Page 202 - WDT INTERACTIVE

handlebar. If that’s my life flashing before me, it looks
a lot like the back-end of a dog.
Finally, after what seems like rather a long time,
the guide hears our cries and pegs my predicament.
Calling the huskies to a halt, he rushes back, his face
full of concern. “You did a great job to hang on!” he
says, shaking my hand before enveloping me in a
comforting hug.
“He’s the best-looking boy I’ve seen in Finland,” my
friend confides later. Maybe so, but I reckon there are
more effective ways of flirting than being dragged
through dog pee-drizzled snow like a Finnish version
of the bungling Bridget Jones.
There’s no balm for frazzled nerves like the Muotka
Wilderness Hotel, where we transfer the next night.
This woodland camp, about nine miles south of Visitors set off down a track
Saariselkä, encompasses a main building with a in Finnish Lapland in a
dining room bookended by a lounge with an open reindeer-drawn sled.
fireplace and a well-stocked bar, which is surrounded
by detached log suites and intimate Aurora Cabins.
Each conical Aurora Cabin features a large glass
window wall, which allows you to view the Northern
Lights (should they deign to make an appearance)
without leaving the warmth and comfort of your bed.
The lodge also offers nocturnal excursions deeper
into the darkness in search of the Aurora Borealis,
with the option of steering your own snowmobile
or cozying up in a snowmobile-drawn sled, which
bumps and winds through the snow-iced forest like a
children’s funfair ride in a magical fairyland.
After one restful night here, I feel ready to face IF YOU GO
another animal encounter. This time, it’s a reindeer
sleigh ride on a farm run by the indigenous Sami Getting there: Fly to Ivalo airport, which is less than
people, who speak in a variety of unique dialects and 17 miles from Saariselkä.
dress in colorful wool clothing, laden with symbols Where to Stay: There are several hotels within
that relate details about where they’re from and even the village of Saariselkä, including Holiday Club
their marital status. (Woe to the husband who comes Saariselkä https://www.holidayclubresorts.com/en/
home with the tassels on his “four winds” hat draped resorts/saariselka/ and Santa’s Hotel Tunturi http://
to the wrong side!) www.santashotels.fi/en/hoteltunturi. For details
Determined not to let this experience go to the on Muotka Wilderness Hotel, visit https://nellim.fi/
dogs, so to speak, I surrender the reins to my friend. muotka/.
This time, I’m happy to ride shotgun on our short, Top Safaris: http://www.topsafaris.fi/content/
circular jaunt through the snowy pines. en/1/10005/Home.html
Unlike Santa’s reindeer, Snowball, as we’ve dubbed Tourism information: http://www.inarisaariselka.fi/
our pure white steed, never comes close to attaining en/
lift-off. But never mind. My spirit is soaring high on the
thin arctic air.

202 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018