Cutting short our holiday plans in favour of homely farmwork, we're now back from a long weekend at the Finnmarksvidda (Finnmark plains). The reason for going there was twofold: We met up with friends and spent a great weekend camping with them out in wilderness, and we went to the marshland areas to pick cloudberries (multer). The reason for leaving was only one: Mosquitoes! The August population of "mygg" at Finmarksvidda is simply frightening, and although we were aware of this and had brought extensive supplies of repellent, nets and long-sleeved clothing, we quickly realised why cloudberries are so highly rated. Your ability to harvest this golden delicacy from the marshland is determined by how long you can endure having mosquitoes (mysteriously) crawling through the net in front of your face, and then into your nose and eyes and ears. Eating a sandwich for lunch, not to mention having a pee, is a challenge quite out of the ordinary. After two days we had twelve litres of cloudberries, about two litres less of blood and a strong urge to JUST GET OUT OF THERE! Sad, really, because vidda is incredibly beautiful, great for hiking and camping and with vast areas of relative wilderness (give or take a few NATO surveillance installations). However, I have a strong feeling we'll go back next year, just as our friends have done since 1973. And tasting the cloudberry jam we made last night, it would be madness not to.
Thursday, 9 August 2007
Marshland madness
Cutting short our holiday plans in favour of homely farmwork, we're now back from a long weekend at the Finnmarksvidda (Finnmark plains). The reason for going there was twofold: We met up with friends and spent a great weekend camping with them out in wilderness, and we went to the marshland areas to pick cloudberries (multer). The reason for leaving was only one: Mosquitoes! The August population of "mygg" at Finmarksvidda is simply frightening, and although we were aware of this and had brought extensive supplies of repellent, nets and long-sleeved clothing, we quickly realised why cloudberries are so highly rated. Your ability to harvest this golden delicacy from the marshland is determined by how long you can endure having mosquitoes (mysteriously) crawling through the net in front of your face, and then into your nose and eyes and ears. Eating a sandwich for lunch, not to mention having a pee, is a challenge quite out of the ordinary. After two days we had twelve litres of cloudberries, about two litres less of blood and a strong urge to JUST GET OUT OF THERE! Sad, really, because vidda is incredibly beautiful, great for hiking and camping and with vast areas of relative wilderness (give or take a few NATO surveillance installations). However, I have a strong feeling we'll go back next year, just as our friends have done since 1973. And tasting the cloudberry jam we made last night, it would be madness not to.
