Autoexpedition # 5 # NashNorth: Karelia and Kola

The results of our Northern autoexpedition in Karelia and Kola. I tell you how many bears we saw, gathered berries and mussels, and wound kilometers.

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We drove out of the house to see the ocean. The main goal of our fifth expedition across Russia was exactly he and Kola with its mountains, tundra and corners far from civilization. Karelia seemed to us less interesting, but nevertheless we included it in the program, because it is on the way.

Three adventurers went to see the beauties of the Russian North:

1. driver, expedition ideologist and ship commander,
2. local beauty connoisseur and route planner,
3. house price knockdown negotiator and main bear hunter.

Our classic interethnic composition, which we have already traveled half of Russia.

How is the expedition going

It was a very difficult trip - there was no time to rest at all.

Every day of the expedition was like this: early rise → obligatory coffee ritual → breakfast → check-out → right behind the wheel and throw 100-500 km → snack on bananas, chocolate and baby food on the road → sightseeing before dark → behind the wheel again and a few hours of travel in a zombie state until the next lodging points → check-in → shower → falling asleep. And in the morning we get up again, coffee and everything in a circle. And so for 25 days. There is no smell of rest here. An expedition is a difficult job.

Numbers

Travel dates: August 10 - September 3, 2019.

25 days we spent the trip, of which 7 left only on the road from Perm and back.

9300 km run, of which a couple of hundred kilometers off-road, where I had to shake for many, many hours in pits, dragging at a speed of 10-15 km per hour, 500 km - bad roads, the rest - excellent asphalt.

Zero car breakdowns.

Zero penalties.

17 kg of bananas eaten.

Collected:

• Lots and lots of blueberries and blueberries.
• 1 cloudberry (she's been gone for two years now).
• Half a liter of mussels at low tide in the ocean on Rybachye.

Money

How much did our trip cost (calculation for three people):

MOT, oil, spare parts, balancing	10 000 ₽
Gasoline for round trip	26 700 ₽
Gasoline in Karelia	10 500 ₽
Gasoline on Kola	15 200 ₽
Cafes and canteens	28 000 ₽
Products	9 500 ₽
sights	1 400 ₽
Lodging	38 000 ₽
Total	139 300 ₽

Yes, auto travel in Russia is not cheap! 140 thousand rubles for 25 days. With this money, you can relax in Italy or Spain, in the Maldives or Bali, go on a cruise across the ocean on a huge liner - a lot of things you can think of beautiful and pleasant! But autotrip is a unique thing, they give a lot of emotions and impressions, and are definitely worth it.

Almost half of the money went to gasoline and car maintenance - 62,400 rubles... But on excursions, buses, trains, planes, of course, we did not spend.

Lodging for three on average cost 1600 rubles per day... In 90% of cases, these were poor hotels and apartments. We were looking for the cheapest options and tried to bargain, as housing in Karelia is expensive.

Food per person - 12,500 rubles, that is 500 rubles per day... It is difficult to find catering in Karelia, the Murmansk region and on the Kola highway, sometimes you need to drive 100-300 km to the nearest cafe. When we got to any food store, we loaded up to the fullest.

Successes

The expedition was successful - adventures, impressions and new experiences swept over us like an ocean wave during a storm:

• We have discovered a completely new in spirit region - the Russian North. This is my main discovery in this autotrip.
• We got to the Arctic Ocean, bathed in its cold waters.
• We visited the northernmost point of the European part of Russia - Cape Nemetskiy, Rybachiy Peninsula.
• We spent the night in a tent by the ocean at the edge of the earth.
• We ate plenty of wild berries.
• We enjoyed the beauty of the fabulous forests, lakes and skerries of Karelia.
• We got acquainted with excellent examples of northern wooden architecture.
• We looked at the petroglyphs.
• We got to the ancient and distant villages of the Russian North.
• We fed the wild horses on the Kola.
• We discovered the harsh beauty of the Khibiny and Lovozero tundras. We took a couple of passes.
• We explored several difficult roads around which there are many myths: to Cape Nemetsky on Rybachye, to the Geologov pass in the Lovozero tundra, to the Krasny waterfall in the Khibiny, to Vottovaara mountain in Karelia. We found out at what time and in what car it is possible to drive through them.