The range and quantities of mushrooms in the north of Scandinavia is astounding. They are everywhere. I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with mushrooms so spending a few hours each day wandering through forests collecting fungi has been wonderful. We have a couple of good mushroom books and occasionally manage to identify something edible. Then we have the added bonus of cooking up a tasty snack at the end of our walk. It is not quite living off the land but there is a certain satisfaction in a successful foraging trip.
Don’t eat these
The further north we go, the more reindeer we see. They tend to be quite nervous and bolt at the slightest noise. Trying to sneak up on them in a truck is tricky. Eventually, we spotted a small herd grazing in a distant field. We stopped Baloo well short of them, left Cent in the cab, and like deer stalkers of old, attempted to sneak up on them. I think my stalking skills are lacking a bit but I did manage to get a few photos before they ran off.
For the whole time we have been in Sweden, there has been no visible signs of the pandemic at all. Life appears to be completely normal. The next day we crossed into Finland and this took us back to wearing masks. At the border we needed to provide proof that we were vaccinated.
There are bears in Finland. European Brown Bears. The cubs are exceptionally cute and look just the original child’s toy. We haven’t seen any cubs. Or bears. Or moose. There are a lot of road signs warning of moose. Every few kilometres there is a warning sign but, as far as we can tell, there are not actually any moose. I am starting to believe that my chances of seeing a bear riding a moose are vanishingly small.
As soon as you drive off the main roads you are usually onto dirt tracks. This makes a lot of sense when you realise that these roads are covered in snow and ice for much of the year. Road vehicles are fitted with studded tyres and the tracks also get used by snow mobiles. Everywhere is criss-crossed with tracks most of which are used by forestry vehicles. So, we have been able to drive for days on end without touching any tarmac. Quiet tracks deep in the forest. Perfect.
Border to Russia 
We took Cent to the vet for a rabies booster in preparation for coming back to the UK next month. The vet examined him and then said he had big balls. I felt a momentary twinge of pride. “No, really. He has a swollen testicle.” she explained. Oh. “This could be cancer.“ Yikes! Next day we brought him back for an operation to remove his testicles. They did a very good job and two hours later we were carrying a virtually unconscious dog back to Baloo. A short way down the road we found a pleasant and deserted camping area where he could lie in the sun and sleep it off. He is fine now and completely back to his normal self.
