Tobogganing and Arctic Forests

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We got up this morning for some serious fun. After breakfast we went just outside the hotel to their own ski slope. Today, as you've probably guessed by now, we went tobogganing! We got our safety instructions, helmets and toboggans, set up our cameras and got going! The slope is about 800 meters long, with a few twists and turns along the way. What fun! We really got some speed on those things! good thing they have brakes.

Ethan took a spill once, into a safety net but all in all we were quite successful. I define success as: "fun had by all".

Success!

A cable car took us back up the hill for a second and third try. More fun!

Eventually our time on the slope came to an end and we got on the bus to our next destination. An arctic forest. The forest is almost all evergreen. Everything was, of course, blanketed in a soft cover of snow, and it even snowed on us on the way. Another new experience for Ethan, and many other members of the group, adults and children alike.

In the center of the forest is a Kota, a traditional shelter that originally used to be made of skins and furs. Now the Finnish forestry service makes permanent kotas of logs. We built a small fire there to warm up and had some more fun in the snow.

In the way back we saw some small trees covered with clumps of snow that looked a bit like snow people. Maybe they were yetis, who knows?

On the way back to the bus we crossed a footbridge over a fast flowing river.

Back on the bus we all got out of our winter gear (a little bit crowded), and put on town clothes. We got to Rovaniemi and had lunch at a persian restaurant. Well, persian style buffet with moose instead of beef. After lunch we had time to walk around the local mall (all clothes and shoes and very expensive), so a few of us went outside. We walked down the main street, visited a couple souvenir shops and eventually Ethan found something worth buying - a lovely hand carved wooden owl.

Back at the hotel those who chose to (Ethan didn't) went for a walk outside the hotel to a viewpoint above the town. Everything is covered in a pristine snow quilt. Lovely!

Tomorrow we're up early and off to the Sampo, an icebreaker on the Baltic Sea, so I'm off to finish packing and then bed.

Have a look at our day:

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