The Lavaja Diaries: Rovaniemi: Husky Ride

Rovaniemi. Home of Santa Claus.

Yes, thee Santa Claus! He lives there year-round. If you would have told me a year ago I would visit a place where it's Christmas all year long, I wouldn't have believed it even existed, but dreams do come true! The city is about three hours north of Oulu and it sits right on the Arctic Circle. Rusty recently had a game there and then had the weekend off, so we got to have a little weekend getaway. Joe Smalzer, an American who plays for the team there, was nice enough to let us stay at his place!

I realized about a month before, Rusty would have the weekend off, so I got to planning and then began waiting anxiously for January 30th! I was super excited for many reasons....reindeer sleigh rides, husky puppies, northern lights, Santa...I mean, they had me at reindeer! Plus, Kirsten and I had been there before, so I was excited Rusty would get to experience it too.

The game went well- we won! After, we we all loaded into the bus (through the back door because apparently, during the game, a car crashed into the side of the bus and hit the front door!) and went to dinner at a restaurant called Wingston, which has delicious American food. Rusty and I drove over to Joe's once we had finished dinner- the coach's brother (who we had never even met) let us borrow his car for the weekend! Nicest guy ever! I'm still amazed at his generosity, and grateful for Rusty's coach, who was so willing to help- he arranged the car for us and a husky ride! A friend of his owns a husky farm, so we were able to get a deal on a 2.5 hour husky sled ride! Ahhhh! Pinch me! A husky ride has been on my bucket list, so I had been anticipating this moment since the day we arrived in Finland back in September.

The next morning we got prepared (bundled up) to go on the husky ride and then went to pick up Jani, Rusty's teammate.

On our way to the husky farm we realized the gas light was on and the car was completely empty- no big deal, right? Wrong! We were driving north, past the Arctic Circle, in the barren land of Northern Finland. We didn't find a gas station for the next 30 minutes. I was getting so nervous, but luckily we ended up finding one before the car stopped running and we were stranded somewhere in the Arctic.

We finally made it to the husky farm! I thought we would all be riding in a sled, but then the guide started explaining how to drive it! Rusty and Jani both drove their own sled! I rode most of the time, but got the chance to try my hand at driving...at least until Rusty didn't trust me and made me switch back haha.

The experience was magical. Seriously. My fingers and toes may have been so cold that I was worried about frostbite- but it was so worth it.

I had never seen such beautiful winter scenery in my life. It was breathtaking. And as if that weren't enough, we were being pulled through it by eight cute huskies. They had so much energy- all they wanted to do was run. When we stopped for a break halfway through they were chomping at the bit to get going again (as you can see in one of the videos below). I immediately loved them! I named them and would yell praises at them, such as, "you guys are so cute", "you're doing so great", through out the ride. I swear I would see them pick up the pace every time I complimented them. We had such a valiant little team and they were just so happy!

We finished off our amazing day with great food and great company- Jani, Rusty and I went back to Wingston to meet up with Josh and Tehane for dinner.

Tomorrow's Agenda: Santa's Village!