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Published: October 3rd 2006
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Visiting Santa
Romanevi Finland. Me and Mel 14/9/06 ROMANIEMI & JYVASKYLA-FINLAND 14/9/06-15/9/06
Can I just say that im so impressed that the name of this town is in the drop down list!
Anyway is pronouced V-Vascular or close to it.
We left Hammerfest at some ungodly hour of the morning just as it started to hail on us. All part of the travelling experience but Im not sorry to see it go. Between the hike down the mountain to the bathroom and the nervous way the little demountable cabins cling to the side of the cliff its not the most comfortable of stays ...but it was memorable. The best bit by far was the little cabin at the base of the hill where we all gathered around the camp fire (am i sounding sentimental?Sorry). Swapping ghost stories, tales of woe, and what we missed about home (Fresh fruit/veg & My Car!)
Following closely in second place for the best bits of Hammerfest was the pasta that our fantastic cook made on the Second night. It constantly amazes me the stuff that emerges from the depths of our cook tent to the soundtrack of Michael Jackson and Roxette. Now Im the first to admit that Im
Moose!
Romanevi 14/9/06 not an expert, but I think I hold my when it comes to poached eggs (thanks Adam), Spag Bol and Cheese on toast, but our cook raises meals to an art form! So off course we all ate until we were in pain. Then the dark horse our little tour leader, whos knowledge knows no bounds turns out to be a dessert expert proceeded to teach us how to make "Smoores" . Smoores consist of two digestive biscuits and a piece of chocolate all smusshed together with a toasted marshmallow. Does life get any better than this!
Another epic driving day. There are perks. We've all become addicted to the DVD "The Long Way Round" I reccommend it to everyone. Not being a Motorcycle person myself (couldn't be unfaithful to Suby) you can still appreciate the massive adventure that these guys had and what an achievement. of course for us its even more exciting knowing that in a few days we'll be headed into Russia as well. And , mum don't read this bit , Im even tempted to try a motorbike, which is something I NEVER thought I would say.
Back to the travelling,
We crossed
Girls out on the town
Getting ready for our night out in Jyvaskyla. Me.Barb. 15/9/06 back over the artic circle will a little less excitement than over it the first time cause we met the real, yes kids, the REAL Santa Claus today! Sophie B it was great and you can expect a genuine Santa Letter at Christmas Time!
Romanievi was a night of waiting for the northern lights which unfortunately didn't appear but not was all lost as we girls on pot wash duty definitely won the prize for the best renditions of all the "Greese" songs as well as a few power ballads , much to the delight of all occupants of the camp site Im sure. We take our job of improving international relations very seriouly.
Arriving in Jyvaskyla to the Youth Hostel and heaven, inside bathroom , (it doesn't take much to make me happy), we had our final Viking Olympic Event- The Closing Ceremony.
And once again we we're cheated of Victory with a flashy display of flesh that overshadowed our dignified and cultured display of Ozanada Pride. I maintain that had we lowered ourself to the level of gutter like some teams that shall remain nameless (the ROMANS!) we would have won. But sadly we didn't. not that Im bitter... I will just let you all be the Judges of the finer things in life and the quality of our work (and that a little Tom Jones and Strip tease tribute to David Hasselhoff doesn't come close )
Here follows our "Ode to Ozanada" or "Anthem D' Ozanada
(for the Aussies think Mary Gilmore when your reading this)
" I love a northern country,
A land of lakes and trees.
Her chilly barren beauty,
Of fjords and aqua seas.
I love her misty horisons
Deer, moose and bloody bees.
The windey roads, the waterfalls,
These long green lands for me!
We love a Top Deck Tour,
The people and the laughter.
The cook tent and the cabins,
The drinks and mishaps after.
We love our crew of three,
The very best by far.
Candi, Dani and Kosta,
Our new mates on "The Red Star"
We love our team Ozanada,
Viking Olympics are our game.
And with a win, loose or draw,
We're Champions all the same!"
So after the emotional ending to our olympics we all decided it was time to let loose on the Finnish population. So ditching to poor crew, I felt bad we left them behind , but we tend to forget that their actually at work and can't come and party everytime we do...we headed into the thriving metropolis that was Jyvaskyla.
We were out to dance and dance we did. We found the empty nightclub and cut loose on the dance floor. Madonna, MJ, and may I say I was highly impressed even to our Kylie "I should be so lucky!" who would have thought in the middle of Finland! Admittedly 15 years later ... but better late than never!
I must say there are some closet music video dancers amounst our group and as the night progressed it even involved some real life swinging from the rafters! You GO girls! So having done our bit for international relations, one of the girls in particular, we headed back to the hostel and in the taxi on te way home it must be revealled that some more quotable quotes popped out.
From a different lady this time. When it was noted on a neon display on a petrol station on the way home that the temperature was 1 degree a voice from the back pipes up with " Wow thats nearly zero" . In her defence I thought at the time that it might be a bit of an alcohol handicap rather than a creeping in of the Blonde foils, but not five minutes later a second incident dispelled this assuption.
Getting out of the taxi this lady again piped up with " Gee he's pretty hot", with regard to the taxi driver who had just dropped us off. unfortunately much to the delight of the rest of us, it is she neglected to notice that the door of the cab was still wide open and she was by no means speaking softly. And it is true, it was proven that night, that yes most people in Scandinavia have an ok grasp of the english language and its slang terms, as the taxi driver drove of with a bit of a smile.
Im so glad its not only me that does dumb things like that.
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