Northern Light Trip in Finland - Part 2

Day 4

It is the most amazing day we had during the trip in Lapland. In the morning, we took the bus and travelled to the Husky and Reindeer Farm. The activity of riding husky and reindeer are optional. We need to pay extra 130euro, but it is not really a big deal since it can bring you an unforgetable memory. The farm is full of snow, husky and reindeer are separated into two areas. The huskies are lived in the snow, separated from each other by a huge mental fences. They have some little wooden houses to rest covered by dry grasses inside the big cages. They are totally different from the huskies I used to imagine - fluffy, chubby and cute. The huskies here are sporty, fit instead, but still super cute. I don't know how the situation of reindeers cause it was so dark when I started the reindeer riding activity. Not like husky ride (you have to control the huskies by yourself), for reindeer ride, you just need to sit in the sledge, and the staff will manage reindeer for you. There were about six or seven sledges tighted together with six or seven reindeers, and they were just casually walking not running. Between two activities, though it was only 4 pm, it was very cold and we stayed outside for a very long time. Therefore, staffs let us stay inside a tent, they even provided us ginger breads and hot Finnish tea. You can see photo of the tent below.

When we finished every activities at the husky and reindeer farm, it was around 5 pm, I was tired not because of the activities but the cold. We left the farm and head to Levi city center to visit the Christmas market. Though they call it city centre, it is more like a small town in front of the ski area. It is not sparkling like other big cities, it has its own vibe with people in ski gear walking around, kids with sledge playing around... For someone who is in love with a massive Christmas market, you are not going to find it here. The Christmas market is not big here, they have only a few kiosks. However, it is amazing with mountain view and full of snow.

Afterwards, day 4 was not finished yet. In the evening, we had a Northern Light hunt activity with a local tour guide. This activity was included within the tour plan. Therefore, it was free of charge, but it was the most valuable activity in my opinion. Janita was our tour guide. She is a cofounder of Eanan Levi which is a local tour operator in Lapland area. She brought us to one of the lakes in the area (I don't remember the name of the lake) to check Northern Light. However, we were unlucky, it was super cloudy during the a few days we were there. We stayed by the lake side for sometime but there were no sign given for the appearance of Northern Light, so Janita decided to bring us back to her place. We had a warm welcome from her fiance Victor, her farther together with his dog and the reindeers. It was the best moment of the day when we had chance to listen to stories and the lifestyle they have here in Lapland. Janita is finnish, she is originally from this area with half of blood is from sami people. Victor is spanish but he decided to stay here for Janita. Victor is very experienced in the wildlife in the area. He explained us why we have Northern light, how it works and how we can see them. Before coming here, I had known only the most popular: green colour of Northern light, but they have actually different colour: green, blue, violet, yellow, red... However, red and violet lights are very rare. You need to be super super super lucky to see it. For me, I hadn't seen the normal lights even I was there for almost a week, so... I need to come back Lapland on another occasions.

Ice igloo was another highlight at Janita's place. I had a chance to check the igloo and even experience sitting inside. Their reindeers were also very friendly and they were not scared of us, they came and spent time with us while we were feeding them.

Day 4 was the longest day during the trip and also the most memorable day for me in Lapland.

(to be continued...)