Abisko III

Waking up with only a few hours of sleep, I strangely felt alright. Surprisingly, Yaseen was awake way before me and Avery as he started to shoot me some texts. Seems like the journey had already culminated last night and today was the day we were all going our separate ways. Bittersweet, but looking back I felt I was really lucky to meet such genuine and good people that I could vibe and laugh with. After we got our things all packed, we met up with Yaseen outside for breakfast, and no surprise, we were once again having an all-you-can-eat ramen buffet. I'm definitely not complaining though cuz they were actually all quite top-shelf stuff! The alternative would be literally to eat nothing so I made sure to eat my fair share. I proposed to do one last morning sunrise hike and was once again met with the same reactions: Avery was quite down for it while Yaseen just wouldn't have it anymore with us. We tried to convince him when I found a much closer and more interesting option: "Sensing the Arctic." Seems to be a permanent art exhibit right on our backyard, but he just so done. Classic Yaseen.

Avery and I went to check it out and it was actually pretty awesome. I liked how the ice blades poked out of the snow while being covered in frost. The field was vast and the snow was pouring, it felt like a desolate part of the arctic indeed. The photos came out really good as well, for something so man-made, it fit in quite naturally with its environment.

We went back up, I realized just how bad I was at directions as there was a very clear shortcut right from our dorm. To be fair, it's hard to navigate when the paths are all covered up! We encountered the same hill we sat at last night during the auroras. I wondered what the view up there was actually like in the morning. We made the climb and got to see one last view of the Swedish Lapland stretching over yonder before our very eyes.

When we got back to the dorm, it was time for Avery and Yaseen to head out to catch their train going to Narvik while I had to catch my shared taxi to Kiruna. The three of us headed out but Yaseen had forgotten his gloves back at the dorm so we said our goodbyes then and there. I helped Avery with her gigantic red luggage, feeling the weight of it for the first time. Man, this girl's been lugging this around her whole Europe trip? She's so funny. We said our farewells at the crossroads, I'm definitely going to miss her energy.

A few minutes later, my ride arrived and I got on the front which was undoubtedly the best view in the house. While Abisko was cloudy, the road going to Kiruna was unbelievably clear and for the first time since arriving in Sweden, I got to see the Arctic sun. It was a dazzling and radiant sunrise, just at its peak. Even the driver had commented that this sun was very intense which is quite rare. She told me to look closer at the ringed halos around it which was caused by the arid landscape and weather. It accompanied us the whole time while coating the area in hues of orange and pink. I imagined that this was perhaps the Arctic's way of giving us a send-off.

The town of Kiruna was a modest one, what surprised me was that it was currently in the process of being moved. The driver told me that the mining company pretty much owned the town and employes more than half of the population. The situation was something I thought was only seen in movies but to actually see it happening right in front of me was mind-boggling. The people weren't happy but they also had no choice. Now if even residents of Kiruna couldn't stand against the big corpos, what more could the Sami people do to protect their land and herd? Lots of things to ponder about until it was interrupted by our arrival at the airport. By the time I took flight, it was already sunset, and flying over the Arctic was another experience altogether. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't by the window seat this time around because even from the aisle seat, I was in awe at how beautiful the land was, which was multiplied manifold due to the sunset. An endless sea of pink snow that grew more breathtaking by the minute, it was hard to keep my jaw from hitting the ground.

Back in Stockholm, it was only an hour or so before my flight to Copenhagen, it was time to finish the last leg of my journey in Denmark.Read more