It´s ferry time!
Worries kept me awake at night. How stressful would it be, boarding the ferry with all those cars? How would she feel about all the other dogs on board. What if she had to pee or poop? Would she
use the dog toilet? Would she get seasick? Should I have taken something to calm her down? I was worried about finding the right boat. I was worried about messing up our check-in or getting stuck
at customs because they wanted to see documents I forgot about. I was worried about finding a campsite and how hard it was going to be pulling Sierra up the Swedish hills and
mountains.
We woke up in the morning quite early and utterly exhausted. Not only did my thoughts kept me up at night, but my body was also not used to sleeping on hard ground yet. I usually sleep well outdoors, but it takes me 2 days to switch from a comfy mattress to sleeping on a foam mat. So with bags under my eyes, I started packing up and got ready to ride to the port. I wanted to get there as early as possible, to give Sierra a fair chance to empty her bladder in time for boarding. 8 hours is not that long for her, and I know she can hold it, but why not give her the opportunity beforehand. We all know how uncomfortable life can get if you really need to go. While Alicia made her coffee, I took Sierra for a good 20 min walk alongside the parking lots where she had enough gras and bushes to keep her happy.
Once we managed to get her back into the trailer we took off. Sierra did not appreciate it nor did she come quietly. I knew however, especially in this situation, where she was coming from. I felt unease as well. Riding a small bike and pulling a trailer along, past and through lines of cars, campervans and a huge number of trucks felt incredibly intimidating. And of course, Sierra only reflected what I was feeling at that time. Check-in was a lot easier than I expected though, which was a huge relief. I had checked us in beforehand and therefore only had to scan the QR Code to get our cabin keys and boarding card.
In case you are as confused as me: You don´t get an actual key. You simply get a small boarding card, that has your cabin number printed on it. You simply slide the card into the door to open and close. So don´t forget that piece of paper while going out to explore, otherwise your dog is stuck. We did decide to book a cabin because I was hoping it would put a lot less stress on Sierra and give us an opportunity to rest for a while. I am glad we did because 8 hours is a long time to be on a boat. Watching Netflix, sleeping and just having a space where your dog can sleep comfortably, was really important to me.
I know it is mandatory to wear a reflective vest, but I felt a lot safer navigating this kind of ant hill. And after waiting a bit longer in line, we were finally waved off to ride up the ramp into the inside of this massive ferry, where a young lad pointed out the section where we could secure the bikes with straps and ropes the boat provides for security. I took off the bags I wanted to take with us, got Sierra and made it up the stairs into the lobby. Alicia was so kind to ask where our cabin was, as it honestly took a few minutes to figure out the number system and I didn’t not want to walk around aimlessly with an overtired dog. We took turns walking the boat and staying in the cabin with Sierra to rest. The day was incredibly nice and sitting out on deck enjoying the wind in my hair and the sun on my face felt nice. The wind smelled of new adventures and I got more and more excited. Even Sierra was happy for the opportunity to stretch her legs every few hours, but of course boycotted the dog toilet. Who would have thought.
It was a little section outside, filled with rocks and a piece of wood in the middle. Of course, it smelled of pee and Sierra took one sniff before turning away disgustedly, to check out the other side. She held it in and did not choose to pee once. In the end, I did raise a lady who prefers gras to concrete.
8 hours came, and 8 hours went and by the time we were allowed to return to our bikes I felt more exhausted than ever. Even though I did get a good amount of rest, this long journey had affected me more than I thought. I think Sierra felt the same because she had a look on her face as though she hadn´t slept for months. But as we can´t swim to Sweden and I will not fly with her unless I really must, this was our only option. While the other bikes were allowed to leave first, I had to wait for the end, as the trailer was not able to squeeze past the parked cars on deck. It took a bit longer but didn´t bother me. Alicia was allowed to wait for us and like the exit of a movie we rode of the inside of the ferry, down the ramp followed by trucks and touched down in Sweden.
We followed the exit signs filled with joy to have finally made it to the other side when we got stopped by a customs gate. Not really knowing what to do, where to go or how to open this gate, we looked around. Noone was there. But Alicia decided to try a new method of Simsalabim and called out a friendly "Hello!" and the gate mysteriously opened. Without asking why or how and what we went through and left the port. Easiest customs crossing I think I ever had. Of course, the first order of business was a quick toilet break at the first patch of grass we found. Lucky for me it also had a bench and a bin. A dream location for all dog owners.
After Sierra got a chance to relieve herself, we jumped back onto the bikes and rode another 1 ½ hours to the next Campspot in Skateholm. By the time we had checked in and set up our tents it was 8.30pm and I was absolutely destroyed. The ride along was beautiful, flat and even for Sierra quite peaceful but the entire day still took a lot out of me. As Sierra was not allowed to run yet, due to her shoulder she had to rest in the trailer for the entire ride and was not in a great mood by the time we arrived, but did her best to play nice. We took a shower, updated friends and family and got ready for dinner. In my case, I was not hungry. I normally never am on the first few days on an adventure but still took a few spoons of rice and opted in with a protein shake before crawling into the tent and fell asleep faster than I anticipated.
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