Lets continue to talk About how good it is in the north of Russia. We looked at Murmansk and saw that it was a very valuable city. It’s not specific and very beautiful, but it’s working and exciting – it’s a hard-working city. But the fun in the North doesn’t end there.
Sami live on the Kola Peninsula. There and also in Northern Norway. Both here and in Norway, the Sami are protected and they also respect their traditions. Northern nomadic people who climbed where the weather was very cold hundreds of years ago. They did this because there was no competition with other tribes and peoples and there was a food source in the form of deer and cloudberries.
Deer is a gentle and unpretentious animal. In fact, domesticated deer are no different from wild deer; They graze in flocks only where they are shown. Tourists are taken to the moose; You can feed and pet the deer. Their horns look scary, but not because they pose a danger, but because they peel off and even bleed a little during the winter season. However, this does not disturb the deer in any way.
Chief Sami, who is also a tour guide, said that the Sami people traditionally feed on furs such as arctic fox, weasel and silver fox. In the Middle Ages, fur was called gold, it was sold abroad, in general, people did not live in poverty and were constantly moving from place to place. Experienced Samis can set up tent huts wherever they want in less than an hour. A fireplace is built in the middle and the smoke comes out through a hole in the roof. It was not very comfortable, and many Sami suffered from eye and respiratory diseases in adulthood.
Like many northern peoples, the Sami bred and continue to breed sled dogs, and previously there were five different breeds, but now only huskies remain – the most friendly and completely safe animals for humans. True, this effect was achieved by the most severe selection. But now the dogs definitely don’t bite and don’t run fast, they take tourists on sleds.
And now to the main point of the route – Teriberka. Teriberka became famous thanks to the film “Leviathan” by Andrei Zvyagintsev, in which especially zealous patriots saw the so-called humiliation of Russian reality.
Local residents were not at all offended by Zvyagintsev, moreover, they were grateful to him, and the skeleton of a huge marine animal made for the film was carefully stored on the main street of the village.
“Leviathan” is, of course, a film about the eternal conflict between man and power, as well as the eternal conflict between man and ugly reality, from which there is no way out other than alcoholism at the end of the world.
By the way, Teriberka is a very beautiful village, although not comfortable. When tourists flocked here, life here was shining with new colors of prosperity. Business immediately appeared in the form of shops, hotels and quite good restaurants. If you see a store with “Fish” written on it, you can be sure it will be delicious. For two hundred rubles, they will open in front of you sea urchins or scallops freshly caught in the Arctic Ocean.
Right on the shore of the ocean there is a giant swing and a fishing boat that was thrown ashore due to the storm. All this shines in the midst of the endless northern night. The route along the eco-path takes about two hours, and it is an unforgettable time. Where else can you see a frozen waterfall, a beach full of huge stones, lighthouses, fish splashing in the surf, menacing rocks covered with snow, relatively accessible? You can here in Teriberka.
The wind farm along the road deserves special mention; Thousands of windmills glow with red lights in the dark and produce energy. There is no mention of any desolation or despair here; everything is technologically advanced, beautiful and worthyly executed. The hotels are world class and the restaurants serve mind-blowing signature desserts as well as cocktails.
Is it possible to get stuck in transition? Of course, it is possible in snowy weather, but that’s why you need guides with whom you won’t get lost.
Finally, I will tell you a funny and slightly scary story of our guide. Approaching Teriberka, he saw an electric car in the middle of the road, almost covered with snow. The man and his family were just shy of reaching their destination, and of course there was no charger for the electric car on the highway. But there is one rule that is strictly followed in the North: If you see someone in trouble on the road, you have no right not to stop and help. The North does not forgive indifference. In general, they took the electrical enthusiast out of the storm, took him to the hotel and found a charger there. And what’s interesting is that everyone there had similar stories, at least throughout the evening. And this is another important northern pastime – listening to local people. They are open and good-natured in their seriousness.