This morning we gather at a Dutch B&B for our next tour. We’re riding through the Finnish nature on snowmobiles. Not having ridden much of motorcycles or scooters I am quite looking forward to this. For some reason we get shoes and an overall to dress in, and take of most of our outer-layers to prevent sweating. This is a bit annoying since we specifically selected our clothes to build up layers and stay warm. Unsurprisingly, this was also one of the few times I got actually cold during our holiday. But I digress. First we got a quick introduction on how to handle a snowmobile. We learned how to break and how to turn of the engine so we couldn’t accidentally hit the gas while standing up. All while a lively squirrel was hopping around to gather some food. And then it was time to head out.
Äkäslompolo, the town we started from, is a small village at the foot of one of the highest mountains in Finland. The mountain is part of the ski-resort Yllästunturi. So the whole area is adapted to winter-sport activities. There are hiking, langlaufing, ski-ing and snowmobile trails all around.
As we left the town we entered a snowmobile trail that took us through the beautiful Finnish landscape. Running through thick layers of snow and across frozen lakes. It was quite cold at -22°C and while the snowmobile had to work hard to get through it all we were sitting quite still and slowly freezing our toes off. Even so, feeling the power of the engine and the track plowing through the snow was quite awesome. We were afraid the roaring of the engines would scare away any wildlife around. But on a small trail we actually encountered a reindeer with her cup foraging for food.
They were totally undisturbed by our engines and as we shut them down and admired them they easily went about their business. They were only a few meters from us, and it was quite a sight. But it was time to continue our journey as everyone was getting cold. We rode up a hill where we parked the snowmobiles, and we walked up to a small hut. As the guide lit up the fire we all gathered around for warmth. We got some hot linden-berry juice while he cooked some rieska on the open flames. The rieska’s were filled with cheese and baked with some garlic and were quite delicious. After that we got a nice reindeer stew.
All warmed and filled-up we resumed our journey. After following more of the trails we made s short top. It was now a bit later in the afternoon and the sun began to set. This lit up the sky in fancy colours.
After this journey we did some quick grocery shopping and went back to our cabin for dinner. Having a simple home dinner around the fireplace was just what we needed to relax and warm up a bit.
That night I set out to the lake to enjoy a bit of the evening cold and darkness. And luckily got a bit more Northern Lights to enjoy. All in all a good day. Tomorrow we’ll have some time to relax and experience some actual Finish customs…