It was quite a change of conditions arriving back to work in the snow-covered Hossa in the beginning of December after travelling for a few weeks in Thailand and Laos. It sure felt cold in the beginning with the quick, almost 60 degrees Celsius change in temperature but there´s no other place where I would rather return to, it felt good to be back and start all the winters activities and chores like gathering the reindeer to the enclosure and guiding foreign people through the winter wonderland!
The goal of the trip was to get some outside perspective to my own work back home, to Hossa as a travel destination and of course to face another, completely different culture so the trip included several guided tours/programs, visits to museums, temples and historical sites and socializing with locals and other fellow travelers. From an outdoor persons´ point of view, major insights were related to the richness of the changing seasons, the different activities that this enables and the peacefulness that one faces out here. The pictures are taken on many days within the last month around the Hossa area; special thanks to Frederik Kloezeman for two of the pics!
Customers from Holland had the privilege to enjoy very different types of winter days the past few weeks; from extremely cold sunny days with sun painting the frosty trees with its golden midwinter light, to cloudy, hazy days dominated by the shades of blue. We even got to witness the Northern Lights on Christmas Eve! Taken some time being out of the ordinary environment and having only recently experienced pretty much the opposite, I was admiring all this with new eyes along with my visitors.
Winter is a magical time of year and the midwinter days are much more than just grey and darkness as you can see, from dusk till dawn and depending on the temperature you witness a different type of light. In general, following the cycle of the seasons and the huge amount of natural surroundings that we have in Finland are things money can´t buy. All through the year there´s different seasonally varying things to do, sights to see and the everyman´s rights ensure you can take advantage of the wilderness as you please. This truly is a special thing.
One important difference and things that I missed a bit during my trip are the peace and silence accompanied by the sense of space that surrounds you. The overwhelming silence that can be reached in a remote destination like Hossa just is that incredible, even it is the simplest thing. This seems to get highlighted more and more all the time.
After being surrounded by almost nonstop hassle and faceless masses of people a lot for the past weeks I couldn´t wait to get my snowshoes on and head out on a hike in the forest when I reach Hossa again. So after walking in the deep snow for a few kilometers and not seeing anyone, making a campfire and having lunch, enjoying the heat of a wood-heated sauna and spending a night in a remote wilderness cabin, it started to feel like home.
And about Hossa as a travel destination; besides enjoying the peaceful nature and beautiful landscapes in different ways and staying in a cozy cabin, spending a week in the area enables you to do plenty of different things like dog-sledding, down-hill-skiing and driving a snow-scooter for example. All of these activities are just one hour´s drive away. I can rightly say that Hossa is a travel destination that will fulfill your wishes of spending a different, enjoyable holiday in the north.
All the best wishes from Hossa for the new year 2015!