HEADING NORTH
Discovery of the Arctic Circle
First time in the Arctic Circle
In November 2022 , I said goodbye to Iggy & Dante a second time and left again, this time heading towards the Norwegian Arctic, to the fjords of Nesseby (Finnmark).
My goal: To learn mushing (dog sledding) from David Godin, a French expatriate living alone with his 30 dogs.
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First wintering
And in October 2024, the three of us set off for Swedish Lapland, again to work with a musher , before crossing Sweden on foot with the arrival of spring.
This adventure will be developed in the Across Sweden section.
One year later
It was in November 2023 that I returned to David's place in the Far North, still with the aim of learning mushing and exploring.
Having come with better equipment this time, I also wanted to continue filming my movie and take more beautiful pictures of the Northern Lights.
FIRST STEPS
2022
My first stay in the Arctic lasted three weeks, during which I worked with sled dogs, explored the fjords and discovered the polar lands.
Dans un besoin de frugalité, je vivais dans ce qu'il restait d'un ancien chalet, sans électricité ni eau courante.
2022
DEPARTURE FOR THE NORTH
My first real trip
Having never had the opportunity to see anything other than my family in Tunisia or Provence, I headed straight to the Far North, taking my first solo flight.
Having arrived at Kirkenes airport in the Norwegian Arctic, I arrived at David's place after a 3-hour bus ride and a 2-hour walk.
This time there was no expedition, simply a discovery, a learning experience. David gave me a roof over my head and initiated me into his discipline in exchange for my labor.
I spent three weeks in the attic of a cottage near the 30 dogs I was going to take care of, heating my home with wood and fetching my water from the river.
My cabin, by the way, I shared it with Bernard. Having set off by bike at 71 years old from Nîmes towards the North Cape, he was wintering at David's place while waiting for his return.
Every day before going to sleep, my daily ritual was to keep a journal. Besides the idea of noting the facts, I primarily wanted to capture my emotions as they unfolded.
2022
LIFE IN THE KENNEL
30 sled dogs
These 29 sled dogs, at the end of the polar autumn, would soon don their winter coats to prepare for the arrival of winter and its harsh conditions.
Picking up dog droppings, preparing meals, and clearing the surrounding area—a little routine was settling in. My goal behind this apprenticeship is to learn more about mushing so that one day I can lead a polar expedition.
The ice and snow, still new to me, were just a taste of what a real winter in the polar environment would be like.
In the morning, I would collect the droppings and immediately go and cut up the meat for David's dogs' two daily meals.
Too little ice for sledding training, I focused on learning the basics and wanted to explore the fjord.
As soon as the dogs were fed and the kennel was clean, I would take my bag and go explore the surroundings, curious to see what this world had to offer.
2022
ON THE FJORD
Wanderings on Nesseby
Always on the lookout for any free time to explore the surroundings, my bag and camera were constantly ready to go and discover these fjords, shores that form the veins of the Scandinavian coasts.
As I approached the fjord, the first thing that caught my eye was the church of Nesseby, isolated on its small peninsula.
Walking along the shore towards it, the church of Nesseby seemed to come straight out of a fairy tale, so sublime was the atmosphere.
Still open to the public before the arrival of winter, its entirely wooden construction and colours testified to a curious mixture of Christianity and Scandinavian folklore.
Upon arriving in this fjord, I never expected to find a sei whale skull or see a solitary male orca in the distance.
Winter was taking its time freezing the coast, so we alternated between mild sunshine at 2°C and temperatures approaching -10°C.
Despite the solitude reigning over the fjord, I had made friends in the port of Nesseby. In particular, Joachim, a fisherman my age, who took me on a boat trip in search of cetaceans.
Born in the desert and raised by the sea, I first explored the maritime side of Nesseby before venturing into its hinterland, where the lakes were freezing a little more each day.
Not a day went by without this atmosphere captivating me with its magic, and I was not yet at my first dawns.
2022
FIRST NORTHERN LIGHTS
Nighttime gusts
Having named the documentary project Nordlys, which means Northern Lights in Norwegian, I was eagerly awaiting the chance to see this phenomenon that I had heard so much about.
Still under-equipped and inexperienced in night photography, this was an opportunity for me to learn by doing.
Although the first things I was told about were the lights and the color of this phenomenon, it was its movement that seduced and hypnotized me.
And this movement, this boreal dance, was what made it most difficult to photograph this nocturnal phenomenon, requiring a long, static exposure photograph.
Faced with a veritable fireworks display of auroras that appeared on the last day of this expedition, I promised myself I would return to recapture images of this boreal dance.
UN AN PLUS TARD
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2023
I wanted to feel that cold again, to look at that ice, to see those auroras dance, to glide down those fjords on a sled.
A year later, my equipment had completely changed, as had the rest of the Nesseby lands where I planned to return.
2023
BACK TO NESSEBY
Time and material gap
In November 2023 , I returned to David's to continue my learning, this time with much better equipment for photographing and filming these Arctic lands.
While I thought I would see the same landscapes again, a year later in the same month, the entire region had completely changed, now covered with a thick layer of ice.
From the moment the plane landed in Kirkenes, I recognized nothing of what I had seen a year earlier.
Back at the kennel, there were only shades of brilliant white, contrasting with the little sunlight that remained before the Polar Night.
This time truly alone, I was back in this attic which had become my little home for a month.
Fetching my water from the river, chopping my wood to heat my home and preparing the dogs' meals, my routine was back.
Still busy working with the sled dogs, I flew a drone over the area to get an idea of the scale of the change in scenery. But before exploring, the training sessions finally began.
2023
WINTER & DOGS
The start of training
In order to train sled dogs, a layer of ice must form on the ground before another layer of snow covers it to insulate it, while being thick enough once compacted to plant its snow anchor and brake safely.
With winter being particularly cold this year, conditions were ideal for a series of regular training sessions.
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While waiting for a little more snow, we set off in this motorless cart pulled by a dozen dogs.
The daily training sessions provided an opportunity to learn to sled with David, but also to explore the surrounding area.
Each dog had its pre-defined position on the team according to its abilities, such as Tarzan at the front to guide the line (1st photo) and Djam at the rear for his strength (4th photo).
Newcomers, old-timers perhaps recognizing me, meals and cleaning were an opportunity for me to socialize with the pack and get to know them.
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Day and night, the training sessions took place and this time I was getting to know David better, a hermit whose philosophy of life I liked despite his bad temper.
2023
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ONE YEAR, ONE FJORD
On the constancy of change
Wandering through the exact same lands explored a year earlier, I recognized nothing at all and struggled to find my way in a world that had become entirely white.
Coming from places where winter differs from summer only in the amount of leaves on the trees, I was more fascinated by the change of scenery than by its beauty.
Back at the church in Nesseby, this time closed, the silence of the place was
interrupted only by the sound of my boots in the snow.
In a mixture of white, gold and pink, the fjord painted itself a few more times before the arrival of the Polar Night.
The Bergeby River, the racecourse, and the frozen lakes where you can see reindeer wandering around, everything fascinated me down to the last snowflake.
With winter arriving in Nesseby, there was hardly a single person to be seen, except for a few rare fishermen or inhabitants.
Born in the desert and having grown up by the sea, the fjord always attracted me. I would walk there to smell its seaweed, taste its water or listen to its little waves.
Every detail of this polar world fascinated me, from a herd of reindeer to a twig that could withstand the frost.
The Sun disappeared a little more each day, giving way to a period of darkness contrasted by splendid glimmers: a dance of auroras.
2023
BOREALIS DANCE
An artistic maturity
For a year after my first stay, I continued to practice night photography and trained for the day when I would once again face the Northern Lights.
In addition to my equipment, my artistic maturity had just taken another step forward.
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In addition to long exposure photographs, I also took the opportunity to capture the movement of the auroras in timelapses.
I regularly took photos of this chalet, whose attic served as my home, before it burned down a few months later.
Under the movements of the aurora borealis, the kennel seemed to come out of a fairy tale, or even a science fiction film.
Day by day, the intensities of the auroras varied; I followed the aurora meteorology and their KP index (from 0 to 9) online.
ACROSS SWEDEN
2024-2025
Wishing this time to go away for a long time with Iggy & Dante to continue my learning, we went to winter in Swedish Lapland.
After an eventful autumn and winter, we decided to walk across Sweden to get home.
2024-2025
A YEAR IN SWEDEN
In rhythm with the seasons
Finally, in September 2024 , the three of us set off for Swedish Lapland to work with sled dogs and cross Sweden on foot at the arrival of spring.
From autumn to summer, our lives have constantly changed from one season to the next, from one surprise to another.
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After 7 trains and 1 ferry, we reached southern Sweden before walking towards from Swedish Lapland, time to discover the country.
We left for Lapland in the autumn and spent the winter there amidst the Northern Lights iridescent clouds and sled dogs.
It was in Lapland that I met my sweetheart, Valeria, and Dante met his friend Totte.
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And it was in May 2025, after many adventures, that our trio set off to cross Sweden on foot to return home, or not.
Discover the full adventure in Sweden via the link below!
THANKS
To those who supported the adventure
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who supported this adventure, whether through your encouraging messages, your contributions to keeping this project alive, and to those who gave me a helping hand when I was in need.
To everyone, I would like to dedicate this section in memory of the kindness you have shown me towards my foolishness.
First of all, I would like to thank all the partners in this adventure for contributing to its organization and to have made it possible!
CONTRIBUTORS
A huge thank you to all the donors to this fundraiser for the Ya'aba expedition
making this adventure possible:
Anonymous ; Corentin Fremy; Hervé Chevalley; Donya Brghda; Nikolas AUBOURG; Jimmy Soto; Sylvie Debord; Noélie Hodet; Anonymous ; Lucas Nezzal; Noura Helye; Orane Abad; Anonymous ; Anonymous ; Anonymous ; Murat Murat; Cristina Bruccoli; Mallaurie Dumortier; Justine Frederic; Tiffany Larquemin; Patrice Sollé; Lila Ayoldi; Rémy DELMONTE; Quentin Lecaudey; Anonymous ; Anonymous.
But also to the donors
from the fundraising campaign for Animal Protection Action :
Jimmy Soto; Anonymous; Lys Sa; Perrine; Anonymous; Anonymous; Anonymous; Morgane Marit; Laure Rapilly Ferniot; Celia Antoine; Anonymous; Anonymous.
