The drive from Narvik to Alta was long (just under 500kms) and we only stopped to stretch our legs or to change drivers. When driving into Finnmark, the first thing that met us after crossing the barren deserted plateau was a map of the region...with plenty of bullet holes in it. Finnmark is a very popular area for hunting and fishing, and judging by the sign someone’s either been target practicing or is very good at missing Rudolph!
The landscape up here is pretty rugged and there are few population centres. There are 1.5 people per square kilometre, 3 reindeer and 5 tourists per square kilometre. Finnmark is the home of the indigenous Sami, nomadic reindeer herders found across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia who are trying to protect and maintain their unique (and in many ways simple) way of life in the face of the ever-advancing modern technologies. They have their own language, culture and belief system, even their own way of singing, called a joik which sounds kind of similar to yodeling.A joik is not sung to a person, but rather about a person. For instance, if the person in question is energetic the joik is upbeat and if he/she is lethargic, or maybe always late, then it is slow. All signposts up here are both in Sami and Norwegian.The Sami are also known as Lapps, however they consider that a derogatory term and use the term Sami.
Also interesting to note is that all the reindeer up north are owned by the Sami and they are the only one’s allowed to slaughter them. Because of the reindeer, Finnmark is also the only region in Norway where you’re not allowed to pick as many berries as you want since it is part of their diet.You should never ask a Sami how many reindeer he owns as that is akin to asking someone how much they earn.
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