Finland with www.AbercrombieKent.com(A&K) was a non-stop whirlwind of adventure. We were lucky enough to be included in the small group with the Founder and CEO Geoffrey Kent and his lovely wife Vi.
From the start it was over the top fun, with dinner on the Ice Rink and “playing” hockey with one of the National Team members. Then it was off to Lapland in the Northern part of Finland where we stepped off the jet onto a snowmobile for our trip to the lodge, with a stop for lunch and to change modes of transportation. This time it was dog sleds, where we each had our own 4 dogs to mush.
We got to view the Northern Lights. Did you know there is an app that tells you the probability of viewing in your area? So helpful. We rushed out in the middle of dinner and took a snowmobile sledge down to the lake and it was amazing. And amazingling cold. I swear I had everything I owned on, and it was fine for 15 minutes. Then the cold started seeping in. Brrrr.
The following day was Ice Driving class, where we learned how to do power slides on the ice, among other skills and finished with a timed trial around the track. I won, naturally. LOL
Then we were up early for a Winter Survival Challenge: Navigation, fire building, water boiling, grouse snare building, ice cave building and then a fantastic lunch. Where, by the way, my phone got perfect reception. We were in the far north part of Finland, out in the Boonies, near the Russian boarder, and I had 5 BARS! What the heck? In downtown Austin, TX I can’t get 5 bars.
The final day was another magical day with the Sami people learning about their culture and taking the reindeer out for a spin behind the sleigh. Another fun fact: Santa ACTUALLY lives in Finland. Think about it. It’s pretty close to the North Pole, yet part of the year the North Pole is just an ocean. So, what better place to be, than in Rovaneimi, Finland with the Laplanders and the Sami Reindeer herders?
All in all, I HIGHLY recommend Abercrombie & Kent for one of their Inspiring Expeditions. Or, really any one of their tours. Their tour guides are the best of the best.
The video is longer than the others. Which is why it took me so long to edit, between all my other trips. So, I think for the future, they will be short snippets by day. Or not. We will see.
