A final stock up and two degrees north – Saariselkä
Zagan the motorhome is once more in a ski resort. He loved his time in the Alps earlier this year, so we thought we’d treat him to a Finnish ski resort. Sadly there is no snow, only rain today in Europe’s northernmost holiday resort, Saariselkä (N68.41852, E27.42678) but we don’t mind. We’re both pooped from a long day of driving and are now some 250 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.
Tonight we’re stopping next to the info hut
This morning while Charlie had a lie in, Jay and I went for a stroll around Santa’s village. It is pretty much a collection of tat shops, with a few Lappish things such as a snowmobile museum, reindeers (as if we haven’t had enough of those on the roads) and husky dog sledding. We could hear the huskies howling when we woke this morning, it reminded me of a fantastic snowboarding holiday we had in Finland a few years ago when we went dog sledding – fantastic fun.
Breakfast in bed for pampered pooch
We treated ourselves to a few practical souvenirs (the only kind we have space for in the van). Jay got a t-shirt, I got some cloudberry lotion and Zagan got two new place mats for his table, as the old ones had fallen apart, and of course the obligatory moose sticker for his rear (to be stuck on when he’s a bit cleaner).
Santa Jay in his sleigh
Ju’s geography is getting good!
I’m sure we’ve done about five times more than that to get here!
Our treats from the tat shops
We also paid a visit to Santa’s main post office where elves sort out all the letters Santa receives from children around the world. They were having a quiet time of it at the moment, but around Christmas he gets about 32,000 letters a day. As it was still early, we left Santa to his pyjamas and slippers and headed off for a long drive north.
Happy/bemused elf in the post office
Santa’s sorting office
I took the first stint, getting us up to Sodankylä which has a big circle around it on our map, it’s the furthest north Lidl in Finland. As we ventured in we noticed something different about it, it was all posh. A large, light space where the shelves aren’t stacked too high, there was even a cafe in one corner. Well I say a cafe, there is a coffee machine and you help yourself to items from the bakery bit and you can pop them into the microwave if you need them heating up. Our first meal out in Finland cost us €3.50 for a slice of pizza, a raspberry cake and a hot chocolate between us – we know how to live!
About to enter Lidl for the last time for a long time
It’s Lidl Jay, but not as we know it!!
A spot of lunch in store to recover from the shock
A couple of hours later and Zagan is fuller than a centipede’s sock drawer, but still Jay manages to persuade him to haul himself further north. Now every fourth vehicle on the road was a motorhome or caravan, so at least our arms got a good workout today from all the waving.
Next time you have to turn the wheel is in 158 km, that’s becoming normal these days!
Big Ten, this is Rubber Duck, we got us a Convoy!….
So after a good few hours of driving along tree lined-roads, over lakes, past reindeer and spotting the odd colourful house hidden in the forests we turned in Saariselkä just as the rain started. I doubt we’ll get out to explore much, the town is criss-crossed with skidoo tracks for the winter and from our windows I can see the drag lifts on the nearby fells waiting for the first snow of the season. Hopefully that’s a long way off as tomorrow we’ll venture further north to Inari, home of the Sami people who live in Lapland. A few more monster drives like today and we’ll be at North Cape – it’s now dawning just how far away it is.
Saariselkä is the last ajokaivot (motorhome service point) on our route, so we’ll service the van here before we set off north tomorrow and should reach Norway before we need another, and before our remaining 6kg of gas runs out (the fridge and freezer are both stacked, so that won’t be allowed to happen!)
Ju x
New to motorhome life,
planning your own motorhome adventure, or
looking for the perfect gift for the motorhomer in your life?
Check out our OurTour range of books.
From what we’ve seen so far guys, you just can’t fathom the pricing structure in Norway. Only 40p for a Cornetto and £3.50 for a small box of cherry tomatoes! We have now taken a vow to survive only from the freezer until we find cheaper fresh produce. Would recommend ‘Rema 1000’ supermarkets for price. Thanks for confirming that Santa is alive and well. Keep the shadows out front & safe chuggin. Kindest Wayne.
We’ve heard it’s expensive, but have no idea what to expect. We’re as prepared as we can be and as there is no room in the freezer for ice creams (it’s full of meat) it’s reassuring to hear they are cheap over the border! Getting excited.
Glad you had a relaxing chill out and you sound refreshed. From a selfish point of view I’m sure I speak for many when I say we missed you.
The Lidl’s certainly looks a bit posher than our local.
No mention of mossies are they no longer a problem? What are the temperatures like? We were in the Faeroes a couple of years ago on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year at 20C.
Enjoy!