Disaster (Averted) in the Arctic Circle
On 5th June 2018 we were travelling from Narvik in northern Norway eastwards into Sweden
The day began well as we headed west towards Kiruna. It was at times sunny and bright and sometimes dull.
We soon passed the part of the road where on account of avalanche risk stopping was prohibited and a minimum speed of 60kph had to be maintained and on into Sweden. There were no formalities at the border. About 35 kilometres into Sweden disaster struck when our nearside mirror came into contact with the offside mirror of a westbound motorhome. The mirror was completely shattered. We stopped at the roadside and the other driver after several minutes came back and we had a calm and gentlemanly discussion. Subsequent agonising and scrutiny of dash cam footage has made it difficult to apportion blame and the most likely explanation is that both vehicles were too close to the centre line.
We have Red Pennant cover (“RP”). Our initial call and early conversations were not confidence building. What we needed was for a mirror i.e. the correct mirror to be sourced and fitted.
Conceptually simple enough but the operatives did not grasp the geographical realities of our situation in terms of climate or distance and indeed appeared to struggle with the identification of our location despite an accurate description and the fact that there was essentially only one road in the place where we were. The advice not to drive the vehicle in an unsafe condition was also impracticable. it rapidly became clear to us that we would have to drive the vehicle to Kiruna as planned and further assess the situation there. And so having set the inside rear view mirror to give some offside view we set off again slowly and carefully and reached Camping Ripan at Kiruna around 2.00 pm. We were cheerfully checked in by a receptionist who turned out to be English. The plan was formulating in our minds that we would need to bring the van further south and that we would need to bodge some sort of mirror to make it drivable. Meantime we passed details of our vehicle to RP to enable them to investigate sourcing a mirror. To cut a long story short we initially gave them a wrong chassis number but ultimately the mirror was identified. A very rushed trip to a local car accessories firm produced a caravan towing mirror. Next morning we began in earnest to bodge a temporary mirror with duck tape. This was not easy especially in the cold and wind and we were working in 20 minute stints. Our efforts eventually produced a credible result and a quick test drive around the camp showed that it was a useable but limited mirror. Next day we decided to stay in the van and plan the detail of journeying to Umea via Jokkmokk a total distance of around 400 miles.
Next morning we visited the local Citroen dealer who gave us the address of the Umea Citroen garage and after investigation advised that the correct mirror was not held anywhere in Sweden and would take a month to order ! Having noticed a blind spot mirror on a motorhome and in a lightbulb moment we bought another mirror to be mounted on top of the “new” mirror. The resultant set up worked insofar as the big mirror was really a close up wide angle mirror and the top mirror was the working mirror. We felt that it looked the part as well so was less likely to attract attention.
Our journey to Jokkmokk (pronounced “Yokkmokk” and having nothing to do with deriding Scottish people) was interesting and slow partially because of the limitations of the mirror but also because of the road surface. It seems that the winter conditions destroy the road surface so it is in a constant state of being repaired and reconstructed. Locals and especially trucks and buses simply drive through the best surface available, irrespective of which side of the carriageway, and at normal speeds scattering stones and road metal as they go.
By Saturday 9th June RP had sourced the mirror and consigned it to DHL for delivery to First Camp Umea in Nydala a few miles from the centre and a provisional booking made on Tuesday 12th June for fitting. We set off for a fairly slow and careful 247 mile journey which was accomplished without any particular difficulty or drama. The bodged mirror was holding together and working sufficiently. Nonetheless we were relieved to have reached the noticeably warmer climes of Umea safely.
A delay in the delivery of our replacement mirror meant that our fitting appointment was put back a day to Wednesday 13 June at 10.00 a.m and with trepidation the van was driven to the garage on the outskirts of town. We had a worry that the wiring loom might have been compromised in the accident preventing the full functionality of the mirror. These fears were groundless and by 10.25 a fully functional mirror was fitted, the repair paid for, and we were on our way.
Despite the slightly shaky start RP upped their game and we were especially grateful to Harry Wells whose diligence and humour kept us cheerful.
Comments
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Commiserations, BVM. We experienced something very similar on Orkney and drove for a few days with a taped up mirror. We found a local man who ran a line of sealant around the edge which helped keep the remaining shards of glass in place.
We sourced a replacement but ‘only’ had to travel to Inverness for it.
It’s good to hear you succeeded with getting a fix.
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Quite an adventure! We have a Bailey which are pretty wide motorhomes and hitting a mirror has always been a fear of mine. We have had the nearside one hit by a branch but fortunately no major damage. I suppose after the holiday you reflect on it as being part of the adventure but at the time something you could have done without!
David
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To answer Brues question the mirror adventure was part of a 61 day trip via ijmuiden to Kiel>Gothenburg >Oslo then around the Fjords in the lower part of Norway across the Handangerevidda which was absolutely stunning along the Gierangerfjord by ferry then across the Trollstigen ultimately to Trondheim. Northwards following the "Coastal Route" to Boda and beyond then onto and around the Lofoten Islands before travelling to Narvik>Jokkmokk>Umea>Hogen Kosta> ultimately to Stockholm. We then followed the route of the Gotha Canal across Sweden to Gothenburg and thence by ferry to northern Denmark where we visited Skagen and paddled in the North Sea/Baltic simultaneously. Down through Denmark to Ribe and along the North German coast having crossed the Elbe by ferry North of Hamburg and along the North coast of the Netherlands back to Ijmuiden and thence home, a total distance of about 5500 miles road miles as well as many sea miles (should that be knots). Apart from the mirror a super trip with some incredible scenery. Norway was VERY expensive but we knew it would be Sweden much less so. About 34mpg overall and temperatures ranging from +34C to -10C overnight (good job we took a second duvet layer).
Driving challenges included what was I think the worlds longest road tunnel (25km) tunnels without lights narrow tunnels and tunnels with few passing places. Also some very narrow roads some lobotomised coach drivers and about 24 ferries altogether
With a few exceptions campsites and in particular facilities blocks were very poor, sometimes dirty and/or smelly, always expensive. Not in keeping with the clean cut Scandi image you might expect. Worst offenders were in Cities and with major operators. Think with full sites and no real competition no need or incentive to improve things.
Oh and Jokkmokk was a very pleasant town with a lovely church and some interesting buildings but especially a museum dedicated to Sami life and Culture and to Laponia the region of Northern Sweden and the Sami homeland. Well worth a visit if you are interested in indigenous culture (and who isn't).
We carry tools, spares and first aid equipment which we hope would along us to cope with a range of eventualities so in reality we could probably have coped with the mirror incident ourselves. it was clear within 5 minutes that nobody was going to bring us and mirror and fit it at the roadside. The shape of the "rescue plan" was largely our concept but the logistics would have been a bit more difficult without the coordination of RP whose input was largely to source the correct mirror and consign it to DHL. So we were grateful to them.
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That was some trip, BVM. The stuff memories are made of. 👍🏻
Thanks for the story.
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Could a Mod put this into "Foreign Travel" . I failed to see that category when posting. Thanks.
Moderator Comment - Should be showing as in Overseas Travels now.
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