Europe 2023 - December 11-16-2023 Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort -
December 11 - Our journey began without mishap as we flew from Portland to Denver. Blaine was quite concerned about flying from Denver in December, but the weather was great, no snowstorms. Our Denver flight started a bit rough, as we sat on the plane at the gate for about 30 minutes. Apparently there was an electrical issue. Problem fixed, we headed to the runway ready to begin our adventure in Finland. As we taxied to take off, we suddenly stopped. Uh Oh! A problem with the altimeter popped up and we had to return to the gate!!! We did not know if they were going to cancel the flight. Shades of 2022. After a stressful 3 hours sitting on the plane, it was announced that we were going to be heading to Frankfurt!! Yeah!!
December 12 - Upon our arrival in Frankfurt we checked into the Sheraton Hotel at the airport. We were entitled to meal vouchers because of the flight delay so dinner and breakfast were on United.
December 13 - The next morning we made our way to Terminal 2 to catch our flight to Helsinki. Our Finnair flight to Helsinki was delayed, so once we landed we had to run to make our Ivalo connection. Fortunately, the gate was really close. There was only one flight to Ivalo, so if we missed that we wouldn’t have made it to Kakslauttanen until the next day. We were supposed to land at Ivalo airport at 5:55PM, but due to delays in Helsinki waiting to de-ice the plane, we didn’t land until around 7:00 PM. Blaine has scheduled a private car to take us to the resort, so fortunately we didn’t have to wait for the shuttle bus. It’s a good thing too, because after a 30 minute drive to the resort, we barely had time to check in and get dinner before the kitchen closed.
December 14 - Our first night In Kakslauttanen was quite restless. We were both not sleeping well due to the time change. Blaine had scheduled a dog mushing session for the next day which required him to be at the reception area at 11:15 AM. At 11:22 Blaine woke up and panicked. That can’t be right!! It was. A quick, panicked call to reception and a mad dash to get dressed resulted in a van coming to pick Blaine up to take him to the changing area. Poor Jeri was going to be stuck at the cabin until he came back, as we had no idea where we were and how to navigate the trails back to reception. It worked out well though, as Jeri took the time to relax and read her book.
Blaine had a great time learning how to handle the sled and the dogs. He was all prepared to capture some fantastic video, as he had two GoPro Cameras to record his adventure. One of the cameras was attached to his head in a harness, and would record all the action effortlessly. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. The camera on his head should have been angled down slightly to see the action in front of him, but it was not. It did record some great scenery as we mushed our way through the forest, but alas not much footage of the dogs! Lesson learned. The guide did get some footage of Blaine with his sled and dogs on the other small GoPro.
At the changing room with the provided outer layer of clothing
December 15 - This morning we set an alarm to guarantee our timely arrival for breakfast and Blaine’s date with the Reindeer Sleigh ride. Breakfast was buffet style and offered quite a selection. Jeri arramged transportation to the small village of Saariselka to check out the town and buy some things at the grocery store.
Blaine waited in the reception area eagerly awaiting the guide who would escort us to the changing room for our 45 minute sleigh ride. After the lesson learned the previous day, Blaine had, not just 2 GoPro cameras, but also his phone camera. No more missed opportunities for great pictures and video!!
The sleigh holds 2 people and Blaine , being a single rider, was paired with a gentleman who was there with his wife and daughter. He was a quiet fellow, but I did get him to tell me the family was there from India. There really was a diverse group of people from around the world who ventured into the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter to experience all that Kakslauttanen offered.
After a very pleaseant, cold ride we were treated to hot cider and a warm fire inside a large teepee tent. Jeri texted Blaine to let him know she was safely back at the cabin.
Dinner that evening featured a delicious Kale dish for Jeri and reindeer with mashed potatoes for Blaine. No, I didn’t feel bad, as they weren’t my reindeer!! After dinner we spent some time in the Glass Igloo bar and then headed back to the cabin to prepare for our next adventure in Strasbourg, France.
