Mikka is responsible for picking us up at Ivalo airport and driving us to Saariselkä.
At almost minus 20 degrees Celsius and on a frigid road, the journey takes longer than the usual half hour.
It gives us extra time to break the ice and get a feel for what to expect. “We would also like to take you to the zenith of the region. It is home to the northernmost ski resort in Finland.
Now they even have a ski jumping structure for an international competition.” “Do you do those jumps too, Mikka?” we replied, completely innocent. Mikka looked at us sideways. “Do you think so? I ski, as expected of Finns. But only crazy people would do those jumps!”
The three of us laughed out loud.
Saariselka and its Famous Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen
Shortly after, we enter the domain of the Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen.
We are supposed to take pictures northern lights from one of the local igloos, with a glass roof.
“Mikka, what’s the weather forecast and the aurora, do you know?” Well, I’ll have to be honest… I’m not from the hotel. They’re the experts.
I don't care much about that.
Every now and then, my wife is cooking and sees them through the kitchen window. Sometimes she calls me and I even take a peek, but it’s not something we pay much attention to…”
We shared laughter again, this time indignantly.
We stayed at the Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen. We recharged our batteries in one of its cozy wooden cabins.
Walk among the wooden cabins of the Kakslautern hotel
Maksim, a former Russian Sami, Surrendered to Finland
As is often the case in the vast Finnish Lapland, we spent the morning on a reindeer-drawn ride, with Maksim as our host.
Maksim is a Sami of Russian origin who, convinced of the advantages of the Suomi way of life, decided to move to the Finnish side.
It is he who, dressed in a suit Sami colorful, guides the reindeer through the snow-laden coniferous forest. At first, he maintains an austere air.
As soon as we confront him with a series of questions, he reveals himself to be a natural conversationalist. The questioning must have sounded more interested and profound than he was used to.
The depths of your bottomless blue eyes capture us with outbursts, stories and memories full of emotion.
Russian-born Sami Maksim leads a reindeer ride north of Inari.
The Difference Between Life in Russia and Finland
Among many other topics, from the difficulties in Russia, where even the far north suffers from a lack of planning and unavoidable corruption, to integration in Finland, which initially frightened him, when he saw most of the money his family made disappearing in taxes.
Before realizing that the state covered almost all major expenses, including unexpected ones, living with Maksim would be enough for a good part of an article.
We already published it, some time ago, about the Sami and their role as Guardians of Boreal Europe.
The next stop, more than money, is about the precious metal. We pass by the Tankavaara Gold Museum, which promotes itself as the only one in the world dedicated to the past and present of gold mining and prospecting.
The History of Other Prospecting in Finnish Lapland
The museum’s location has its own valuable reason for being. The rivers of the Saariselkä region have long been hiding gold nuggets.
Unsurprisingly, over time, the region has seen its own gold rushes, the most dramatic of which was that of 1870, which spread from the confluence of the Ivalo River with its Sota tributary.
At that time, Finnish Lapland was part of the Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire. This inaugural craze was facilitated by Tsar Alexander II. Until April 1870, the Russian Tsars retained the right to all precious metals in their territories.
Alexander II decreed that prospecting would be free for any and all “decent” men in the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Russian Empire.
Regulated by granted licenses and by state officials stationed at a Crown station, responsible for acquiring the gold found.
Saariselk Gold Museum Icy Statue
Once the ice had melted, during the spring and summer of that year, more than five hundred men crossed Lapland, hundreds of kilometres on foot, on skis and by boat.
Compared to other famous ones – those of the American West, the Yukon and the like – the Finnish Lapland Gold Rush will seem insignificant.
Nevertheless, it proved to be of enormous importance for the frozen and desertified interior of present-day Finland.
Another Hyper-Profitable Activity in Finland, Rally Driving
Next, we enter study mode for another activity in which Finland is prodigious.
At this point, Markku became the one responsible for guiding us. He shares the same name as one of the many famous Suomi drivers, Markuu Alén, who is still the most successful driver in the Rally of Portugal, with five titles.
It was far from a request that the namesake was expecting. Markku obliges us and takes us to the Action Park in Saariselkä. There we come across a dozen (or more) karting drivers competing on a track full of meanders dug in deep snow.
It was already a first for us to see such a sport in snowy conditions. Markku reserved more for us. “Now, I leave you in the care of this ace!” In no time, we equipped ourselves. We climbed aboard a rally Subaru.
We hold on to what we can, under the pressure of speed and the forces generated by insane braking and acceleration.
Rally car skids around a bend
Here and there, also by touching the snowdrifts that marked the track.
After the test laps, we left the car, much whiter than before the experience, with our legs shaking due to the excess adrenaline.
“You asked for it!” says Markku, sarcastic, yet faithful to his incorruptible diplomacy and education.
That afternoon and at the end of the day, an employee of the Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen showed us the resort's Christmas extension. It was almost April.
Wooden building of Santa Park in Saariselka
Saariselka and Santa Claus Land Closed
The Santa Land remained closed. Even so, we admired the red buildings erected as the House of the Celebration of the Santa Claus.
At the time, it was the largest traditional log house in Finland.
We also passed by Santa's office.
And we were amazed by the unusual Troll Tower that we found among pine trees, standing out on top of a hill.
On that day, at that time, everything, without signs of life, let alone Christmas life.
The Trol Tower in Saariselka's Santa Park
Hunting for the Northern Lights
It won't be long before night falls. We settle into one of the resort's glass-roofed igloos.
With great effort we remained awake. Around ten o'clock at night, we detected the dancing lights in the sky.
Even freezing due to the minus 30 degrees, we observed and photographed them.
Northern lights meanders above the houses of Kakslauttanen.
Until three in the morning, until we could hardly take it anymore. Until we had the feeling that the Fire Fox had finally disbanded.
Those igloos were sought after by people from four corners of the Earth. We had to release them early. We only slept until 8:30 in the morning.
The Kiilopää Fell Center and the Immense PN Urho Kekkonen
Two hours later, Miika reappears. He takes us to the Kiilopää Fell Center, at the gates of one of Finland’s largest protected areas, stretching all the way to the Russian border.
Golden squirrel on a leafless tree
PN Urho Kekkonen was named after a former prime minister and president of the Swedish nation.
Mikka takes us to a tower at the top of Mount Sokosti, from where, with the weather forecast, we could see the Great Bear.
Visitor on top of the panoramic tower of Mount Sokosti
At this peak, the wind blew strong and frigid.
In a flash, it makes us give up contemplation. We go back down.
Mikki leaves us in the care of Mauri, a guide in Finnish national parks since 1985.
Mauri leads a two-hour, almost 6km hike up and down the mountain and its slopes.
Supported by snowshoes on the feet.
And with sticks in our hands, which we dropped the countless times we stopped to photograph the impressive scenery around us.
Hikers walk on snowshoes in the Urho Kekkonen National Park
The Trauma of Finland Lost to the USSR
We had lunch with Mauri.
The new guide tells us about his military past.
It addresses one of the most sensitive topics for any Finn, the complex war and political context that led to the Soviet Union capturing 1940% of Finland's territory in 9, including the northeastern “arm” of Petsamo and Karelia.
Mauri even opens up about the trauma the family went through when they were forced to abandon Viipuri (now Viborg), the city where they lived.
Group of Finns enjoy the heat of the loumlyly, the steam produced by the water poured over the heated stones.
The debut in snowshoeing leaves us exhausted. We deserve it smoked sauna which awaited us later, an alternation between heat and diving into freezing cold river water.
As invigorating as the passage through Saariselkä.
And like that discovery of Finnish Lapland that we continued through even more northern lands of Inari.
Panoramic igloos of the Kakslautern hotel
HOW TO GO
Book your flight to Lisbon – Helsinki, Finland with the TAP: flytap.com from €200. From Helsinki, you can fly to Ivalo with Finnair. Ivalo is just 30 minutes by road from Saariselkä.
