Waiting

I haven’t written an update because it feels like not much has happened, but now I think about it, we have done a few things over the last couple of days.

We had another go at snow-shoeing on Monday and managed to get down to the nearby river. It’s still hard to get through deep snow in snow shoes, but easier than just wearing boots. When we came back inside we watched a Youtube video and we’d worked it out pretty well by ourselves, although we didn’t try anything tricky like going up or down hills, or over tree stumps. In the afternoon we drove the 5kms to Yllasjarvi, the nearest village, and visited the supermarket. There’s a large lake jarvi which is currently frozen, and we have seen people with dog sleds out on it. The ski resort is near the village and there is also a hotel and other accommodation, a service station and a place that rents out snow mobiles, skis and other snow-related gear. In the summer they probably cater for people wanting to use the lake for swimming, kayaking etc.

It has snowed a couple of times since we got here on Saturday – on Sunday night, and again today, Wednesday. A snowplough came by on Monday afternoon and cleared the road and also our driveway, which was handy.

Greg’s attempts to build an igloo continue. He abandoned the first one that he’d started on Sunday as it snowed a lot on Monday and partially filled the inside. He tried again yesterday, but it was a really cold day and it wasn’t possible to be outside for too long. It got down to -20C yesterday – it was a gorgeous day with clear sky and sunshine, but of course there was absolutely no warmth in the sun at all. It did make for some nice photos, though. I stayed inside the whole day; the closest I got to going outside was to nip out to the enclosed porch where all the snow shoes, toboggans and other winter gear is kept to check the temperature every few hours.

Today was a much milder day, with very overcast sky and occasional snow. Temp this morning was around -10C, and now at 9pm, it is currently 2C. We drove 40kms to Kitilla, the town to the north of here, to have lunch and do some grocery shopping. There is an airport there. We found a pub which claimed to have a cafe that served burgers and kebabs, but after a minor miscommunication in which we thought we were asking the publican where the cafe was, and him bringing us 2 cups of coffee, we learnt that the cafe is currently closed. So we went and had burgers & fries at one of the servos.

No Northern Lights action at the moment, but there is something predicted for the 27th or 28th.

Meanwhile, we’re loving this cabin we’re staying in, and we’re really happy to be spending a week here. When we leave here on Sunday, we’ve booked another one just across the border in Aareavaara in Sweden for 3 nights. It’s only about 70kms from here.

The cabin after even more snow

Snowshoeing

The car got covered by about 4cm of snow

cutting snow blocks for the igloo

An attempt at an igloo wall

Snow plowing the driveway

Sunrise at 11am

Judy inside in the warm while outside its -18C

Shopping for supplies in Kittilä

the choices of Reindeer meat