(In a state of near paralysis due to the sweltering Philippine summer? Perhaps it’s time for you to take a short break by hieing off to colder, more remote places. The author travels to the Arctic Circle and finds a snow-white playground that unleashes the child in her. Except that she’s having Moët instead of hot coco in the snow. She also shares with us her delight and childlike glee [especially after her first sleigh ride and meeting the real Santa Claus] in a series of open letters to younger sister Val.)
By JOANNE RAE RAMIREZ
DAY 1
Dear Val,
Landed today in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, en route to Rovaniemi in the Arctic Circle, which is as close to the North Pole as I can get. Flying Turkish Airlines — a first — to Helsinki was like a smooth carpet ride from Manila to Istanbul, and Istanbul to the Finnish capital. No air turbulence whatsoever on my flight, with chefs on board and free Wi-Fi. Never, never in my wildest dreams did I think I was one day going to the North Pole to visit its king — Santa Claus.
After a brief stopover in Helsinki, we took a short flight to Rovaniemi, the capital of the Lapland, in northernmost Finland. As the plane was touching down amidst a flurry of cottony snow, I swear I could hear Mom singing, “You better watch out / You better not cry / Better not pout / I’m telling you why / Santa Claus is coming to town…”
Actually, Santa, I was coming to town. Your town.
The Rovaniemi Airport is a destination in itself — in the center of the luggage carousel was a lighted tableau of Santa’s elves and his gifts while circling the room above our heads was Santa on a neon-lit sleigh.
Just outside the airport, atop a slope covered in powdery white snow, a pack of reindeers — actually, reindeer figures drawn in incandescent light — shone against the velvet blue sky.
Val, I’m so excited; I feel like a child again! And I’m just in the airport!
Love,
Jo
DAY 2
Dear Val,
In the winter months in the Arctic Circle, the sun rises at around 10 a.m. and sets at 3 p.m. After breakfast at the Scandic Hotel where we were billeted, I crossed the street to a mall where I did some shopping for warm scarves and gloves, and some Fazer chocolate bars. Fazer is the most famous chocolate brand in Finland.
After lunch, our group, headed by Corporate International Travel and Tours president Shan Dioquino-David, picked up from a tour office downtown Arctic suits and heavy-duty snow boots — our insulation for all our outdoor activities. The Lapland itinerary is 90 percent outdoors, and in subzero weather, one needed the protection of an Arctic suit, which looks like a spacesuit without the helmet. Pretty lightweight but very effective, it made us enjoy all our activities without anyone catching as much as a sniffle. (However, don’t zip yourself up completely till you’re outdoors, or you’ll feel stifled.)
Garbed in our Arctic suits, we excitedly headed to our first destination — a frozen lake outside the city, which was fringed by birch trees with snow icing, for some ice fishing.
Assured that we weren’t walking on thin ice, we found our coveted spots on the lake. Our competent guides drilled a hole into the ice, about the size of a pomelo, after which we were given fishing rods and a bait. We lowered the line then we waited. And waited. And waited.
I wasn’t one of the lucky ones who caught a fish. Not one of my talents, obviously.
Still, I was rewarded with a small bottle of Moët by my travel buddies James Garcia and Meynard Monje, who buried the bottles of champagne in the snow while we were fishing.
Darkness soon descended and there we were, in the midst of nowhere. In the quiet of the frozen lake, far from the madding crowd, with only the pop of champagne bottles breaking the silence.
Walking on water (okay, iced water) was almost like catching the big fish.
Love,
Jo
DAY 3
Dear Val,
Santa Claus’ original home lies in the mysterious Korvatunturi (“Ear Fell”) in Finnish Lapland. Since the exact location is a secret only known to a chosen few, he decided to establish an office in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, in 1985. Or so the legend goes. Rovaniemi received the status of the Official Hometown of Santa Claus in 2010.
There are many reasons to love Rovaniemi — spellbinding nature and phenomena, Lappish traditions and culture, urban life and wild activities on immaculately white landscapes make the Official Hometown of Santa Claus a winter wonderland.
If Santa’s in town, can the reindeers be far behind?
The Lapland has 10,000 more reindeers than people, 200,000 reindeers to 190,000 people.
Today, we went on a reindeer sleigh ride in Raitola that brought me back to the storybooks of our youth. Okay, I am six years older than you so I probably read some Santa stories to you myself and helped you memorize the names of the reindeers that pulled his sleigh. (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and …. Rudolph!)
In the reindeer farm, we were led to wooden sleighs lined up like chariots under the winter sun. Sitting on our fur-lined thrones inside the sleigh like ice queens, and covered up by a warm blanket, Shan and I commanded our Rudolph to take us around the forests and the snow- carpeted plains.
Did you know that they eat reindeers in Finland, and that it is also legal to use their hide for rugs, hats and to line gloves and boots? The reindeers’ antlers are sold at the reindeer farm for 10 euros each, which is half the price if you buy them downtown. Unlike an elephant’s tusk, a deer’s antler grows back after it is sawed off, so not to worry.
Snow was falling on our lashes and I could hear the Christmas carol “Winter Wonderland” from Shan’s iPhone. “Sleigh bells ring / Are you listening / In the land / Snow is glistening / A beautiful sight / We’re happy tonight / Walking in a winter wonderland.”
Every step the reindeer took on this 2.5-kilometer ride through winter wonderland brought me closer — not to a dream — but to a dream-come-true. Images of all the Hollywood movies of reindeer-pulled sleighs and children frolicking in the snow, of Tim Allen in The Santa Clause, A Christmas Carol, and even Home Alone: Lost in New York, flashed through my mind.
I must have done something good as a child to be rewarded with a second childhood — appreciated with an adult’s grateful heart.
Love,
Jo
DAY 4
Dear Val,
Today was life on the fast lane, on snowmobiles that zoomed across snow-blanketed fields and on husky-drawn sleds that raced between trees in the forest to a clearing that was as pristine as a baby’s conscience and as white as, well, snow.
One thing about these rides is that both the ride and the destination are exhilarating. Cold, clean air fills your lungs as you drink in the view of hills and mountains contoured by snow, and crystal clear waters struggling against an icy transformation.
I loved the husky rides most, because they were a mix of a sport and a carnival ride. A sport because these huskies (six per sled) are fast, and the designated driver (who stands throughout the ride) has to control both the dogs and the direction they are taking. But these huskies were well trained in the husky farm since they were puppies, and they like to flex their muscles in the fields. They are so trained that when one rider in the sled before mine dropped her glove, the husky behind her sled picked it up with his mouth and carried it there throughout the two-hour journey. It was returned to the owner after the ride, and what a ride it was!
We were told by the trainer that the two lead dogs are female, because they are supposed to be “smart” (why am I not surprised?), followed by two male dogs in the middle because males are strong. Bringing up the rear is a pair of male and female huskies.
Drivers and passengers alternated for this ride, which had me squealing in childlike glee, especially when the huskies were descending a slope and there would be an excited lift in my gut. The huskies unleashed the child in me, and there I was, giddy with adrenaline.
There was enough adrenaline in our activities to keep us warm in the Arctic snow.
Love,
Jo
DAY 5
Dear Val,
After romancing the snow and feeling like a child again, we were going to meet the one figure in our childhood that we all wanted to meet in person — a demi-god of sorts created by myth and reality, religion and folklore.
Whether you’re the future king of England or the little king of your barangay, you inevitably scribble a wish list on Christmas to Santa Claus, arguably the face of Christmas (before a child realizes the spiritual dimension of the season, that is).
Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved (“good” or “nice”) children on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (Dec. 25).
Even in tropical Philippines, where Santa would wilt with his coat, vest, boots and beard, we believe in Santa Claus due to our colonial heritage and the Western traditions that were easily assimilated with our own.
There are many Santa Clauses (some of them scared you with their beard when you were a toddler), but there is only one Santa who lives in the only village in the world with the Arctic Circle postmark. Yup, the real thing.
Shan organized the visit to Santa’s Village in our Ultimate Lapland Experience itinerary, “because there is a child in all of us.”
She also arranged for me to interview Santa Claus, and wearing a red vest marked “media,” I was ushered by his “elves” to a homey parlor in Santa’s Village for my “exclusive” interview.
What is it that most people who line up to see you wish for, I asked Santa during my brief interview.
“Happiness!” was his immediate reply.
And why should we believe in Santa Claus?
“I believe in myself,” he mused. “And you know where I belong? In your hearts. And as long as I am in your hearts, I have a home.”
Since 1985, Santa Claus has received 15 million letters from 198 countries, which makes the Santa Claus Main Post Office a must-see on any visit to Santa Claus Village. The merry postal elves are happy to serve customers all year round in their headquarters, which is a real post office operated by Posti, Finland’s national postal service. Every letter sent from here gets a special Arctic Circle postmark not available anywhere else, so your greetings home are sure to reach the recipients.
So myth or magic, man or showman, Santa Claus exists.
I left Santa Claus Village believing that Dad and Mom were right, as they often are. There is a Santa Claus. He exists when you believe that the dreams of your childhood make you want to be a better person when you grow up. And in times when life isn’t all that jolly, memories of a childhood when one believed in all things good will always bring a smile to one’s lips.
That night, we checked into the Arctic Snow Hotel, where each room was a free-standing igloo with glass domes. Our luggage was brought to our igloos in toboggans dragged on the snow. During Aurora Borealis season, you may lie on your bed and watch the Northern Lights in the sky above, or rush out in your pajamas for a clearer view.
There was also another thing some of us did under the stars. We had an invigorating dip in the warm waters of a Jacuzzi on a snow-covered deck. No one wanted to leave the Jacuzzi for the sauna below, a dash of about 20 seconds. It was a breathless transition, capped by a cleansing sauna the Scandinavians are known for.
You could say I was warmed by the Arctic Snow Hotel.
Love,
Jo
