe
it just seemed easier since we got “used” to such conditions.
Nevertheless, the wind and snow was not to be underestimated.
We haven’t
seen much from the big storm, I think we were gone right in time. The
skies were so gray and dark that that didn’t predict anything good.
Afterwards we heard that around noon, they was a snow storm much more
severe than when we where there (and that was already very extreme)
In the morning
we first had checked the road conditions on the main land, and all roads
were still closed, but accessible in convoy drives (this means snow plough
in front and behind a maximum number of cars). By the time we actually
got there, everything was clear again. In the afternoon, we even got nice
sunny weather with positive temperatures (+1°C). That was rather bad
cause when we wanted to get out of the car later on, all doors were frozen
to the car body and we couldn’t get them open anymore (temperatures
at that moment: down to -22°C again).
The scenery was very nice and changed several times: driving along the
coast in Norway (no fjords, but very nice and steep mountains) then a
road through a canyon and finally roads through the woods where there
were huge amounts of snow on the trees. It was already dark when we were
driving through these woods and with the big strong head lights, it had
a very strange look, unnatural even, as in a very scary movie! In that
last part, we also saw a lynx crossing the street and looking very anxious
to us as we passed by (a lynx is a large cat with the very specific hairy
ears). Also the polar light was very active in 2 dimensions: there was
not only the known long stretched cloud like polar light, but it also
had the vertical lines. My prediction at that time was that it could get
active!
Later on
we arrived in Hetta, a very nice village where there are no big tourist
infrastructures as e.g. ski facilities. As such, it is still very calm
and quiet here. We had an excellent diner (as we remembered from the previous
raids) and then it happened as I predicted: as we came outside from the
restaurant and were looking to the sky, the polar light became active.
This means that the color of the polar light is continuously changing
from the green as it is always visible to blue, red, orange and all other
colors of the rainbow. At the moment the polar light gets active, polar
light is coming from all directions (360°) and creates a crone in
the top of the sky right above our heads. This crone is like the pit of
a badly working gas fire: again all colors of the rainbow and continuously
moving and changing. I know I’m failing in my description of this
rare nature phenomena, but please check http://www.articacademy.fi for
a good description and explanation. Anyway, the change from normal polar
light to this active corona took only a few minutes and the crone effect
was only there for maybe 30 seconds. This display is exceptional to see,
certainly since you have to be in the right spot at the right moment…
It was also a lot of fun: we sounded like the Japanese people: oh’s
& ah’s everywhere. Only now it was justified!!
Anyway, this
raid has been a real success what nature is concerned: we saw 2x the moose
(first time it was even a group of 4 animals), lots of reindeer of course,
a lynx, a very special and rare small bird (today, don’t ask me
name, in Finnish it is really impossible the reproduce) and as top of
the bill: the active polar light corona.
Today, there
was a skiing trip on the agenda. The skiing trip brought us to a small
wooden cabin about 6km in the wood. There, a fine reindeer lunch was prepared.
Afterwards, there were sausages that we heated on a stick on a wood fire.
Delicious! I was to participate tot his ski trip on skis, but there were
no shoes anymore of my size (popular size apparently). Several people
of the group had rented a snow scooter and they organized a perfect taxi
service. Since it showed to be a very harsh trip (langlauf through deep
snow without any track), I was not really disappointed.
A sauna, some beers and a delicious diner (reindeer & salmon) further,
we are now ready for the SuperFinn Certificate Ceremony and SuperFinn
party afterwards. As from then, I can sign with “Tante Rik ssssf”
: for each participated Raid Laponie, one “s”.
How tonight
will end, you can read tomorrow in the last update of this Raid.
Tante Rik
12.2.2004
Day
7: Skarsvåg
Here we are
again, we just got the ‘good’ news that we are probably stuck
on this island. There is and has been a severe snow storm and all roads
here and on the main land are blocked. Also there has been a very big
avalanche (lumivyöry in Finnish) on the road to Finland. We have
to be prepared tomorrow morning 09h00 to leave, but chances are small.
Too bad that this happens in Norway where the beer is so expensive (5
EUR for 33cl) and not available any more at this time (we drank everything)…
Anyway, we’ll
see what tomorrow brings… Let’s start again where we left
yesterday evening: after the drivers meeting, we had a long and fantastic
evening/night with a live performance of the Frozen Duck Orchestra (read
“band”). They even got me on “stage” playing the
guitar and singing some songs (first time in 10 years). Luckily it was
quite late at that moment and most people were already to bed. But I was
not the only one to do a guest performance: also Gert-Jan gave the best
of himself!!!
This morning,
there was not too much to do. Henning and co have been visiting the small
fishing harbor and saw some giant starfish in the icy cold water. Then
this afternoon, there was the trip to North Cape. Only 22 cars out of
40 managed to get there. These 22 cars all had snow chains on and could
leave as a first group. The others were to follow later. As the first
group had left for half an hour, a giant snow storm began. At certain
moments, there was a snow fall of 1cm per minute. Of course, this is only
during a few minutes, but it certainly counts. During such snow fall,
visibility is less than 20 cm (one can’t even see the end of the
motor hood at such time!!!).
Because of
this snow storm, also the road to the hotel was closed and we (I was not
in the sissy group that puts on snow chains to get somewhere) had to wait
4 hours for snow ploughs to come to clear the road for us. Driving back
was also an adventure on itself: due to poor visibility, Frans parked
the car in the snow wall on the side of the road during a snow storm,
meaning hard labour to get it out again: digging with a shuffle, lying
on my back to remove all the snow from under the car and then still no
way to get away. Finally, we were pulled out by a truck driving at the
end of our convoy. This was really hard, but it also was a lot of fun
(more afterwards than at the moment itself). As from the moment we were
free again, we had another problem: the road was almost completely blocked
again by the storm. Then I knew why the Norwegian people that towed us
out were so stressed and shouting and… To give you and idea, we
were stuck for about 7 minutes: if it would have been taken 5 minutes
more, the snow plough had to come back especially for us… This doesn’t
mean that Frans is a poor driver, we had zero visibility (less than 20cm)
during more than 30 seconds with a very harsh wind. Jukka has the “rescue
operation” on tape (now and then there is a glance of us, the rest
is only snow): if you could see this, you would agree that what I’m
writing now is only a very poor description of reality!
From the
23 cars that actually left to the North Cape, Alain and Phil didn’t
make it. Even with the snow chains it was very hard driving and after
about 2km of the 12km, they twice ended in the snow wall (at that road
up to 4 meters high) and the car was covered up to the windshield with
snow. They barely could get out of the car. After 2 times digging out
the car, they decided that it was much safer to turn back (also because
they were cut off the rest of the group). A wise and most of all a brave
decision. Also Frans and I, at that time still waiting to go on, discussed
a lot whether we would go on. First of all, we decided that if we would
go on, Frans would drive (if he would wreck his car, he would have had
at least the fun and also, I wouldn’t have to pay for the damage).
Secondly, we just postponed the decision since we were at that time already
very doubtful about being allowed to go…
Anyway, I’m
glad we couldn’t go since even with snow chains it was on the edge
of reason (to be honest, I’m also glad we hadn’t any snow
chains).
Tante Rik
PS1: snow
chains can be hard to put on. 27 drivers of 7 nationalities tried to put
on the snow chains on Phils car: it them 3 hours of trying, shouting,…
Finally, they start trying/learning to put the chains on the spare wheel
and as that gave a positive result, they just also took the front wheels
off to mount the chains… (Phil tries to gloss this by saying that
the manual gave 3 different methods and none was good…)
PS2: here
are the stories of those who actually arrived at North Cape :
Didier &
Stéphane (team n°29):
The conditions where so bad that we couldn’t see the car in front
of us, because the visibity was horrible (1 meter !), and it is worse
if they don’t have any fog red light on the back. Many of us made
touch in snow walls, and we had to use the shovel and push 2cv to put
them on the road, when it was possible to find it !!
Arrived on
the North Cape was the final goal of the raid, and we were really excited
to be there.
After a short stop, we had to return, and it was worse !!! The snow storm
was incredible and very strong. There were so much snow falling in a short
time, and no visibility, that Stephane had to run in front of the car
to find the road, even if the snow plough has just passed. Thanks to him
!
Now, all roads are closed and we are drinking beers in the Hotel, waiting
for the end of the storm to return in the main land and continue the raid.
We don’t know yet if it will be possible tomorrow….!
Some French
words to our friends:
« Merci à nos amis qui nous ont permis d’arriver jusque
là, et qui suivent nos aventures. Ici la neige est excellente !!!
A Bientôt ! »
Mark &
Tim (team n° 31):
Today was the worst and best days 2cv driving I have ever done. We almost
didn’t make it on the North Cape road as they were checking for
snow chains before they could go on the road. We had none but had to tell
the snow plough driver we had 4 wheel drive two times before he would
let us through. The way up was bad and a few cars got stuck and we had
to help Alfred out of a snow wall. He did buy us some beers which was
nice. We finally got to North Cape which was white. Image a sheet of A4
paper and that was it. The way back was just awful. I have driven four
wheel drive in many places and this was the worst ever. The car in front
had five rear lights and at one meter, I couldn’t see any of them.
There were many stops and in the end Stéphane
(team 29) ran five kilometers in front of the last five cars, that were
still on the road back from the North Cape, to show where the road actually
was and to test the snow depth. A big thank you. The weather was so bad
that the car park had to be dug out before we could park at the hotel.
It took an hour. After getting the car parked and making sure there was
enough room for the snow plough to get past we had the driver meeting
and found out that there have been avalanches south of here so all the
roads are closed… The worst news is that the hotel has run out of
beer and I don’t want to spent another day here as it is my birthday
tomorrow and I have to have a drink.
Karsten & Greg (team n° 9):
I am a very reasonable person so I decided not to play in the snow with
my precious car. We could encounter a terrible snowstorm and end up destroying
the 2CV. So I decided not to go to North Cape. I do not need to prove
anything to anybody.
At breakfast,
I explained this to my second hand driver Greg who explained to me he
came all the way from Australia to see the NORTH CAPE or bust.
To put on
the snow chains took us almost 1 hour. They were in my trunk for the last
6 years unused. I happened to run into them at our local grocery store
years ago without knowing when to use them. We were the last team to go
before the barrier closing the North Cape Road separated the heroes from
the losers.
I glued my
bonnet to the bumper of the four wheel drive 2CV car. The first kilometer
or so we cruised nicely behind him. Why chains? You don´t need them.
Before long, cars start sliding off the beaten path. While pulling them
back to the road, the 4WD moved sidewards with all four wheels on the
sheer ice of the road. Very interesting. Only eight more kilometers to
go. Sunset is due in 20 minutes. The chains nicely pull us up every hill.
Visibility gets worse. Suddenly, a sign appears: North Cape 185 NOK. Buses
right lane, cars left 4 lanes. No buses today. The snow plough ploughed
a sixth lane around the booths. Good boy.
North Cape.
Whow! We are at the end of the world. This is it! Congratulations, cordial
hugs, even a sip of champagne. We find the North Cape monument and take
photos for the beloved ones. Call Australia to tell we are there. Everyone
shall know it.
A phone call
from Manfred reminds us of the rest of the team. Yes, we return soon,
yes, the road will be cleared for those waiting 12 km south of the Cape.
It starts snowing. Sunset is now. The convoy starts moving back. Peter
Saalmink is behind me. His engine stalls. He hooks his car to mine with
a rope. The road service truck who is supposed to drive behind us passes
us. I glue our rig to his rear lights. Snow blows over the banks besides
the road right onto our windows. Snow comes into the car through the closed
windows. Greg has to remove snow from the windscreen every minute. The
visibility is down to zero. The convoy stops. Our phone receives no signal.
Nobody answers my CB calls. I try to walk and look what happens but I
have to return to the car immediately. Within 30 seconds, I am soaking
wet. I hate North Cape. I dream of Gran Canaria. How long does our fuel
last? Where are our warm blankets? Do we have food? How long can you survive
in a snow storm? Do the Norwegians know where we are?
It seemed
like hours before finally the snow plough appears out of the storm. He
turns and ploughs again. Ploughing for his life. It felt like weeks when
the convoy finally reached the starting point again. In the darkness,
we saw the road better than in daylight. 3 hours of excitement were over.
We enjoyed every second of it.
11.2.2004
Day
5: Tromsdalen – Honningsvåg
Day 6: Honningsvåg – Skarsvåg
This update
includes 2 days, there was just too much fun on the ferry… and it
was the first time that everybody was together for a longer period of
time without being tired, stressed,… It was the moment to bring
up the old stories, to get updated on all kind of home situations (as
e.g. the number of kids,…)
I believe
that yesterday, we had the toughest day of the last 4 raids: 1.5 km (between
the camping in Tromsdalen and the ferry).
Getting on
the ferry was not as I expected: there is no ramp or something alike as
there is in other ports. The ferry just stops at the wharf and the ramp
“comes out” of the ship. Its base is adjustable in height
and behind this ramp, there is a huge (car) elevator. This assures that
the ship can loaded and unloaded at every wharf independent of the local
accommodations and independent of the tidal situation…
The ferry
itself was smaller than I thought it would be, although it can accommodate
a lot of people (a lot of cabins). These ships are also the mean transportation
in this region. I can tell you exactly what the local shops of Hammerfest
and Honningsvåg will have in stock as from today (fresh tomatoes,
potatoes, green salad, eggs,…). But also a lot of other equipment
is traveling along: gas explosion proof equipment (Stahl), Rittal enclosures,
flowers, construction wood, airco ventilation pipes,…
As already
said (written), it was really nice on the boat. The Frozen Duck Band has
been performing live all evening/night, we have been looking at pictures
and movies of this and previous raids, world meetings,… We have
been talking about I don’t know what (but certainly the most about
the lonely wives & kids at home whom we miss a lot).
During the trip, there weather could change in one minute from open and
clear sky to a snow storm. Over here at Skarsvåg, this is even worse:
a few seconds are enough, but more about that later.
There were
several times that there was polar light, one time better than the other,
but always very nice. On the ferry, there was also a group of Japanese
people and there are very different to us: Oh & Ah in group orchestrated
by a choirmaster that wasn’t there. Also they were taking pictures
all the time (with flash!!). I would like to see there faces when the
pictures are developed and there is just nothing to see.
There is
still something else I wanted to mention, but what I forgot the last time.
In Belgium, there is this crazy animal rights movement called Gaia (don’t
ask me why, also not important). But the last weeks, it has been really
cold in Belgium (a few degrees minus, nothing compared to what we have
over here). These Gaia people were whining about the fact that the cows,
horses and all other animals should have a barn in which they could stand,
as if animals can’t withstand the cold anymore. Anyway, over here
they would have a lot of work with these “poor” reindeer and
moose outside at temperatures up to -50°C…
Anyway, the
rapid weather changes make car driving really difficult over here. From
Honningsvåg to Skarsvåg there is only about 15km, but 15km
of hell. We started with blue sky, one moment later, you don’t see
a thing because of fog, the next moment, there is a snow storm and the
next moment skies are clear and blue again. This all combined with very
steep slopes (9% and more), means that even following the poles at the
side of the road is not simple. It is important that you always keep on
driving since if you stop, there is not enough grip anymore to go on again.
Of course (it should be abnormal of not), we had to stop a certain moment,
and indeed, no way we could get on again. There was only one (proven)
solution: one of us two had to go stand on the bumper (Veerle, my wife,
did it also one time last year). Since Frans was much better dressed against
the wind, he volunteered and it resulted in the best piece of video of
this raid (inside announcement : héél, héél
ruig : For Frans it was just too warm inside the car and therefore…).
How I did this video, I can’t remember: combine the weather conditions
of above with, if there was any visibility, Frans standing in the way
(on the bumper) + steering with one hand, the camera in the other…
At one moment,
visibility changed to zero in half a second, without any warning: even
the poles at the side of the road along our car where not visible anymore.
We knew that a bend was coming and that the road was going up again, since
visibility was more than 5 km just before. At that moment, we had a velocity
of about 50 km/h (this was a downhill situation and we had to get some
speed in order to get on top of the next hill (slope=+9%). This was really
bad. We slowed down as fast as we could, but that was actually more slipping
and sliding, finally we stopped in the snow wall at the side of the road.
To be honest, I just parked the car there so that we could wait for some
better weather. Luckily, no damage to the car. Jukka and Henkka experienced
the same, excepted that Henkka will have to visit a car body repair center…
(not too bad, just minor scratches)
The 4 wheel
drive 2CV finally had her moment of glory today: finally it paid off.
They even pulled Alain and Phil up to Skarsvåg (and that only for
a couple of beers).
We couldn’t go to the Norh Cape today since we were rather late
(delayed ferry arrival + it took a long time before all 2CV’s were
disembarked (with this elevator thing)) and there is also a VW team over
here. They were already on their way to the North Cape when we arrived
and since only one team of cars can go at a time, we have to wait until
tomorrow. This VW team copied the Raid idea from Jukka and Henkka. It
means that the Raid Laponie is doing very well, otherwise it wouldn’t
be copied!!!
Also, Danny
& André had a problem today. Their car stopped in the middle
of nowhere, on a slope and in a snow storm because of some water in the
petrol (tank). Since they are also good mechanics, they quickly solved
the problem, but why has one to have such a problem at this location???
Another interesting
fact is the snow plough time table system. Over here, it doesn’t
need to snow in order to make the roads inaccessible for cars. The wind
can move such big quantities of snow in such short periods of time that
roads can be completely blocked, even if they were free of snow half an
hour earlier. For that reason, the snow plough will clear the road every
I don’t know how many minutes. In order for one to know at what
time the snow plough will pass by and clear the road, there is a time
table, more or less like the bus time table at home. This time table is
printed on large boards at the side of the road where you can then also
wait. Nice isn’t it? At least you know how long you have to wait…
More news
about our trip to North Cape (14km from here) tomorrow!!!
Tante Rik
10.2.2004
G'Day to
all Raid Laponie Raiders Australia Down Under calling I wish everybody
the coldest temperature possible.
Here are two messages
To Greg Batman
Bracegirdle (if actually on the Raid with Karsten, I did not get the latest
news about the not-going situation due to new baby delivery) : we would
like to have your reaction regarding the Arctic Circle Baptism, in other
words, what do you think about the surstroming ? Be careful, your words
may be published in the ACE magazine....
To Erik and
Aniek : thank you for the Happy duck family we received today. It is a
nice attention, I hope it is not only because you like the name of our
son. Please note his name is Eirik ! He will be able to play with it in
no time.
Have a good
time everybody and not too much enough drink please.
Lorraine
Heurtebise ssf
8.2.2004
Day
4: Kiruna – Tromsdalen
I have got
more news about the accident: Danny and André were very lucky!!!
Here is what happened:
They were
just driving and a car was to pass from the opposite direction. As such,
their big lights were off. At the moment the car passes and they put on
their big lights again: a reindeer right in front of them, no way to escape
it… They hit the reindeer on the left front of the car which made
the car spin around several times. All this at a speed of 60 km/h, which
is a lot if you hit such an animal. Luckily, Danny has a lot of 2CV cross
experience, which made that he could keep the car on the road and made
that they didn’t end somewhere at the side of the road in the bushes.
The animal was badly hurt and ran into the forest. In the beginning, it
stayed not too far from the road and Danny and André could still
see it, but then it rain far away in the forest. Anyway, another Swedish
car stopped and this guy called the police who called the nearest breeder.
This guy came over, but couldn’t locate the animal, so they fetched
some snow scooter for an extended search. Finally, they found the animal
deep in the forest, but it was so badly hurt (broken shoulder) that they
had to kill it (it was already unconscious). They left it there for the
night and were to pick it up the next day (otherwise it would be a loss
of food). The car itself was not too badly damaged, considering that it
could have been much much worse: the bonnet, a headlight and a wheel arch.
Too bad however since the car was completely redone and better than new.
Anyway, the breeder is insured for such accidents and this insurance would
pay for all the damage…
Every year there are about 4200 reindeer killed in Lapland.
Anyway, it
was a long day again: 400km of driving between Kiruna (Sweden) and Tromsdalen
(Norway). Today it is much less: only 2 km to the harbour so we can get
on the ferry to Honningsvåg. I’m writing this update today
since we were too tired yesterday…
We (Frans
and I) drove together with the President (Gunther, the big boss of the
Austrian 2CV Club) & Nicole and Arne & Slooten. Very nice. We
saw a troop of at least 40 reindeer (along and crossing the road) and
we also saw a moose again (really lucky this year).
Just in front
of the Norwegian border we did some shopping. It is really amazing what
they are selling around here in the petrol shops. It are more big supermarkets
where you can find everything from clothing, spare parts for the car,
fishing equipment, food,…. In that shop, they had this amazing cool
high beam headlight : xenon bulbs, very powerful and very expensive :
524 EUR for 1 light. Since you need at least 2 pieces, these lights would
then almost be as expensive as the 2CV itself… Too bad the price
was so high, otherwise I would have bought a set (I should really get
acquainted with somebody who works at Bosh). They also sell less expensive
things such as good quality winter clothing. Much too warm for Belgium,
probably even too warm for the Alps (during a ski trip). Anyway, a special,
very heavy overall was only 120 EUR, but as already stated: we don’t
have any use for it since it is too warm…
The last
50km to Tromsdalen were very hard: there fell about 10cm of snow in a
couple of hours. Although it was not a snow storm at all (2 years ago
coming back from Vardo was much worse), the visibility was really bad.
As such the driving was very fatiguing, but we arrived well and we are
now in very nice wooden cabins. Phil is talking about the raids he is
organizing: Raid Island (in June of this year), Raid Alaska in 2006, Raid
Alaska - Mexico in 2008 and who knows what is to follow afterwards…
Tante Rik
PS: The cars
are all doing well, except the usual problems : broken driving shafts,
alternators,…
8.2.2004
Tervehdys
Mika Utriaisen kotikonnuilta täältä Vehmersalmelta. Mielenkiitoisia
kokemuksia teillä tuntuu olleen tähän mennessä. Täällä
on tällä hetkellä pakkasta paritkympit eli uunia on lämmitettävä
ihan kunnolla. Huomenna arkiseen aherrukseen eli työpäivähän
se on meillä "tavan taaplareilla". Käy vähän
kateeksi teitä. Silti kysyn: Miten sitikassa pärjää
talven tuiskuissa? Hengessä mukana teidän kanssanne. Mikalle
erityisterveiset! Tsemppiä!
Have a nice and happy journey to Nordcapp. I have visited it in Summer...
maybe sometimes in Winter... Good Luck!!
t. Jussi
8.2.2004
Kære
Tim
Har prøvet
at sende siden fredag. Switch to english. When you was/were heading north,
we slept in the afternoon in +22 degrees on the lawn!! here in Bearn.
From 1st to 5th we enjoyed extremely good weather. Now we are back
to normal/+12 degrees. And the 5th you slept in minus 10, we heard from
Lina. Pjuw. What a deference. We follow your steps every evening, when
possibly (please Wanadoo.fr let us through).
Greeting
from us and from Gary and Helena (were here from 1. to 5th.)
Love Ivar
and Rie
Greetings
to your friends we know.
8.2.2004
Greetings
to all the teams in the raid and I hopes it is realy nice cold so every
body can have fun in the snow.
Team 25 -
all the best and hope to see you when you are safe home.
Team 26 -
hope to see you in jutland at Citræf this year - i am glad that
Tina is well again.
Tante Rik
- thanks for the big job keeping us all updatet.
Jukka - Veikko
- Henkka - Nicole thanks for making this event possible, I will follow
it close.
Best regards Jan Christiansen
sf - Denmark
7.2.2004
Day
3: Haparanta-Kiruna
Hello everybody,
In front
of the computer sits a tired man : it was a beautiful day, but very tiring…
The day started
very early: everybody had left Haparanta at 8h30 for a day total of 500km
and a lot of visits. The first visit was to the market of Jokkmokk. A
yearly town fair that was organised for the 399th time this year. Since
it’s the 399th time, it is famous and, with bus loads, people are
brought in for far away. It is a rather large classic fair as can be found
everywhere, except that in Jokkmokk, a lot of Lap stuff is sold (we are
after all in Lapland).
The visit
to the market (as it is called)
was nice, but oh so cold. Temperatures of -20°C are not too bad, but
when you’re outside for a couple of hours, it is tough. This is
also the main reason why we are so tired now.
We didn’t
realise this morning that we would be so lone on this market, so we weren’t
really prepared/dressed for the cold (not enough warm clothes…).
Frans had such cold legs at a given moment that he bought himself a pair
of long underpants which he immediately put on in the toilet of a supermarket.
As from that moment, he was as a new born man (with warm legs).
Earlier on,
everybody stopped at the Artic circle for the Raid Laponie Ceremony initiation
of the first time participants, performed by MC Henkka (MC = Master of
Ceremony). Basically, the ceremony is quite simple & easy: the first
time participants just have to eat a small piece of fish (herring) on
a toast with some vegetables. The herring is prepared in a special way,
called Hapinsilakka : the fish is caught in spring time, cleaned and then
put for about 24 hours in salt water. After these 24 hours, it is immediately
canned. Once in the can, a fermentation process starts that is only ready
as from the third Thursday of August (also only available as from that
time). The cans are like wine: the longer you keep it, the better they
get (with bottom & top complete domed). The fish is also better known
as Sörströming : a national delicacy of Sweden. Because of the
fermentation process, the fish has become very soft, also the bones are
not what we are used to be. They also are soft and once you have a piece
of this Hapansilakka in your mouth, you can’t make the distinction
between “flesh” and “bone”. As you can imagine,
the smell is horrible (the taste is even worse). As such, nice pictures
have been taken today…
Oh, there
is one other detail: in Finland, the Hapansilakka is only good as animal
feed and is mainly given to the minks….
Getting back
to more interesting stuff: the weather. It was really excellent today.
Sun and blue skies, all day long. As a result, the temperatures dropped
to -27°C. We
(Frans & I) also noticed today, that all farms and country houses
without exception, as well in Finland as in Sweden, are paint in a dark
aboriginal earth-like red colour. Don’t ask me why, but certainly
there will be a good reason.
Anyway, after the market, Kenneth Alexanderson arranged a guide visit
at an old hydro power plant station. The facility opened in 1910 and is
has been completely preserved: turbines, generators, control room,…
Some of the turbines and generators were opened to show the inside for
easy understanding of how it works. Very, very nice. At this time, the
facility is not in use anymore, except 2 turbines/generators: one for
education/training of staff and the other for R&D (research and development).
Thanks Kenneth : wonderful idea. After the power plant, we had still about
150km to drive, which made that we only arrived around 22h30 at Kiruna…
I also heard
this evening that there has been an accident with a reindeer: Danny and
André couldn’t avoid the animal… I haven’t talked
to Danny or André yet, but although the animal didn’t survive
the accident, there should only be minor damage to the car. With Danny
and André, everything is ok. If there is more to tell, I will do
so the next update.
Since we
have entered Lapland, one should always watch out for the reindeer. They
are difficult to spot (well hidden in the bush) and cross the road very
unexpectedly. They sometimes also just stand in the middle of the road
and certainly behind a bend, this can be very dangerous…
Reindeer
are no wild animals, they all belong to somebody. There ears are carved
by the owners/breeders so that they can recognize their own animals. Thus,
in case of an accident, you always have to warn the local police. They
can then track the owner and the government will pay the breeder for the
loss. If you can’t reach the police, you should cut off the ear
with the markings and bring it to the nearest police station. Also, the
blood should be taken out so that the meat is not spoiled and can still
be sold afterwards. Don’t ask me how this should be done, calling
the police is probably just the best solution…
More tomorrow,
Tante Rik
7.2.2004
Hallo jongelui, vanuit
een zeer stormachtig Katwijk wensen wij jullie veel rijplezier. Ik heb
van de diverse sites begrepen dat het erg koud is in Finland (- 25 C.)
en dat de tocht behoorlijk zwaar is.Corrie en ik volgen jullie belevenissen
op de voet en we leven met jullie mee.Veel succes in de komende dagen.
Hans & Corrie
7.2.2004
Hello Jukka
& Päivi
Congratulations
on setting off on the 10th Raid Laponie. May we at 2CVTV wish you all
a safe and enjoyable Journey. I have made a link from our 2004 News Menu
so that our visitors (in the UK mainly) can follow your progress. Please
let me know if it would be possible to copy a few pictures and words (fully
acknowledged to you of course) so that we have a page with our menus that
links to your diary, website, e-mail log and weather page.Best wishes
from Dick
Roberts
www.2cvtv.co.uk
7.2.2004
haai
raiders,
we wish you all the best
andre masure;KAPPEN HE(in de rally van zweden zijn ze nu ook aan het kappen)'t
zal wel weer niet koud genoeg zujn zeker?
alain descamps;zorg
dat uw baard niet afvriest,keep on ducking
tante rik;
de groeten uit de vloanders
peter and
sonja;greatings from marino greta and arno,i am sure that the road is
not so bad like in the italian alps
les flandriens
7.2.2004
Hallo Bikkels,
Alles goed daar. Ik probeer nogmaals een mailtje te sturen. Op dit tijdstip
zal het hoop ik niet zo druk zijn.
Hopelijk gaat het bij jullie goed. Is het al koud of valt het mee. Hier
wordt het weer slecht en er wordt dit weekend weer een zuidwesterstorm
verwacht.
Nou maar hopen dat de schutting blijft staan.
Volgende week ben ik de hele week vrij. Kan ik op de "kindjes"
passen. Ga dinsdag met Marielle en Paul mee naar Amsterdam en Almere.
Mijn moeder vond het sms-je heel leuk.
Ik hoop dat jullie het gezellig hebben. Was de sauna lekker!!!!!
Veel plezier nog en doe voorzichtig met overstekende rendieren want ik
ben bang dat Oma dat niet aan kan.
Doet het fototoestel het trouwens goed.
Koen even voor jou: Mis je heel erg, hou van je en denk erom dat je thuis
komt eten!!!!!!!
Heel veel groetjes en een dikke kus aan de andere 3 mannen.
Elke
6.2.2004
Day
2:Vehu-Haparanta
Today, we left much too late : first of all because of 3h30 last night
(morning) and because of the necessary money exchange since Sweden and
Norway don’t have euros… Since we had to do 500km today, we
mainly did the big roads.
A lot of other teams (that got away in time) did smaller roads and Henning
decided that he had to do something special and parked his car in a ditch…
Not his fault and nothing to worry about: no one got hurt and no damage
to the car. Actually, it could have happened to everybody. It has been
snowing today and on the smaller roads, one can only orientate on the
poles on the side of the road (since they are not cleared immediately).
These were badly placed and as such a faint curve in the road was not
visible. Thus although he was exactly between the poles, he still ended
with one front wheel in the ditch. Once there is one wheel in the ditch,
there is nothing you can’t do anymore: the rest of the 2CV just
follows. A nice Finn that accidentally passed by, called a tractor and
he pulled Henning out (the start of the story is more exiting than the
end, but I unfortunately can’t help it).
More interesting were the group of 4 moose (or elk) we saw today: really
cool. I have really been waiting (3x Raid Laponie) to see them and then
now 4 in one time… Everybody
has probably seen these animals already in a zoo, but in real life, real
nature it is really impressive! Unfortunately, we couldn’t stop
because of some trucks behind us, but still…
Today, we also wanted to do an official ice road over the sea (from the
main land to an island), but it was too late. This is something we will
do at the end of the Raid.
At this time we are already in Sweden, right behind the Finn-Swedish border.
Tomorrow we will pass the Artic Circle and that promises lots of fun…
Some Dutch teams are also keeping an online log book. You can check it
on www.raid.2cv6.com + www.garedunord.nl (Dutch only)
Tante Rik
PS: Private Raider messages :
Andi, Frizomat is doing ok beside the fact that about 75% of his brains
were not available this moring, but I could compensate with the 25% which
I got left from yesterday evening/night. Manfred…
Henning, Team 24: We are well aware and have a fantastic car that can
port 1 ton of snow inside…
Veerle, Love you, Tante Rik
Frans: Ma, how is it with triko and duts and casper ???
Min temp. today – 12 My temp was 36° am I sic now?
Your not lonely man.
6.2.2004
Terveisiä
kaikille täältä Haaparandasta. Erityisesti 88 Eijalleni
de Matti
team 19
6.2.2004
Hyvää
matkaa ja terveisiä tuttaville!
Karin
6.2.2004
ANIMALS ON
YOUR WAY
In Finland there is about 110 000 elgs. Every autumn has been hunted 80
000 away, but there still are 30 000 them walking in the woods. (In Sweden
two times this sum)
And yes they are free :) And they really walk where they want to. Even
in the streets. They have no traffic regulations. There are almost 3 000
crashes per year in Finland. When you meet an elg: pass it always from
behind!
If you get in an accident with an elg:
- warn other traffic
- help people
- call: ambulance 112, call: police 10022
If the animal is injured badly, it must be finished. Police will do that.
But if the elg runs to woods, LOOK which direction it goes. Local hunters
go after it. Same rules with every other animal, but remember that somebody
always owns a
reindeer, so contact at least local people - it is recommended always
call police. Bears are sleeping at this time of year, but if you some
reason hit one, do NOT in any
case go out of the car! Wolfes you do no see, they are so clever - they
see you! I tell this because I have hit a deer two times with my 2cV;
it really spoils your day :(
2cv sf ELG REINDEER DEER
300-500 kg
60-70 kg
25-30 kg
Have a safety Raid!
Pia Könönen sssf
6.2.2004
Please distribute
this email to the Austrians and to the finnish organizers!
Hi all!
We are sitting here in Saigon and we need no Sauna to sweat! It is more
than 30 degrees and humid. You can't exist here without a fan! We try
to avoid the sun, but without success, we are already sunburned! It is
incredible busy here, all people are moving. Mostly by Motorbike, and
there is only one Rule: don't stop! They drive left and right, schneiden
die Kurven, take no notice of the traffic signs and so on... But it flows
and I have not seen any traffic jam. For european pedestrians it seems
to impossible
to cross a road, but it is possible! Close your eyes, move steadily across
the street, they will ausweichen - wirklich!
The beer (Saigon-Beer) is fine here! We can't image at the monent, that
people sleep in a tent in the snow...
regards
Doris sf and Gerhard sssf
To Arne:
Danke fuer die SMS!
6.2.2004
Pels en Dré,
I wish you a very nice trip.Geef maar buzze
Gilbert KINDT
6.2.2004
Bonjour,
Nous souhaitons une excellente forme aussi bien à tous les voyageurs
qu’à toutes les 2CV !!! Merci aux organisateurs
de nous permettre de suivre votre voyage Nous adressons tout particulièrement
à Stéphane TRADIGO et à Didier GAMBERT (Team
29) un petit souffle chaud de France pour les réchauffer. Peut-on
vous adresser leur photo ainsi que celle de leur 2CV ? Merci aux
organisateurs
M-Claude et Jacques, sponsors
6.2.2004
Hoi Frank,
als we het goed begrepen hebben, heb je je eerste dag er op zitten. Is
het meegevallen? Het lijkt me fantastisch mooi. Hoeveel uur licht heb
je eigenlijk? enne...op de site van de raid werd beloofd dat er massa's
sneeuw zouden zijn - kettingen al nodig gehad, of werken de spijkerbandjes
naar behoren?
Veel plezier verder!!
Bertha en Olaf
5.2.2004
Day
1: Helsinki – Vehu
Ok here we are: the first update on the 10th Raid Laponie.
First of
all : to all the lonely wives & kids at home : we are doing well,
everything is going according plan and don’t worry, we won’t
do anything that you wouldn’t do…
I don’t
have to tell you that the weather is acting strange again this year :
+17°C in Brussels today, positive temperatures in Helsinki (even rain?!),
but luckily -7 here in Vehu. The coming days it should go lower since
a strong northern wind has been predicted. Of course, there exist 2 different
departments: one that predicts the weather and one that actually creates
it and, as in a good bureaucracy, they don’t really talk to each
other. Rather curious what that’s going give… Despite of these
rather high temperatures, the roads are not too slippery. And the spike
tires do the rest : no problem at all. Today, there are even spike sets
for shoes: Alain Descamps gave me a set tonight and I can certainly use
them : I had at least 5 nearly miss “unfriendly encounters”
with Mother Earth” (others were less lucky…) Everybody did
arrive well today, although there were of course the first day child diseases
as e.g. flat tires (Phil & Alain : 2 in one day),...
Frans and
I took the scenery road today: the smaller the road, the more we liked
it. Of course, it takes more time, but then there is much more to see
and it is much less tiresome that the highways. Also for the second hand
driver it is much more interesting: planning the route and so.
Vehu is really
heaven on earth: a marvelous meal (with fresh smoked salmon, (locally
caught) elk stew,…), the best sauna on earth (lake and everything
included),…
Actually,
there are two saunas: one in front of the school where we are sleeping
and one 3km further at the lake. This sauna is in a block hut (with a
very cool chill out room) at about 10 meters from the lake. The sauna
is just the best…
Due to the strange temperature pattern of the latest weeks, there are
2 ice layers: one that is about 20 cm thick (and safe) and another that
is only a centimeter or less thick (with a water layer in between). For
one other reason (no comments please), this thin layer cracked and broke
when I got on the lake : really disturbing as I didn’t know about
the two layers and cracking ice is like the worst nightmare you can get,
certainly, if at a certain moment, it just breaks and …. Luckily
I just ended a layer lower (= about 10cm) Anyway, since I’m still
writing this story, there is nothing to worry about.
Afterwards
there was a real “human” soup: in front of the school, a huge
hot bath tub has been installed. The diameter is about 2 meters, 1 meter
high. In the water there is a wood stove that heats the water up. It more
or less like a spa… since it was outside, it was very cosy: people
in the tub and people around the tub, all drinking a beer and telling
stories, updating each other about all that happened since the last Raid
Laponie… More information about this bath tub should be available
on www.amhpuu.fi. I haven’t checked the site yet, but I hope there
are some pictures on it.
Anyway, it is about 3h30 now and I’m going to bed,
See you all…
Tante Rik
5.2.2004
Hallo Andre
& C°
Received
your letter today. Have a nice trip in Laponia. We will try to follow
you on the way up north. The website is nice and easy. Goodluck and have
fun and take care.
Jean-luc and Ivette
5.2.2004
We wish you
all a nice trip in Laponia, especially Kenneth and Carina from the middle
of Europe -Vårgårda. Good
luck and take care.
Annette & Lorentz
4.2.2004
I wish to
all 2CV teams on Raid Laponie 2004 good start tomorrow, especially to
Sonja and Peter from Maribor, Slovenia with one photo from our ski trails!
P.S.: I follow all
of you on raid's home page!!!!!!!
Regards,
Andrej Borko,
3.2.2004
Thanks very
much for the info! Congratulations for the RAID organization, and the
web site (what a good idea!)
Do you mind, if I cut some infos and pictures, and I make a one page briefing
in our Club Magazine in Hungary? I'm sure it will interest our 2CV-fans
in Hungary! Thank
you in advance, and I wish you GOOD LUCK and NICE WHEATHER, CLEAR SKY
IN THE NIGHT!!!
schubi
-
- -
Feel free
to do so. You can find some high resolution images at the bottom of the
RAID LAPONIE -page.
Jukka
1.2.2004
Hallo Laponie-Raiders
2004
while you
start "RAID WHITE DUST" soon, we are preparing ourselves for
"RAID RED DUST", which will happen March and April in Australia
..., and because we go downunder mid of February, this time we can't go
for our third "s"... Wish you a really cold trip (hey Greg,
you'll like that ...), excellent batteries, well working starter-motors,
proof oil-cylinders (hello Andre ...), less reindeers on the road but
big portions of them on your plate ... We'll have a daily look on the
Raid-diary to be informed about your trip Have a lot of fun..
Andreas Belz
ssmf/ Anke Thomasky ssmf
Email: andreasbelz@t-online.de
Souvenir
1998 !!! -44.6°C, Frederic Taburiaux sf
1.2.2004
A lot of
snow has fallen everywhere in Finland and more will come almost daily
this week before the start. We hope it will also get colder with sime
clear skies when the fun starts.
My raid-2CV
in Vaasa 1.2. - ready to go. The second one which will be borrowed by
Manfred is in the garage. Just found a leaking oil pressure light plug
in the engine room.
Jukka
29.1.2004
We leave Sevilla Thursday night. We hope you don´t change anything
from that day until the day we meet you in Helsinki.
Thanks Team
27 Lance Larson & Antonio Suarez
28.1.2004
Hi again,
Jukka, I depart Perth on Wed 28th Jan for Riga, and Karsten will pick
me up in Riga for the drive up to Tallin on the 3rd Feb.
See you soon!, Cheers,
Batman (Car 9)
26.1.2004
Not a big
change really, but I changed my second-hand driver again! My father in
law was to busy to come, so I asked Loek Bartelings sf. And he agreed
to be my second-hand driver!
Gert-Jan
25.1.2004
Hi Jukka,
Is it too late to organise snow scooter hire? I have damaged a ligament
on my right knee and I will be useless at skiing now. If possible, I will
hire one of those noisy scooters!!
Cheers, Greg,
Australia team 9
24.1.2004
2CV loaded
today and tomorrow it's off to Germany.
See you soon,
Mark Lewis, team 31
21.1.2004
Raidlaponie
Online diary is open! / Raid Laponie Online päiväkirja on avattu!
Today -33C
on the top of Finland.
|
