When time froze

When we don’t like to let go of a beautiful experience, we freeze it in the cellars of our mind and the deepest corners of our heart. We preserve the experience like a frozen delight — to take out when we daydream, when we need a lift, a smile, a warm memory.

And that is how I like to think of my recent snow-capped adventure at the Lapland, the northernmost part of Finland, not far from the Arctic Circle, an experience now frozen in my mind’s cache. There, you squeal (not just talk), you slide and ride (not just walk), you walk on ice (not just roads), and you look up at the sky at night not just to see the stars but to watch the sky dance.

 Days are short and the nights are long in the winter months in the Lapland, but our days were never short of fun.

Like a child again

Shan Dioquino David, president of Corporate International Travel and Tours, brings her clients to places off the beaten path — like frozen lakes for ice fishing, hotels where rooms are free-standing igloos with glass domes and to the only Santa Claus Village in the world with the Arctic Circle postmark.

Shan created the Ultimate Lapland itinerary because, “There is something truly magical and mysterious about the Lapland — maybe it has to do with the inescapable Christmas feeling you get whenever you are there, whatever month of the year.” Twelve adults signed up.

That “Christmas feeling” is a mix of excitement, joy and wonder, and is best expressed by children — which all of us were during our five-day tour of the Lapland (after which we had a bonus two-day trip to Helsinki, and Tallinn in Estonia -— but that’s another story.).

“Ang sarap maging bata ulit (It feels good to be like a child again),” she gushes. “A lot of people find going to the Lapland memorable because we visit Santa Claus in his home at the Arctic Circle, experience an exhilarating husky-sled and snowmobile rides and fulfill the childhood fantasy of riding a sleigh pulled by Santa’s reindeer.”

Our trip began in the most relaxing way, a virtual magic-carpet ride on Turkish Airlines. It was a smooth 12-hour flight from Manila to Istanbul that afforded us time to rest, to enjoy the food prepared by in-flight chefs, to catch up on our mail, even, because of free Wi-Fi on board. After a brief stopover at the Ataturk airport in Istanbul, whose Turkish Airlines Business Class lounge combines the old-world charm of Ottoman design with modern amenities, we were off on a three-hour flight to the Finnish capital, Helsinki.

From Helsinki, we had a brief flight to the Lapland capital of Rovaniemi. As we waited for our luggage by the carousel, we were greeted by a mechanical, neon-lit Santa flying over our heads in his sleigh.

The “Christmas feeling” Shan promised had already started to kick in.

Ice, ice baby

The first order of our first full day in Rovaniemi was to get suited up in our Arctic gear — a jumpsuit that insulated us from the subzero weather (from minus 5 to minus 17 degrees Celsius), sturdy snow boots, a bonnet or beanie and heavy-duty gloves. We looked like astronauts.

We then went ice fishing in a frozen lake in Joutolampi, outside Rovaniemi. Our guides drilled a hole in the thick ice and gave us hook, line and sinker — literally. The lucky ones caught perch. But for most of us, the biggest catch was the experience of walking on water in a wilderness where only the sloshing of our boots on the snow complemented the sound of silence. Later, our travel buddies James Garcia and Meynard Monje popped open some champagne bottles chilled in the snow. Now, that broke the silence.

Meeting Rudolph

After breakfast, at the Scandic Hotel in downtown Rovaniemi where we were billeted, we headed for our next adventure — riding a sleigh pulled by reindeer!

The reindeer farm in Raitola leads to winter wonderland, as we see it in storybooks. Fir trees and birch trees, the mini-mes of which we put up in our homes at Christmas, spruce up snow-carpeted slopes, fields and valleys.

In the Lapland, there are more reindeer (200,000), than people (190,000). Reindeer don’t fly like Santa’s Rudolph does, but some of them really do have red noses — because having a heavy network of capillaries in their noses helps to keep them warm in the snow.

We settled into our cozy wooden sleighs, which had fur cushions and blankets, and watched the beautiful world go by as Shan’s iPhone chirped, “Sleighbells ring, are you listening...”

After a leisurely, moderately-paced 2.5-kilometer ride that took us on a sightseeing tour of the white wonderland unfolding before our eyes, we had lunch in a cabin in the woods. We had steaming hot salmon soup and reindeer steak on a bed of mashed potatoes. Reindeer meat is tender and low in fat, perhaps because reindeer are herbivores or vegetarians.

That night, we grilled marshmallows and hotdogs over a camp fire.

The fast & furious

It was time for some heart-racing action on our third day.  After a safety briefing, we explored the Arctic fields on snowmobiles for a thrilling ride. There were less trees on this terrain, more snow-carpeted plains and valleys as far as the eye can see, with many lakes sparkling under the mild sun. We stopped at a clearing and threw snowballs at each other, which crumbled like confectioner’s sugar on our noses. Entrepreneur Moe Pinpin did a majestic jumpshot as the snow swirled around him. After a thrilling ride, it was time to meet some huskies — the four-legged kind, that is.

My favorite activity, aside from shaking the powdery snow off the trees, was the husky safari.

The two-kilometer ride on my husky-drawn sled was exhilarating, and brought out the child in me. Unmindful of who heard my squeals each time the huskies ran down a slope and just as rapidly rose from it,  I was clapping my hands and raising my arms alternately, like a champion in her chariot. My able driver, who stood behind me to control the reins, was our affable guide Talbi Abdelkader or “Kadi.”

That night, some of us checked into the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel, which has modern glass and wood cabins nestled on slopes in a pine forest. You can watch both the Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun from your room.

Santa’s town

When we were children, we were admonished to behave because Santa Claus was coming to town.

Who would have thought that in my adulthood, I was coming to Santa’s town? Perhaps, it was just as well, for the thrill of meeting the man of your dreams, childhood dreams, that is, is best appreciated by an adult’s grateful heart.

“To be seated beside Santa was a childhood experience I never had,” says Annabelle Sanz Espino, now a successful businesswoman.

“Even for adults, there is the thrill of meeting Santa. It is never too late to meet Santa Claus,” adds Shan, on why she included a visit to the “real” Santa Claus in his home on the Arctic Circle in the itinerary. We were a group of 13 (including tour leader Shan), all adults from their mid-twenties to their mid-fifties. But we all left Santa’s Village believing he exists, at least in our memories, where he is frozen forever.

That night, we still hadn’t fully grown up from our visit to Santa Claus’ home. At the Arctic SnowHotel where we spent our last night in the Lapland, Issay Yusingco, Joy David and lawyer Mary Ann Tupasi Saddul, rode toboggans to their rooms, I mean, igloos.

At the Arctic SnowHotel, one could also have a hot jacuzzi bath under the stars and an honest-to-goodness Finnish sauna, an experience that left me feeling as pristine as fresh snow.

For that night, we were warmly ensconced in igloos with glass domes, whose beds could be raised like hospital beds so one could better see the sky and catch the seasonal Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.

We left the Lapland invigorated and grateful. We had lived our dreams and learned how to play like children again.

So next time you need to “chill,” you know where to go.

(For inquiries about the Ultimate Lapland Experience, please text or call Corporate International Travel and Tours at 0917-8986541 or 0917-6316541. Visit its Booth 422-424 at the PTAA Travel Tour Expo from Feb. 9 to 11 at SMX Mall of Asia. For inquiries about Turkish Airlines, text or call 0917-8720089.)