There's only one word for Lapland - WOW!!!
On our first day here we went for a ride on a reindeer sled. The next day we were off driving ski mobiles. The following day we were digging for amethyst in an amethyst mine. We caught our transport to the top of the mountain - 400m up hill. There was plenty of fresh snow and we sank down to our knees when we tried to walk on it. No ice here, just soft powdery snow.
We had a talk about the amethyst mine. These mountains were 45km high and have been eroded away by freezing water and also by the 10 ice-ages that this country has experienced (the last one was 10,000 years ago). Along with the purple amethyst, smoky quartz, milk quartz and clear quartz can be found here.
We dug around in the dirt with our picks and managed to find some nice amethyst crystals - not enough to make our fortune though. we hadn't bought anything to remember this trip by so decided to buy a share in the amethyst mine. So we'll be taking home a little bit of Lapland with us.
After our mining experience we were off to see the husky farm and experience a husky trail. All of the dogs at the farm are either pure bred Alaskan Huskies, pure bread Siberian Huskies or half breeds of each.
The huskies are very friendly and love to play with the staff. They are very strong and are keen workers. Huskies can run up to 50kph and will run up to 50km in a day. They function best when temperatures are -20 to -30C. Robert cuddled a 7 week old puppy called Belle.
After our tour of the farm and kennels we embarked on our husky sled ride. Cherryl had the easy bit - just sitting in the sled. Robert "drove" the sled through the forest, along the trail, in the dark, with light snow falling - magic. "Drove" is a bit of and exaggeration as we just went where toe dogs took us and Robert used the brake to control our speed when we went downhill or around corners.
The sleds are pulled by 6 dogs. Two makes are closest to the sled as they are the strongest. Next are 2 more dogs pulling (male, female or one of each). In the lead are 2 females - they are smarter and can remember the trails better.
In the evening we travelled to the top of the mountain in a snow-cat to have dinner. We hoped to see the Northern Lights but there's too much cloud cover.
Yesterday was a rest day as we prepared for New Years Eve. Dinner at a nearby restaurant was delicious. We are fans of reindeer meat which is very tender and juicy. We've had reindeer soup and reindeer steaks - delicious. All parts of the reindeer are used - fur, meat, bones and antlers - and the Finnish herd is maintained at around 200,000 beasts; which is seen to be a sustainable number.
After we'd finished eating we participated in a Finnish New Year custom. We were all given a small aluminium horseshoe to hold onto. Later in the evening, the horseshoe was melted over a fire and the liquid was poured into a bucket of water. The resulting shape told our fortunes for the coming year.
After dinner everyone went out onto the snow to watch the skiers ski down the mountain carrying flares. This was followed by fireworks which lit up the whole mountain.
A few hours sleep and we're packed up again ready to leave our winter wonderland.
HAPPY NEW YEAR and BEST WISHES FOR 2016!
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