The toilets were a hole in the ground job and with my stomach in the state it was in by now, managed to make both of them essentially no-go areas. I can only apologise to the local cleaner whoever that may be – we didn’t see anyone there at the site. My brother set his tent up; I couldn’t be bothered with mine as it really required 2 people to erect it and was so tired, I slept in the hire car.

We left early the next morning and after the occasional stop at places such as Kittilä and a great road sign (See Photo), we hobbled back to Rovaniemi and I waited at the railway station front steps, where I had met Kate; it had seemed like a year ago. My brother returned the hire car and we took the next train back to Tampere, ready to fly back to the UK.

After word: When I got home, I stood outside enjoying darkness, and it took some days getting my sleeping patterns routine again. Kate sent an email thanking us for the very long hitchhiking ride. We still occasionally keep in touch. There is a lot to learn about the Sámi and they came across to me as a group of people largely ignored by many, despite their long history and culture.