Visit to a Reindeer Farm and Return Trip to Southern Finland
Levi, March 5th, 2018.
It’s hard to believe it, but today has been my last day in Lapland. Time to say goodbye and head back to Savitaipale, which has been my home for the past few weeks. Even though it was mostly a travel day (I spent way too many hours on buses again…), that didn’t stop me from visiting an adorable reindeer farm.
Reindeer and Lapland
Reindeer are one of the most iconic animals (and symbols) of Finland, along with bears and moose. Many centuries ago, the Lapland region was inhabited by the Sami, an indigenous nomadic people who moved according to the reindeer migrations. They built their homes and clothing using reindeer hides, made tools from their bones, and lived off their meat and milk. Times have changed a lot since then, but reindeer are still an essential part of Lapland’s culture.
There are around 200,000 reindeer in Finland, and in northern Lapland, reindeer herding is still the main source of income for many people. From a tourism perspective, reindeer have become one of the biggest attractions in the region, especially thanks to sled rides. That’s why many herders who own reindeer farms dedicate themselves to caring for and training them.
Visiting the Reindeer Farm
Today we visited one of these reindeer farms in Levi. I don’t think I had ever seen a reindeer up close before, and they’re much bigger than I expected. There were about eight reindeer, and they seemed like a family. You could clearly spot the alpha male, the female, and the younger calves. They were quite calm, but also a bit indifferent, barely moving from where they stood.
Some of them were eating…
Others watched you from a distance…
And some were straight-up taking a nap.
We fed them some of the feed that was available, although the only one really interested was the female. Once she finished eating, she lay down and started nodding off almost immediately. Clearly exhausted!
From Levi to Jyväskylä
After visiting the reindeer farm, I headed to the Hotel Levi Spa bus stop to wait for my bus. If you’ve read my post about how I crossed Finland by bus to get to Lapland, you’ll know I didn’t exactly choose the most efficient route back then. So this time, I decided to take the “short” route straight from Levi, without passing through Rovaniemi:
I booked the first direct bus from Levi to Jyväskylä with Onnibus. It departed at 3:15 PM and cost €37. I paid an extra €2 for a seat with a table so I could stretch my legs and write on my laptop. I don’t usually do that, but the journey was 11 hours and 55 minutes long, with only the mandatory stops.
Throughout the journey, you could really see how the landscape changed as we headed south. In Lapland, everything was covered in snow, but the further south we went, the greener things became. Spring is definitely on its way.
By around 6:30–7:00 PM, it was already completely dark. Still, you can tell the days are getting longer. When I arrived in Savitaipale weeks ago, it was already night at around 3:30 PM. Now, the east was fully dark, but there was still some light in the west (not for long, though).
Arriving in Jyväskylä
We arrived in Jyväskylä at 2:15 AM. This is the big downside of this route. It’s more direct, yes, but the first bus to Savitaipale doesn’t leave until 6 AM. Unless someone picks you up by car, you need a place to sleep. Trust me, being out on the street for hours in Finland in the middle of winter is not exactly pleasant. On top of that, the bus station was closed, so you couldn’t even stay inside. And hostels don’t exactly allow check-ins at that time of night.
However, I had planned ahead…
My First Couchsurfing Experience
For the first time in my life, I used Couchsurfing. For those who aren’t familiar with it, it’s a platform that connects travelers from all over the world. The main idea is to offer free accommodation to one another and encourage cultural exchange.
My first experience trying to find hosts was a bit of a fail. I signed up hoping to find places to stay in different parts of Lapland before coming to Levi, but I barely got any responses or there simply wasn’t availability for the dates I needed.
This time, though, I was incredibly lucky to find an amazing host. He even came to pick me up at the bus station at 2 AM, which is not something just anyone would do. I’ll be forever grateful. I wasn’t entirely sure about Couchsurfing at first, but this experience definitely restored my faith in humanity.
After almost eight hours of sleep, it was time to continue my journey to Savitaipale. It was about a 40-minute walk from his place to the bus station, and I almost missed the bus. I arrived just in time, but all good. And now… finally, back home again!
