Lapland Finland

This is our home for a few days in Lapland as we cross our fingers and hope to see the aurora borealis:

Our igloo is just a stone’s throw from Ivalo in Finland. For the uninitiated, go up to the Arctic Circle and then continue north for a really long time. To 69 degrees north to be exact, which just so happens to be farther north than even the province of Quebec extends:

Thanks to the ExodusTravels website for a better map than I could create on Google Maps.

Death by freezing has been a big concern of mine. I have a parka and cozy Ugg boots. How unfortunate that Lapland wasn’t on the itinerary when I packed and I elected to leave both of those at home in the interest of minimalist packing. I knew it was a bad omen when my suitcase was underweight at check-in. This is exactly why I usually bring everything. I should have at least thrown in my ridiculously warm Ugg gloves. Sure the black fuzz turns my fingernails black, but so will frostbite. On a more positive note, the lack of warm gloves gave me a valid excuse to buy hand-knitted woolen mittens from a market stall in Tallinn.  Sure they are a little mishappen, the thumb isn’t exactly placed correctly and I no doubt paid a tourist price, but I kind of love them in their originality, and the sweet little old Estonian woman taught me how to pronounce some Estonian words. 

We’ve enjoyed the comforts of our glass igloo for two cloudy nights, which means no luck seeing the northern lights. We have one last chance tonight.  Even if we strike out, though, the igloo is fantastic.  With bright sunshine during the day, the temperature inside skyrockets and it feels kind of like we are at the beach. The bed adjusts up like a lounge chair so we read, nap and snack with an amazing view but no need for sunscreen.

At night, when it is only really dark for about four hours and grey for the rest, the igloo experience feels like camping, but with heat, indoor plumbing and no creepy crawly things. And the incredible silence of camping that is so sweet. Win-win.

Sunrise from the igloo.

The other thing we love about this place?  Conversations at the restaurant and activity bookings go like this:

Resort employee: Would you like to charge that to your bill? 

AD/me: Yes, please charge it to Igloo 12.

Seriously, how often in life do you get to use that line?