One of the reasons we wanted to spend Christmas in Lapland was to see the northern lights, or Aurora Borealis. What better way to do it than to set off through the snow in a reindeer sleigh?
We were driven to the reindeer farm at night by Timo and Visa to be introduced to our sleighs and reindeer. It was very dark so I took most of the photos by pointing the camera in the general direction of something and hoping for the best.
Jodie and Allan’s reindeer had the most amazing antlers.
We were given sled instructions by Visa. ( not MasterCard or American Express, his joke, not mine)
And soon we were off. I could see my reindeer’s very nice bottom.
The only sounds were reindeer hooves on the snow, the crunching of the sled and the swish of the wind through the pine trees. The clouds cleared and the sky was full of stars…I have never seen so many in the sky.
Soon we stopped in the forest and Timo and Visa lit a fire to make coffee while we kept watch on the sky.
Visa entertained us with stories of the northern lights and bear tales. He told us the scientifists’ explanations for the northern lights as well as the traditional Sami reasons. (scientists will forever be scientifists for me from now on) He had the most delightful accent and we heard rolling Rs in words that usually don’t have any.
Timo prepared the coffee.
The reindeer dined on some very fine moss Timo had brought for them.
We all gazed expectantly at the sky and we did see some faint lights but nothing strong enough to photograph. It didn’t really matter, the stars were spectacular.
Soon it was back to the sleighs for the trip back to the farm. Just like the huskies, the reindeer behind liked to catch up to our sleigh for a chat.
We saw some more lights on the way back, but you will have to take my word for it.
The reindeer were released from the sleighs and sent to bed for the night.
It was a great night. We saw some lights in the sky, met some reindeer and listened to Visa’s tales of Lapland.
