Finland/Sweden 3/11/2023 |
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Saturday 3/11/2023- Flight to Kittilä, Snowmobiling, Northern LightsWe had one last delicious buffet breakfast at the Hotel Kämp before heading to the airport at 8:30 a.m. Craig finally took them up on their offer of eggs cooked to order, and he got a fresh ham and cheese omelet with mushrooms. The buffet had so many choices that we hadn't needed to order anything special, but as this was the last of three days here, he decided he wanted to try an omelet before we left.This morning we met Susan and Adrian, the two members of our group whom we had not yet encountered because they had been delayed and had then been without all of their luggage. They had missed the first day of the tour yesterday, but at least they were all settled and ready to go to Sápmi (Lapland) with the rest of us. When we got to the Helsinki airport, Gosia checked us all in and the luggage was taken care of for us. I bought a Finland refrigerator magnet while we were at the airport. Our FinnAir flight took off at 11:20 a.m. We sat with Brian on the flight and had a nice conversation about travel. The flight was only an hour and ten minutes long. We arrived in Kittilä, which has a very a small airport, and collected our luggage. Many of the other passengers on the flight had checked skis, as northern Finland is a popular skiing destination. This was our first time above the Arctic Circle, and we were quite excited. We then were brought to a private room upstairs at the airport where Dave from Lapland Safaris got us kitted up for our snowmobile ride. We were each given a set of arctic coveralls, boots, wool socks, and gloves. It was really nice not to have to bring these bulky items from home. They had asked for our general sizes ahead of time so that they could do their best to have suits and boots to fit us, but if anything didn't fit, they had extras available. Ultimately everyone ended up with gear that was the right size. The coveralls even fit over our parkas! We got dressed up, and were quite hot as we put on layer after layer. Then we were given balaclavas and fitted for helmets. You need a driver’s license to drive a snow machine in Finland, so they had told us to keep our licenses handy in case we were stopped by police. They also had a breathalyzer; they asked if anyone had had anything to drink this morning. If so, they would need to take a test to make sure that they were sober enough to drive. It had been a busy morning and nobody had had anything to drink, but one person in the group was just curious about it since he had never taken a breathalyzer test before. He wasn't even going to be doing the driving on his snowmobile, but he wanted to take the test anyway just for the novelty of it (much better to take one for a lark than to have to take one in a more real-world situation). This wasn't just a snowmobile ride; it was a means of transportation from Kittilä to Levi, where our hotel was. Anything we didn't need with us on the snowmobile (including all of our luggage) was taken in a van. If anyone in the group didn't want to do the snowmobile ride (either as passenger or driver), they could ride in the van, but they would be missing out on a lot of fun. Those who didn't want to drive could ride as a passenger either with someone from the group or with a guide. We went outside the airport to where our snowmobiles were parked. We had the option of riding in pairs or single. I didn’t want to drive (I had tried it before in Iceland), so Craig drove and I was a passenger. We got a safety briefing and then we were on our way, single file, following Dave, our guide. We were on a well-groomed snowmobile trail that obviously gets a lot of traffic. There were even traffic signs along the trail. The snowmobiles had a governor which maxed them out at 40 km/hour. The Sápmi wilderness is gorgeous, with pine and birch trees along the snowmobile trail. We saw many trees which had been bent under the weight of snow. We saw animal tracks in the snow as well. We came around a corner and saw a snow machine parked on the side of the trail. A man in a yellow safety vest approached us. Dave told us to take out our drivers' licenses; this was a traffic stop. Everyone was self-satisfied with having their licenses accessible, and we pulled them out for inspection. The officer seemed stern. "American," he said as he looked at Craig's license. He asked Dave if the entire group was American, and then he said that American licenses aren't acceptable for driving snowmobiles in Finland. So we had to follow him to do some paperwork. Our guide said to remain calm and it would be sorted out. We all followed the cop down a side trail and parked our machines. He called the drivers over and then said they needed Finnish licenses which would be provided for them. He handed them small blue booklets which were stamped with a Finnish snowmobile permit. It turned out to all be a ruse...the "cop" was actually an employee of Lapland Safaris. It had all been planned, and this was just our lunch stop. They said that it is interesting to see how different groups react to the ruse; some say that they are lawyers and this will never hold up in court, etc. Our group had taken it well, though some of us had started to become a wee bit suspicious. They told us that cops really can stop you, and if they do, make sure to show them our real licenses and not these tourist booklets. Real cops would not be amused. They had cooked up sausages for us and gave us hot berry juice, smoked reindeer wraps, and blueberry cake. The sausages were being cooked on a grill made from half of a 50-gallon drum. The snow below the grill was melted into crystals. The food was all delicious and really hit the spot. We were relieved not to have caused an international incident! We went into a kota (Sámi teepee-like structure) where there was a fire going. We took a look inside but with all this gear on, we didn’t need to be near the fire. Then we got back on the machine. As we were crossing a lake and the trail was smooth, they changed the setting on the machines to allow us to go a bit faster in these safer conditions. Craig got our machine up to 69 km/hr. (We hadn't known at the time that the speed limit was 65). The whole adventure lasted just under 2.5 hours. The sun was gorgeous, and even though it was around 10 degrees Fahrenheit, the gear was perfect and we were warm and comfy! We stopped at the Lapland Safaris office in Levi to drop the snowmobiles, helmets, and balaclavas. Then we took the short drive to the Northern Lights Village, our resort for the next two nights. The hotel consisted of a main building (housing check-in, a bar, and a restaurant) and individual cabins. We checked in and went to our "Aurora Cabin", #3. These cabins are amazing; the half of the roof which faces north consists of five glass panels. The bed is centered under these, so that you can potentially see the northern lights from bed. The glass roof is even heated so that snow and frost don't obstruct your view of the night sky. We had two nights here, so we were hopeful that we would be able to catch the elusive lights while here. There were no curtains or blinds on the north-facing windows. This set-up did mean that we would be on full display to people on the walking path to the north of the cabin if we were not careful. We joked with a couple of people in the group about whether it was proper etiquette to wave to someone in their cabin as you walked by or whether you should avert your eyes. Toward the back of the cabin was the bathroom, a couch, a minibar, and a counter with bar stools. The bathroom floor was heated, so it was the perfect place to dry our boot liners after the snowmobiling adventure. The weather here is a dry cold. You tend not to get too wet, since even the snow itself is dry and powdery. You need to make sure to drink water enough not to become dehydrated. The cold weather lulls you into a false sense of security when it comes to hydration. There was always plenty of bottled water available on the bus, and another nice thing is that the tap water in Finland and Sweden is totally safe to drink. There was an electric fireplace next to the bed. We didn't need to use it as the temperature in the cabin was fine for us. There was free wifi, and there was a tablet with which to communicate with the reception office. Apparently, the tablet was supposed to alert you if conditions were right to see the northern lights, but we never did figure out how to get it to work. At 7 p.m., we headed over to the main building for the buffet dinner. Some of our group were already there, sitting in chairs around the fireplace. We went over to a series of long tables which had been reserved for our group and sat down. I had a lingonberry mule to drink, and Craig had a Hölmö IPA from nearby Rovaniemi. There was an extensive buffet with all kinds of food. We had delicious sweet potato soup, bread, salmon, beef, French fries, and rice, with ice cream for dessert. On the short walk from the restaurant back to our cabin, we saw what looked like a cloud in the dark night sky. We went into our cabin and shut out the lights and laid in bed watching the sky. Within 15 minutes, it became obvious that what had looked like a stationary cloud was really the northern lights. It had started to move and took on a green hue. We put on our coats and hats and rushed outside to take in the spectacle. As suspected, my iPhone didn't capture the images, but I had brought my small Sony point-and-shoot camera which had captured the northern lights in Greenland. It worked here as well. Spires shot down toward the earth and bands spread across the sky. It was mostly green but there was also some reddish purple. Our first night above the Arctic Circle did not disappoint! Kittilä Northern Lights Village |
 FinnAir flight  Preparing to leave Kittilä Airport by snowmobile  Snowmobiling above the Arctic Circle  Craig getting his Finnish snowmobiling license from the "cop"  Northern Lights Village, Cabin #3  Northern Lights Village, Cabin #3  Northern Lights Village  Northern Lights  Northern Lights See all photos from March 11 |
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