1..¡@Ying Lan 2. Petri helpped passangers to life luggage 3. May on the bus
1..¡@Ying Lan 2. Petri helpped passangers to life luggage 3. May on the bus
<<
To make a long story short, the next day we left Rovaniemi to
go to Nordkap by bus. We were short on cash (markka), we tried to pay for the tickets by
credit card. But the stupid machine refused our credit cards four times on the bus. It was
embarrassing to be without money.
Finally, we asked the driver to convert the fee to U.S. dollars to settle it.
The rest of passengers were smarter than we were. I saw a young Japanese girl show her receipt to driver. She made a reservation and bought the ticket at the counter on a working day.
We were not sure where to get off the bus. We would arrive at Nordkap at midnight. At first we decided to get off at the boundary of Finland.
It was a long trip by bus all day and half the night.
On the way, the bus driver was a kind of ¡§Postman¡¨ and ¡§Deliverer of Newspapers¡¨, I sat
in the first seat nearest to the driver. I picked up the newspapers and put them in the
special mail-boxes which stood by the road one by one. I could not see any houses or
people. Maybe they were hiding in the forest, I thought. The bus driver smiled at me. He
was cool at the beginning of the journey.
May/Ying-Lan/Petri/Michelle
When the day had passed, there were no longer any passengers only
May, Michelle, Japanese girl and me. There were only five persons on bus like we had
booked a small tour. We started to chat¡K.. the
Japanese girl was alone. Her name was Emiko. The young driver was named Petri. I could not
imagine that Emiko had traveled all over Europe by herself with her slight luggage.
Especially, as she only spoke simple English. Sometimes I could not understand her words.
What a brave girl! We changed our mind about going to Nordkap with Emiko on the same bus.
Petri recommend a wonderful hotel to stay this night. ¡§There
is nothing in Nordkap now¡¨ he repeated.
I really did not understand what his words meant.
Emiko showed her travel guide to Petri. ¡§The same place¡¨ Petri said. We were happy to be together to stay at the same hotel. ¡§It¡¦s small but comfortable. You will like it.¡¨ Petri promised. Emiko smiled. She had made a reservation beforehand
¡@
I saw reindeer outside of the window several times.
As we neared Nordkap, the views changed. Forests and lakes were gone. The rocks and green berry bushes covered the surface instead. It was near sunset but very late. I felt fantastic.
It was cloudy. I became a little disappointed. It would have been beautiful if the sky had been clear.
Suddenly, Petri stopped the bus to get off and walk to a house. I watched him talk to a lady and give something to her. When he came back, he just sat down and said ¡§Your turn¡¨. ¡§What?¡¨ I asked. ¡§To buy tickets¡¨ Again! I had no ¡§Markka¡¨ or ¡§Kroner¡¨. Each person was 33 Kroner. I had to pay 99 Kroner ¡K I paid it in U.S. Dollars. I had no idea about the currency rate. Was it reasonable to pay usd18? What was the ticket for? Emiko smiled at me and paid for herself. Petri parked the bus and asked us to leave our luggage. There was a boat coming on the sea. I understood I had just paid the ferry fee. We would take a boat to an island to change to another bus.
It was getting dark, but I saw some spots on the mountains. I argued about what the spots were with Michelle. ¡§Were there lakes on mountains?¡¨ Or ¡§Snow?¡¨
Who knew? Only one bus crossed the silent island.
My friends tried to get some rest. Petri and I stayed awake to keep our mind clear. We arrived at a small fishing village at midnight.
The bus stopped before a blue house.
An old man welcomed us and lifted my heavy luggage up by one hand. The hostess showed us the bedrooms. ¡§One bed including breakfast is 200 Kroner.¡¨
Petri had told me the same price on bus but it was not a hotel only a home-stay family (B.&B.). Michelle smiled at me, she seemed to like this house very much.
We had no choice.. it was very late and there was no place to visit now. On the other hand, the hostess was kind and this house was lovely. But Emiko looked a little sad. Anyway, we decided to stay there and had a good night¡¦s sleep in the warm house. Michelle and I were in the same bedroom. May slept in another small room. Because Emiko had made a reservation before, the hostess did not asked her to stay with us. She stayed in a downstairs room by herself.
After such a long bus trip, we really needed a good sleep. >> 
To find more Nordkap at 
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