The Adventures of a Rally Roadie

It turns out that we didn’t get much snow. But the wind is still howling and if it does start snowing with any force, driving is going to be a bummer. We text our contact that we are leaving and thanks for the night. Off to the “igloos”.

It feels like we’ve been driving this road, E75, forever. Of course, today it’s a good deal more serious driving. There still isn’t much traffic but the wind is starting to cause the snow to drift across the road, and when we get to the flat tundra, the drifts start to be an issue. They aren’t blocking the road but they pulling the car to the side of the road every time we hit one of them. Whenever, some traffic appears, especially trucks, I slow down until they pass.

When we leave the tundra and the road gets back into the hills, the driving gets easier. The forest and the hills are sheltering the road. By the time we get back to Inari, thew snow and wind aren’t a problem.

We move on to Ivalo and stop at a bistro & cafe in a super market. Ivalo may be the local metropolis but the restaurant selections aren’t the greatest. The lunch turns out to be the first bad meal that I’ve had on this trip. Back in the car. Stop for fuel next door to the super market. Fill up and continue south to Pyhä.

We drive for another couple of hundred kilometers, stopping along the way to get some wine, water and snacks. Finally, we take a left off the E75 and head toward our destination, the Pyhä Tunturi resort and our “igloo”.

We the first of the 2 possibilities and stop to check if this is the one we want. We don’t think so but the one we think we are registered for is another 30 or so kilometers and I don’t want to get there and have to come back. Driving in the snow has not been the most fun. This isn’t the resort we’re registered for. We head on down the road and find the correct resort.

This is a ski resort buil to support a downhill skiing area. Yes, though they don’t have many mountains in Finland, there are a few in this area and the have some small ski areas. The Lonely Planets calls them “family friendly” resorts. I take that that means you won’t find any double diamond or off piste runs here.

We check in and get our key to Igloo #2. The woman at reception shows us how to get there on a map of the resort and we drive to a collection of 14 buildings. These are the “igloos”.

They don’t actually look like igloos other than they are round and have domed roof. I guess that’s enough. What they do have is a glass, north-facing roof that allows you to see the Northern Lights, weather permitting. Inside, there’s a raised double bed (actually side-by-side twins) that face the north and a smallish open area just inside the door with the bathroom to the right and some counters to the left.

It’s all very compact but very well done. The design is quite efficient if small and it appears to do what it’s advertised to do which is to allow one to watch the Northern Lights in comfort. We’ll see how it works if the weather clears.

We settle in and unpack. We’ll be here for 2 nights so we might as well get comfy which includes a small glass of wine (a newly purchased bottle of Alamos malbec.)

It’s only been less than an hour and we’re checking emails and web ites when our internet connetion fails. A few minutes later there’s a knock on our door. A woman who is in the adjoining Igloo #1 asks if we have electricity. We hadn’t noticed but we don’t don’t have electricity. And I look back toward the main hotel and there’s no lights there either.

Our neighbor, Sonya, heads off to reception to find out what the problem is. She returns a few minutes later to report that someone is working on the problem and we should have power back in 30 minutes. Another (possibly cold) adventure. And in about 30 minutes, the power does come back and all is right with the world. Or at least this part of Finland.

At about 7:30 we head to the resort restaurant for a buffet dinner. It not anything special but not bad either. When we leave to go back to our “igloo”, we notice that the light snow that had been falling has stopped and there are small breaks in the clouds. Maybe we’ll get to see something after all.

We lie in bed watching the sky but the clouds are still too thick and I start to doze off. Barbara shakes me awake and tells me that the skies have mostly cleared and that the stars are phenomenal. We lie there watching the occasional cloud scurry by but no auroras.

And then suddenly, in the west behind some tall pine trees we can see an aurora forming. And the a faint veil of neon green. We quickly get dressed and run outside. But the auroras have vanished and there are no hints of any more anyhere in the visible sky. We wait a bit longer but five up and head back to bed.

Or try to. In my hurry to get out with the camera, I forget the key and my mobile in the igloo and when the door closed it automatically locked us out. It almost 1AM and we can’t get into the room and we can even call the desk to ask for help. We drive over to the main lobby of the hotel but it’s locked for the night.

We get back to the room and get to our neighbor Sonya’s igloo and knock on the door. They, fortunately, answer and we tell them what the problem is. We’re locked out. Can you call the emergency number and ask if someone can help us out?

Sonya’s husband, Alex, says that they have a mobile but it doesn’t seem to work in Finland. A remember that I had connected my phone to the car’s Bluetooth system. Maybe if I park the car close enough to the building, I can use the car to connect with my phone to call the emergency number that Sonya has written down for me. I turn on the car and the car connects with my phone. This might work.

I dial the after hours number but I don’t get an answer. I dial another number that Sonya has written down but that doesn’t connect either, Back to the first number. This time someone answers. I tell the person who we are, where we are and what has happened. I don’t get response and then the person hangs up. This isn’t going very well.

Sonya tells us that we can share their igloo for the night but we defer for the moment. I first want to check the hotel again. Back in the car for the short ddrive to the reception and I get lost on the small snow narrowed driveways around the igloos. When I finally get headed in the right direction and start to pass Sonya and Alex they are waving for us to stop.

They have made contact with Alex’ mobile and someone is coming to open the door for us. No worries. It will be a little while but someone is coming.

Meanwhile, Sonya and Alex ask us in for some hot, very hot, tea. We introduce ourselves to each other. They are Israelis who live near Tel Aviv and they, like us, are on holiday specifically to see the Northern Lights.

I ask Sonya where she is from because her English though very well spoken has a hint of Russian inflection. They are both originally from Russia but before we can get any farther with our introductions, a car drives up and a very friendly, smiling man gets out. I apologize for the trouble but he just brushes it off with a smile, a chuckle and “This is not the first time that this has happened.”

He waits until I get our key and then leaves. We thank Sonya and Alex again for ll the help they’ve been. And, finally, back in our ”igloo” for the night.

No auroras but plenty of adventure nonetheless. Tomorrow, the amethyst mine and maybe the Northern Lights.

Obi-wan