Lapland - Snowmobiles & Reindeers

One of the reasons we chose Lapland was because of the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, which is a natural light display, usually a greenish glow or light red, in the dark skies in the Northern Hemisphere.  They are caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms.  So, on our very first night in Lapland, we signed up for a snowmobile excursion which took us deeper into the woods and further from the lit areas of the village, in hopes of catching one of the displays.

Getting into our gear

Getting a 5-minute training on how to operate a snowmobile

We're off! Ju and I sat on a sleigh pulled by our guide's snowmobile.  We sat on reindeer skin, and had two layers of blankets, including one made of reindeer skin again, to keep us warm.  Ju was a little nervous and would not let go of my arm the entire 1.5-hour ride.  He enjoyed it, though. 

Unfortunately, it was snowing that night, so we did not see any lights.  We stopped for a tea break in a little hut in the middle of the woods while our guide told us stories about the indigenous people of Lapland, the Sami, and the Northern Lights.

The Sami called the Northern Lights "foxfire" as they believe that it is the sparks created by the tail of a running fox as he dashes through the snow-covered fells in the area.

Ju posing with the snowmobile

Although it was a very unusual experience to be riding in a snowmobile through the snow-covered forest in the dark, none of us really ranked it high in our list of Lapland adventures.  YL said it was not easy to control, Soph complained of frost bites, and I did not like the smell of gas in my face from the guide's snowmobile in front.  But the invention of snowmobiles was a major revolution in this part of the world, bringing much comfort, ease and convenience to the daily lives of the people here.  No longer they had to live a nomadic lifestyle herding reindeer and other cattle; no longer were they cut off from their families or other communities in the winter. 

Higher up on that list of favourite things in Lapland would be the reindeer ride.  
  

The whole family could fit in a tiny sleigh.  We are tiny people!

It was a MAGICAL forest ride.  The reindeer plodded along quietly in the silent, enchanted winter forest draped in various shades of white: the feathery light branches of the pine trees, the blankety soft ground of the forest, the gentle brush of snow falling on our rosy cheeks.   It is impossible to capture this peace and magic on film.  

When it was over, Soph was invited to feed the reindeer its favourite food, lichen, a type of moss

The wife of the reindeer herder has Sami heritage

The teepee in which we warmed up with a cup several cups of hot mixed-berry juice and home-baked cloudberry cookies, while listening to the herder's stories.  It was the PERFECT ending to the experience!

Hanna comes from a reindeer-herding family, and started following his father's footsteps in his teenage years.  His grown-up children, however, have no interest to continue this tradition, although he is heartened that his grand-daughter seems interested.  Hanna is probably 60-70 years old, and speaks Finnish in calm, clear, calculated and soothing tones.  Our guide was the translator but his endearing character came through without any translation.