Travels with Kathryn

Well, Lapland continues to be utterly magical.

I am pleased to report that after my last post (Tuesday) I did embrace the ways of Finnish sauna-ing, sort of, in that I did get hot and then run outside (where it is very cold), but I did not roll in the snow. I was cold enough to scuttle back into the sauna and reheat. Later on, we walked back into town for a pizza (I decided not to have the “Wizard” pizza topped with tuna and ham?!) and then onto the local entertainment venue – a karaoke bar. This was an interesting experience as there were 2 Finnish gentlemen singing earnest songs in Finnish (albiet a wee bit off tune imho), a young semi-good girl being maniacally filmed by her parents, and a big group of Dutch who were having a fabulous time. I managed to resist performing myself and decided to call it a night at midnight – I am nearly 40 after all…

We had a free morning on Wednesday, and I headed into town for a little sightseeing, shopping (the usual fridge magnet), and a walk to the lake. There are evidently a lot of British families in Äkäslompolo and unfortunately, there was a family at the lake having a classic family moment, i.e., parents and three small children – child A having a meltdown, child B kicking child Aand being told off, and child C having a magical time on the swing as the Mother nervously asked if I wanted a go. I decided they had enough to deal with without me ruining the one child who seemed to be happy and grateful for a trip to Finnish Lapland for Christmas.

That afternoon, we were off husky sleding. We were going to be 2 people to a 6 dog sledge, driving ourselves through a 10km track. I was a little nervous about this, particularly as on arrival, the dogs were rather excited to be getting going. Well, 2 minutes in I realised it was very easy, the dogs were going at there own very steady pace, I was in the most beautiful surroundings (the Pallas-Ylläs National Park) and I was having the best time – I may have found a new career! I got a “very good” from the guide. I was very proud.

The dogs are part of a pack of 72 Alaskan huskies (which are smaller than the more common Siberian huskies kept as pets) and a mix of males and females, and they all run naturally from a young age (being trained by older dogs) until they don’t want to anymore (when they get a new job of keeping the younger dogs in line). Driving the sledges is pretty straightforward – you stand at the back of the sled on 2 runners and there is a brake in the middle – this tells the dogs to slow (half-way down) or stop (fully down). Basically, you take your foot off the break, and they go, a slight breaking into a corner with leaning and then just leave them to get on with it! What also probably helped was that when I was driving I was in the second wave of sledges and someone in the worst wave had a bit of a crash early on (everyone was fine) which I did not see, so I once I got the hang of it I was speeding along enjoing myself. I could only take photos when I was not driving (we switched halfway around), but I still took loads!

That evening, we had a home cooked dinner (including reindeer again), and then we engaged in a typical Finnish winter activity – making ice lanterns. I imagined some technical ice carving to be involved, but no. You start by putting a bucket of water outside where its rather cold, and when it is frozen on the outside edge, you turn the bucket out upside down to tip out your ice cyclinder and stab at the bottom with a knife until you crack through the ice, tip out the water, scoop out any excess water, put a candle in and boom! You have an ice lantern:

After our successes here, we settled in for a Finnish card game called “Happy.” This is a window to the Finnish psyche as you have to answer questions ranging from: “What is your 5 year plan?” to “name 3 things you love about yourself”, which we all just answered (having been subjected to such things at corprate bonding events!), but apparently to the Finnish this is akin to baring your soul in a terrifying way. I had a card which asked me: “Name occasions when have you been happiest this past year?” I said the pretty obvious of leaving a job I was ready to leave, finally completing on the sale of my flat, and day 2 of the trip once I knew it was all happening. However, reflecting later on I have had so many fantastic moments on the trip, not just seeing and experiencing all the wonderful things I have seen and experienced, but perhaps I have been happiest when travel companions arrived. Not because I dislike travelling alone (I do not), but the excitement of being able to share these things. So, perhaps a little reflective (maybe that is the point of the game), but maybe it is good to reflect as I enter the home straight of my travels and it being Christmas.

Anyway, this morning was another beautiful morning in Lapland so we stopped to capture it:

Today (Thursday), we were going to meet some local reindeer. This is a very traditional way of life, so we met a reindeer herder and his reindeer. In this part of the world, most reindeer are semi-domesticated, and the herders are no longer nomadic. This lifestyle changed around 200 years ago as wild reindeer were hunted almost to extinction, and people/reindeer were not able to roam freely because fenced borders were created. Over time, the number of semi-domesticated reindeer expanded, which meant that there was not enough lichen (which the reindeer ate) and the role of the reindeer herders has changed. Today, the numbers of reindeer in Finland (there is some maths involved apparently) is controlled and the herders feed them during winter when their food is less available, but otherwise, the reindeer roam and live pretty freely – for example, the herders do not assist in the births of reindeer, but leave it to nature. Ownership of a reindeer is marked by cutting a small shape out of their ears (there is a fiinish ear marking guide to who owns which reindeer).

Now, a useful piece of information regarding Santa’s reindeer. So, all reindeer have antlers and shed them annually. Male reindeer shed their antlers in winter, whereas female reindeers do not lose their antlers until spring, which has probably led to rumours that Santa’s reindeer are female. They are not, as the females never pull sleighs. Instead, Santa’s reindeer are, in fact, castrated male reindeer as the castrated males do not shed their antlers in winter. Sorry about this, everyone, but we were assured it is a quick and painless process.

Whilst I attempted to bond with reindeer, I feel that I am more of a husky person, and they could sense this. But I did try, and eventually, I managed to tempt a couple with some lichen…

After getting very cold (it’s been -14 today), we quickly changed for a traditional Finnish sauna. After getting really hot, there was an option to dip into the iced over lake. I’ll be honest. I wimped out and merely stood in the snow, deciding that was sufficient before scuttling back into the sauna to defrost!

A final dinner in Äkäslompolo (a reindeer burger – it is the most sustainable option!) and then back to the hotel to pack and an early night as tomorrow we leave for Rovaniemi where I hope to meet Santa Claus (if he is not too busy in the run-up to the big day) so I need my beauty sleep. Just a final note on coming North of the Arctic Circle, it really is the most magical, beautiful place and I feel that I have really been able to experience Lapland properly rather than just popping to Rovaniemi. I can not recommend it highly enough. Come.