2 A Land of Mountain and Ice

Sarek’s mountains used to be covered by vast sheets of ice. Around 9, 000 years ago, this ice melted, leaving behind about 100 g    1    . Soon after, reindeer began to arrive. Following the reindeer were the Sami people, who made this territory their home. G    2     here is quite difficult, so apart from the Sami very few people have ever seen Sarek. In 1909, Sarek was made a national park in order to keep the land in its n    3    state. Though the Sami are allowed to continue their traditional way of life in the park, no one else can live here, and all new development is b    4     within park boundaries. At the far side of the valley, an ancient Sami cottage is v    5    . Close by, there are a few reindeer feeding on grass.

3 Man at Peace with Nature

For hundreds of years, looking after reindeer was a way of life for the Sami. They used the reindeer’s meat for food, their bones for tools, and their skin for m    6     clothes and tents. Since reindeer were always on the move, the Sami would pick up their tents and a    7     them. Today, most Sami have houses in villages near Sarek and live a m    8     life just like their neighbours. But every spring, a small number of Sami still follow their reindeer into the valleys of Sarek, living in tents or old cottages and enjoying their t    9    . I am not a Sami, but in Sarek I’ve a    10     some of their habits. For example, this morning my breakfast is flat bread warmed over a fire, dried reindeer meat, and some sweet and sour berries that I found growing near my tent.

Sarek’s mountains used to be covered by vast sheets of ice. Around 9.000 years ago; this ice melted, leaving behind about 100 g    1    . Soon after, reindeer began to arrive. Following the reindeer were the Sami people, who made this t    2     their home. Getting here is quite difficult, so apart from the Sami very few people have ever seen Sarek. In 1909, Sarek was made a national park in order to keep the land in its n    3    state. Though the Sami are allowed to continue their traditional way of life in the park, no one else can live here, and all new development is b    4     within park boundaries. At the far side of the valley, an ancient Sami cottage is v    5    . Close by, there are a few reindeer feeding on grass.

For hundreds of years, looking after reindeer was a way of life for the Sami. They used the reindeer's meat for food, their bones for tools, and their skin for making clothes and tents. Since reindeer were always on the move, the Sami would pick up their tents and a    6    them. Today, most Sami have houses in villages near Sarek and live a m    7    life just like their neighbours. But every spring, a small number of Sami still follow their reindeer into the v    8    of Sarek, living in tents or old cottages and enjoying their traditions. I am not a Sami, but in Sarek I've a    9    some of their habits. For example, this morning my breakfast is flat bread warmed over a fire, dried reindeer meat, and some sweet and s    10    berries that I found growing near my tent.

    1    amazing is the Incas’ dry stone method of building. Inca builders cut stones to     2    sizes so that nothing was needed to hold walls together other than the    3    fit of the stones.