The day when the sun rose!

OMG! The sun still exists!

We all were beginning to worry about it. This morning, when I managed to get up at 10:45, this is what I saw from my window. Yep, 10:40 sunrise today. I was so inspired I decided to take a walk down by the lake trails. I think people here must get really excited too when the sun shows itself, because lots of people were outside enjoying it today. Down by the lake there are lots of walking and skiing trails, so I decided to go on the 5km walking trail and see what the hills to our south were like.


The trails are very well kept, and it was a gorgeous walk the entire time. I ended up passing two boys on xc skis (well, a few times, but then they would pass me going on hills, and I'd pass them again going up them, but I think I heard one say they were cold and they stopped racing me) but saw only one other person while I was out. The silence was eerie at times, but there was a great calm feeling all around the woods. I only heard one bird, otherwise just the loud crunching of snow beneath my feet. This photograph to the left was taken at about noon, so that gives you a little perspective as to how high the sun gets here during the day.


By the time I got back, the sun was just peeking out over the hills. You can see that the lake is used a lot by skiers, snowmobiles, and even cars. Last night two of the girls on our trip went with two Swedes and (apparently) drove around the lakes doing doughnuts at about 60mph. When I asked they said basically everyone does it, and it's rare to hear about accidents because of it. They're probably only safe because everyone drives a volvo here.

The past few days have been really nice. I've gotten a chance to walk around the town, meet a couple new people, and finally relax after spending so much time traveling. The town is small, but beautiful. There are a few highlights, however, like the church (left) that the locals refer to as the 'big church' or stor kyrka. I placed the camera in a snowbank to take this picture, if that grants any perspective as to how big the church actually is. There is another smaller church built in the 1600s here which Linneaus stepped into when he visted Jokkmokk in the 1730s.


What's probably the most aesthetically pleasing part of Jokkmokk are the many small stores and resturants lining the main streets. This one that I'm standing next to is a huge Swedish eatery guarded by these bear statues. One of the interesting things I've found about places in Jokkmokk is that they all seem to have growing plants in the windows, and usually have outdoor lights, which gives a little life to what would otherwise be a cold, gloomy atmosphere.

In the next few days we'll be learning more about the Sami, the Swedish language, and on Tuesday we'll be taking a field trip to a yet undiscolsed location to see another reindeer hearder. Maybe it will be cold enough by then to warrant some of the winter clothes I have brought along. As a final note, this is what I've heard can happen if you don't move your car for a week in Jokkmokk: