It’s winter in Crete. Rain is falling outside the window: coming down hard and blowing sideways.
If our tent were up it would sure be in danger of breaking from wind that strong. Oof, I start to worry for the little tent in my imagination. But there’s also the feeling of relief, the calm of only looking at the rain, not feeling its wetness seep through clothing or fighting back the chill and push of the wind.
I guess I have a camper’s mind, viewing each kind of weather as one exposed to the elements, barefaced to whatever the sky throws down. Somehow I can’t turn that point of view off, even though we are living inside now.
Many weeks of camping in the rainy cold can do that to a person, apparently.
My mom loves Scandinavia for summer. Camping allows us to be out in nature in gorgeous areas, sharing space and camaraderie with active and lively Scandinavians. It makes it affordable too. Living outdoors also puts your body in a more natural rhythm. We’ve seen the good effects on ourselves, and especially on Grace and how she functions. And funnily enough, Grace loves the tent.
My mom is always thinking about how to best care for Grace in the healthiest ways. Camping proved to be another God idea, as grounding and being outside brings along a plethora of both brain and body benefits.
Our camping trip through Scandinavia last summer gave us pretty spectacular weather. Who could’ve guessed this year would be so crap?
Rain jackets and umbrellas were always present with us on walks. Some days the rain fell only intermittently, but other days it came down in droves.
The rain we had in the southern, Swedish city of Malmo just before flying out was torrential. News outlets reported major flooding there not long after we left.
Here’s a slideshow of rainy camping!
This famous bridge connects Sweden and Denmark. It’s the bridge we and quite a few others took shelter under one afternoon. We’d all been watching the rain far in the distance make its way over… and then all got a decent spray down despite the cover of the bridge.
Campgrounds provide a bit of cover too, in the way of kitchens. Those kitchens served as little refuges where we could hide out from inclement weather. A slight problem, though, was that the kitchens were always full of people– people cooking, eating, talking, and loudest of all: washing dishes, a cacophony of relentless banging and crashing. One might think of camping as being peaceful, quiet, and serene. But the three of us have those dish washing noises permanently pressed into our minds and inner, deep psyche now. Not sure when our aversion to clanking plates will go away. xD
As squally as our Sweden summer weather was, I am still thankful we went up north again, saw so many new things and places, and learned a ton more. We had a great many beautiful hikes and berry picking adventures.
And maybe the best benefit of all from camping just might be the incredible appreciation you gain for all the small comforts and conveniences of living indoors, even things like having somewhere quiet to sit, or the simplicity of getting to admiring the wind and rain from behind a window.
Thank you for reading and happy travels!
