Subject: Above the Arctic Circle under the Midnight Sun
Hello Ziners,

Last month, June, my wife and I spent two weeks, June 5-19, camping in Scandinavia, North of the Arctic Circle, with a UK company, Explore.We began the trip in Tromso, Norway, and traveled by bus inland into Sweden and Finland and as far North as North Cape, the top of Europe, where we photographed the midnight sun on a completely clear "night".

We had been warned about mosquitoes at that time of year, and had brought both net hats and net jackets.We were pleasantly surprised however, because until the very last days of the trip this was not a problem.

We experienced 24 hours of daylight every day during the entire trip.It was quite an experience being able to lie in our tents at 2 or 3 am and read with the sunlight.

We also were prepared for cold weather during the entire trip.But, except for a very few days, the weather was great!In fact, several of the days the temperature was about 28 degrees Celsius (almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit)!

Much of the focus of the trip was on Laplanders, or Sami.We had expected the Sami to be short, swarthy people but for the most part they were completely indistinguishable from other Scandinavians; many were tall and blond.We saw many reindeer roaming free, but were surprised to learn that there are in fact no wild reindeer; they are all owned by some Sami.

The scenery was fantastic! Much greenery, awesome fiords, and many bare mountain areas.

Regards, Dick Smith, Boston Area