Ode to the earplugs

Cecile, the Dutch woman sharing the shelter with me and two German students, jokingly mentioned that she’s a bit worried because she snores. “Well, after a beer, but I don’t have that now, still…” Ode to the earplugs, as I always bring them. While camping, you can expect anything. I’ve told her she doesn’t need to worry from my side. I lay them out, and yes… they are indeed needed, even without beer, but I sleep wonderfully with ‘my’ three women.

Freedom with a zero-hour contract

By the way, I had a lovely conversation with this charming and sporty woman. It’s so wonderful when you meet someone who understands your life and lives it too. She’s been cycling around the world for the past five years, on and off. She switched from education to healthcare. A simple job, she says, but stress-free and with a zero-hour contract, giving her all the freedom she needs. She works for a few months and then goes on long trips again. She has three years left until retirement; I have five. We both found a way to structure our lives in a way that suits us.

Living on a minimal budget

We talk about living on a minimal budget and what a sport that is. From saving bread bags to take out your trash – you’re not going to buy bags, right? – to knowing exactly in foreign supermarkets what you can and cannot buy, and menu ideas along the way. And that you can’t buy ice cream for €8 in Norway, even though you really feel like it, that’s just the way it is. We agree: we don’t have much money, but we’ve never felt richer and freer than now.

Red route

But then off we go. A long and red route of 28 kilometers awaits. The routes are categorized by colors, with the red ones being the most difficult. I’m afraid it will be hard to stop if I wanted to, as this stage goes through various nature reserves and also through marshy areas, where setting up a tent would be out of the question.

Moss carpet

And yes, I’m walking through mossy forests, where the light green, sometimes almost fluorescent moss drapes like a carpet around the trees, through marsh areas and alongside the beautiful Danska waterfall. It’s all beautiful, although there are also some duller stretches over asphalt, car-free, indeed, and through monotonous coniferous forests. This is, by the way, a pleasant distraction, since it’s easier to walk and I can complete the entire route without too many issues.

Personal record broken thanks to the midges

The camping spot is once again exceptional. A lake with a shelter and a view of the heath, a pier, tables, a toilet, and even drinking water. That saves me the hassle of purifying water, which is always a time-consuming task. The shelter is occupied by a family with two small children, but that’s not a problem at all. On the contrary, there’s beautiful grass and it’s swarming with midges. I’m curious how they will survive in the open air. What terrible pests.

I pitch my tent at a breakneck speed and break my personal record for jumping into the tent and zipping it up. Only two midges manage to get inside as well. Usually, I respect all life, but not this time…

Overnight stay: Mästocka