Taking distance from Christiania was difficult, but I finally kept on with my original plan, that of traveling Scandinavia clockwise via Nordkapp, the northermost point in Europe, land of the Sami, europenn last native tribe, and of modern home german tourists. In spite of this, Nordkapp dropped to second row when somebody in Christiania said that the Rainbow Family was gathering somewhere near Oslo. The rainbow Familiy has been gathering people al around the world since the sixties under the ideals of peace and respect for nature. The exact coordinates of the event were unknown. It seems as if the organizers trust Freya will lead the travelers into the right path…. And if you don’t get there is because you didn’t have to be there. The only thing we knew is that the gathering will be on going all july and that it actually was a re-edition of the centuries-old tradition of the “Ting”, popular councils of pagan times. Towards it I directed my intention even before my steps.
Entry to Sweden was made in the car of an afghan exporter who gave me his telephone in Kabul. The following drivers were peruvian, estonian and palestinian, and that gave me a parameter of what I coould expect from Sweden in terms of hospitality. This, added to prices that invite to ascetism (U$D20 for a pizza) caused a first pesimistic day. That day I made it to Helsingborg after having waited for near 3 hours in the road. There I camped in a park by the sea that was crowded but gradually cleared. All of Scandinavia’s national territory is technically free camping space (it’s called the right of all men”), so when I doblu check with a policeman, skeptic myself, he laughed, said yes, and wished me a pleasant stay in Sweden.
The dollowing morning I continued to Gothenburg. There Gunilla was waiting for me, but she left to visit her parents and leaving me her appartment for two days, fridge and internet included (thank you!!). Homefulness was something I had honestly forgoten. Still obnubilated by Christiania I paid little attention to the city, which seemed a bit mediocre to me. Sure it’s a cultured city, but still a normal city with malls and stuff. So I limted myself to strol around the harbour.
In Gotenburg I got to know trough an internet forum that the hippies were meeting not near Oslo as I thought but in some settlement lost above the Artci Circle, and I tooked the decision of going there giving Bergen and other more obvius attraction a great miss. I try to make an ode to mevement out of this trip, not just a rosary of postcards. I promised to let myself be guide more by intuition that by the Lonely Planet. I also took the decision of not spending any more money that I haven’t earned in the same day. With this prices I declare myself in strike. So, I started to offer “Harmony of Chaos”, my travel story book to my drivers.
Trusting provindence I left for Oslo, with zero norwegian kronen in my pocket. In the way a bus stopped for me taking me some 90 kms for free, the a man that bought my book in 100 kr (thank you Klaus), then a vangardist artist (he called himself the Art Ranger) who lived in a camp near Frederikstad in an old russsian army truck and who invited me a pizza and finally a turkish man (Ozdemir) who left me in Oslo Bus Station and even gave me coins to call him if I couldn’t find my contact in the city. I stayed only one night in Ligas’s house, a latvian girl volunteering to convince the norwegian people of joining the EU. I advicesd her that if her really loved Norway she should convince them of talking to each other to prevent extinction (they are 4 millon with an average of U$S50.000 in the bank each).
In Oslo I started my pilgrimage to the Artic Circle. Endless pine forest cover the territory, soon mountains appear, which tops still harbour snow. At the side of the road signs alert drivers of the presence of Muss, the “king of the forest”. I got two rides with guys whose names were the same: Tor, like the viking God of thunder, and in Fagernas I got a ride with my third Tor!!! The third Tor asked me where I was going: “the northernmost possible” – I replied- He was going to Bodo, far in the North, so we drived more than 1000 kms togheter, and what a better guide to Norway that Tor himself…. In Dombas we stayed in a motel that gave me a free night accomodation in exchange for publicity on the website. You can contact them on http://www.slettenmotell.com/
One hour after crossing the Artic Circle we arrived to Bodo, an industrial harbour in a big and scenic fiord. Mohammed, the norwegian musician that I had met in Christiania. You can check their cool ethnic music out at http://www.batty.no/ . With Josefina (the band’s singer) and him we drove to a cliff at 23:45 to see the midnight sun. The sun went down to the horizon line, attempted to sink, and rised again. “Good morning!” –said Mohammed- It won’t get dark until next september. Welcome to the North” . Mohammed also informed me that the clip was a norwegian invention…. Their house was great, with a big carpet with a Buda on the wall, bongos, vinilos and lots of vegi food, and of course..them!! I will stay in Bodo for another “night”, I need to do washing, write this report and get ready to march to north of the north.
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