Resedagbok fredag 14/2
Today Janita and Barbara are writing for you in English. We have come here from Minnesota to join the Forbonden journey.
This is Janitas second year, and Barbaras first. Following the FaceBook page and seeing all the photographs, you may wonder why someone would do this for 9 days. Pretty, Yes, charming and completely different from modern daily life,but we are here to round out the story. What you see in the photo is only one tiny part of the sensory world in which we are living. Days often begin quite early, the light of our dawn begins at 7 but does not bring the sun until 9, and the slow descent into dusk begins by 3 pm, dark by 5. YOu dont see the delicate lichen hanging from the trees, food for moose and can even be used for soup! You do not hear the horses trot or the squeak of the sled, runners scraping on the ice or gravel, or hear Eva laughing or the music of Swedish surrounding you; crunch of the horse having hay for fika, Peckas fire for heating the coffee, and the ubiquitous bells ringing from every sled. You dont smell Anettes pipe, or the smooth heat of the horses, the nose tells you when the temperature has dropped below zero, and when you are in the pine forest, or in the wind. Your body feels the rhythm of the sled as you rock in harmony with the horses, the cozy warm of being tucked under a sheepskin for the ride, the weight of the fur coats you must wear to be warm in these temperatures for 12 hours a day, and the comfort in your belly from the hot lunch delivered to you in the middle of the forest. The taste buds are also alive with chocolate, reindeer sausage, smoked moose heart, coffee, and coffee. But the sixth sense pulls it all together and anchors the reasons we are here, we are deeply connected to the whole of the cold and the horses and the forest, the long shadows, the nurturing of 20 new human friends and our wonderful horse friends, sweet Tjarlie, strong Boy, lovely Lomen, sharing these same moments, when the forest wraps herself around you and says you belong here.