Finland Jamboree Part 1- Lapland

Following an overnight flight to Helsinki via Amsterdam, the 5 Scouts, 1 Venturer and 4 adult Scouters had time for a quick look around downtown Helsinki, before boarding an overnight train for a 12 hour trip north. Exhausted and jetlagged from the trip, the comfortable sleeping berths on the "Santa Claus Express" were a welcome relief for our journey to Lapland.

The mission on our trip north was to find out "Is Santa from Canada or Finland?" To do that we needed to visit his Finnish home in Rovaniemi, Finland, located on the Arctic Circle in Lapland. Luckily we had the help of a Scout Leader from a local Scout group called Napapiirin Pojat (Boys of the Arctic Circle) to help us. After our train arrived at 7am, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast buffet at the Rovaniemi Asemaravintola and then set off to explore the town. Our first stop was the Santa Claus Village where we met Santa, crossed the Arctic Circle, went go-karting, met (and tasted!) reindeer and hiked. In the afternoon we visited the Ounasvaara hill where we hiked to an observation tower for great views of Rovaniemi and the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki rivers before making our way to the cabin the local Scouts had arranged for us to stay in. After a spaghetti dinner and sauna on the banks of the river, we made our way to bed despite the brightness of the (almost) midnight sun.

On our second morning we explored the Sukulanrakka Devil's Churns. The 14 potholes or kettles were carved in the rock 10,000 years ago by the meltwaters of the retreating glaciers forming smooth holes in the rock up to 8m wide and 15m deep. Even Scouter Martin, on crutches due to his broken ankle, enjoyed the hike wandering around the rocky terrain.

Returning to Ounasvaara, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the top of the ski hill, before trying out the summer bobsled track down the mountain.

With rain threatening, we then visited the Artikum Museum and Science Centre where we learned about the history of Rovaniemi, the arctic and indigenous Sami culture amongst many other things. We then made our way back to the cabin where we were joined by Scouts and Guides from the local Napapiirin Pojat, Partiolippukunta Lapin Samoilijat and Napapiirin Tytöt groups for a campfire. In addition to cooking sausages, we also learned how Finnish Scouts cook pancakes on the fire in special long handled frying pans. It was a great chance to meet Finnish Scouts and Guides, many of whom were also heading to the Jamboree a few days later.

Our last day in Rovaniemi started with a visit to the Arctic Circle Hiking area where we explored the Könkäänsaari trail past the gushing Vaattunkiköngäs Rapids and the rich assortment of plant and animal species on the lush islands of the River Raudanjoki.

After cleaning the cabin and visiting downtown Rovaniemi (and the Angry Birds playground - Angry Birds are Finnish), we had a "small" pizza recommended to us - salami, minced reindeer, pineapple and blue cheese - AMAZING!

Then it was back to the train station to catch the overnight train south to the next part of our adventure.

Read Part 2 - Kajo 2022 Finland Jamboree