My Finnish Adventure

A Journey to The Arctic Circle and Christmas!
By Hani M Bathish

Riding snow mobiles over the frozen river Ounas in Finnish Lapland with the first spring thaw setting in, is an extreme adventure for someone born and raised in a desert land. This is especially the case when all you have on your mind, apart from the stunning views, is "what do I do if the ice breaks and I fall through." The sand in Sharjah at least never melted away beneath your feet.

A trip to the arctic circle is for many a once in a lifetime experience but one well worth the trouble as this reporter found out while on a five-day trip to the Land of the Midnight Sun in late April 2002.

The trip was organized for journalists and travel agents by Kanoo Holidays in Dubai and KLM and designed to introduce the Gulf market to the tourism potential of Finland.

Finland, the land of stunning white landscapes, reindeers and Santa Claus, is such an attractive destination simply because for us in the Middle East it is truly off the beaten path. It is a land sandwiched between Sweden and Russia and populated by a very conservative, honest and friendly people.

The government of Finland has been called the most ethical in Europe with zero levels of corruption. Finns applying to join their police force are rigorously screened psychologically, with candidates exhibiting aggressive tendencies barred from joining the force.

The Best of Two Worlds
Finland in spring is the best of two worlds, it’s a time of year when you could still ski, snowboard, visit the reindeer and Siberian Husky farms and go on snow mobile safaris, and still enjoy relatively warm temperatures. In Lapland, spring-time warm is between -2 and 7 degrees Celsius.

Riding snow mobiles over rough, virgin terrain is a bumpy experience to say the least and a few dips in the slushy snow are all part of the experience. But, as our guide on the snow mobile safari, Konsta, pointed out, if you are well equipped and dressed appropriately it can be a fun experience.

We took off from the office of our snow mobile safari organizers after we put on thick woolen socks over our own, followed by padded snow boots, thermal coveralls, warm gloves and helmets. We took charge of our machines in a forest clearing after we were given a brief five minute instruction on how to operate them.

"Important: you have to be over 15 years old and have a valid drivers license to operate snow mobiles according to Finnish law. Remember, 95 percent of our customers have never driven a snow mobile before," with those reassuring words, Konsta taught us a few hand signals to remember and we were ready to go.

Well marked snow mobile tracks in Finnland are a very helpful feature for the beginner. At certain points, we even crossed some asphalt roads, but our guide would always stop and tell us when it was clear to cross. It was a 30-kilometer ride from the ski-resort town of Levi in Northern Lapland to the reindeer and husky farm, our first stop.

Falling in the snow is not an unpleasant experience, but struggling to stand up again is a challenge, especially when you sink in thigh deep snow each time you try to get a good foot hold. One tip in this situation: lie on your back, thus spreading your weight more evenly, and role on to a firmer surface.

Most of the track we followed was littered with fallen branches and twigs, other parts were more mud and slush than snow due to the early spring thaw.

Finland is known as the land of one thousand lakes, but in fact there are a staggering 187,888 lakes which perforate the landscape forming a veritable maze of lakes, bays, headlands and islands fed by rivers, straits and canals.

On our first crossing over the river Ounas I doubt any of our party of twelve even knew they were on a frozen body of water. The spring thaw had not yet made the river impassable, despite some chunks of ice breaking off as we passed over it.

Asking our guide how long we could survive if we happen to fall into the icy water, Konsta replied: "As long as it would take for me to get you out!"

After persistent questioning, however, Konsta relented: "Well, you could survive ten to 15 minutes at the most, but we would get you out in time. We hold regular rescue exercises every autumn when we get on to thin ice and practice our rescue skills."

Konsta points out that there is a speed limit for snow mobiles in Finland. "You cannot exceed 60kmh, although I personally have driven at 100kmh, but only because if I drive any slower I do not feel like I am using all my muscles. We also have traffic policemen on snow mobiles and they can catch you if you are speeding," Konsta said.

On the half way point on our route back to Levi, we parked our snow mobiles at a small cottage where our guide treated us to some real wild mushroom soup and reindeer meat, yummy.

Ski Resort
Located 180 kilometers above the line of latitude known as the Arctic Circle is the ski resort of Levi in Finnish Lapland. It offers guests an unforgettable stay in an un-spoilt wilderness, yet all modern conveniences are within easy reach. The resort is North of the town of Kittila, a small city with a very well equipped although small airport.

The ski resort is the largest in Finnland, it has 45 slopes with the longest measuring 2,500 meters. Twelve slopes are fitted with an artificial snow system in order to extend the skiing season. The resort has 19 ski lifts and eight restaurants located near the slopes. Levi currently has three hotels and a fourth is under construction, in addition to one apartment hotel and thousands of holiday cottages with an overall capacity of 15,000 beds.

There are a variety of activities on the ice and off it, including hot-air ballooning, helicopter rides, reindeer and sleigh rides, horse riding, even panning for gold in the river in summer. According to our guide, it is almost certain that you will go home with a nugget if you pan for gold long enough… albeit a very small nugget.

The Home of Santa Claus
Its called Santa Claus Village and it is located just outside the capital of Lapland, Rovaniemi. Celebrity visitors to this fairytale land include Elenor Rosevelt, the Spice Girls and British comedienne John Clease.

When Mrs. Rosevelt paid Santa a visit there was only one small cottage, but like much of our urban sprawl, in place of a cottage now stands a whole village built around the nucleus of what in marketing terms would be called a smart and profitable idea. The village includes a gift shop, a post office where they stamp your postcards: 'Santa's Village, Arctic Circle', and of course Rudolph's Factory Shop as well as a myriad other structures.

The Arctic Cricle runs through the village and is marked in Disney-esque-style, by a thick white line painted on the ground. A large granite globe marks the spot where the Arctic Circle passes through the center of the village.

Interviewing Mr. Christmas
We caught up with Santa at Rudolph's Factory Shop. He was seated on his throne, toys and unopened gift boxes were strewn about. His thick accent notwithstanding, the big guy in the red suit did answer a few nagging questions for me:

Q: Who are all those men dressed in red with long white beards we see each Christmas at shopping malls and street corners, going Ho Ho Ho?

A: Really…well I do not know about those but I am the only Santa as far as I know. But, you know, everyone in Finnland knows I have many helpers called elves and they have a beard like mine and dress in red as well, some people may mistake them for me.

They are small and quick for their age. It is difficult to see them at times but if you have the heart of a child you can. Children in Finnland know that the elves job is to watch and see who has been naughty and who has been nice, although I believe that deep down everyone is good at heart.

Q: Very diplomatic of you Santa. So why dress in red?

A: Well red is the color of love, besides in Lapland the winters are so dark that when I go out with my elves red is a color that is easy to see.

Q: Do you always use all your reindeer when you go out on your sleigh and how many do you have?

A: If I am not busy, one reindeer is enough. On Christmas Eve I go to do one of my most important tasks, I need more than one reindeer. But I have so many reindeer it is not easy to count them.

Only after I left the interview was I told by our guide that in Lapland it is not polite to ask someone how many reindeer they have, it's like asking someone how much money they have in the bank.

The Bear's Den
Although we came to Finland in April our tour organizers had the foresight and the imagination to make us feel like we just entered Christmas-land. On our last night in Rovaniemi we were taken into the forest, along the shores of a frozen lake, for a very special dinner. We arrived with the last embers of daylight at 9:30pm, candles lit our path to a very humble-looking log cabin: The Bear's Den.

Our dinner at the cottage was a night to remember with traditional Finnish food, a warm fire and a visit from Santa! The big man brought gifts for everyone and even took the trouble to pose for pictures with each of us.

Santa is not the only dignitary to visit this forest retreat. The Bear's Den has been visited my many famous world leaders over the years. The cottage was used by the President of Finland to entertain guests of state including Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran, Lyndon Baines Johnson, the late US President and his first lady, Ladybird Johnson, as well as the late Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir.

Beautiful Finland, we leave you with a yearning in our hearts for an early return. Farewell.

-end-