Not all my decisions are bad

After rib-breaking day we went on a Reindeer Safari. This was supposed to be easy and involved nothing more than sitting in the back of a sled while a Reindeer dragged us around in the snow.

It was ethereally beautiful and white. The trees groaned under snow. Some collapsed under the weight of snow. I was wearing two pairs of socks and Ugg boots. I was wearing three (3) pairs of gloves. We were under big woolly rugs. My feet were blocks of ice. My hands hurt so much I thought I would cry. My ribs hurt so much I screamed every now and then with pain. It was like screaming in space. The snow swallowed the sound.

No one cared much – we were all in our own little worlds of pain and coldness. The Reindeer were totally indifferent and plodded along dragging us to our doom. I imagined the Reindeer dragging blocks of ice through the frozen wilderness. We would die and no one would notice.

This went for two hours. Eventually we stopped. The Reindeer man helped us into a hut and lit a fire and we tried to warm up. A van arrived and took us back to the Safari place. I lost my vision and went deaf. Apparently I blacked out. An ambulance was called.

The thought of spending more time in Ivalo hospital perked me up and I feigned wellness. The ambulance people were suspicious but let me go.  We crept home in blinding snow and an oncoming car hit a reindeer and pushed it into our path. Cate tried to avoid it - and had almost stopped but the reindeer whacked the driver’s front side. We stopped but the driver of the other car said it was his responsibility. He called the appropriate people who would deal with the Reindeer – which was still alive – and sent us on our way.

When I had picked up the car the man said that that the insurance excess payment was €950 - or I could remove this by paying  €9.53 per day. Duh! In Lapland – in Mid-Winter? I paid the  €9.53 per day. Not all my decisions are bad.

I have posted some Lapland photos on the Picasa album attached to this Blog. Click on a photo. 

I really do not deserve any sympathy

My second home in Ivalo – the Hospital.

Having broken ribs is not such a big deal and I really do not deserve much sympathy. I mean – with the benefit of hindsight – it is pretty dumb to go dogsledding carrying a bloody big camera. It would be best if you left comments saying ‘Jeez – you are really dumb!’

When we arrived Cate said to Mika ‘Is it OK if we take a camera?’ and Mika replied ‘Sure but you may fall off and break it!’ Pretty clear message there.

We spent a fair amount of time in the hospital in Ivalo where I was attended to by Doctor Väärsi.

I broke my ribs on New Year’s Eve so X-Ray was closed and I had to wait two days to get this done. At first the good Doctor was a bit dismissive – suggesting after an examination that I might have a ‘cracked rib’.

He was much more impressed after the X-Ray when it revealed 3 and possibly 4 breaks. He thought I may not be able to fly home as planned because of the nature of the breaks – but he discussed this with his colleagues in Rovaniemi and they decided to let me go as planned.

We stayed in the Lapinleuku Wilderness Hotel which is a collection of log cabins inside the Arctic Circle. The place was built by Timo Sarkoja who lives there with his wife. They still seem to do all the work even though they are both in their 70s.

It is a surreal experience to be in a place so remote and so cold that you would be dead within an hour without winter clothing – and where you really cannot get the 30 meters from your cabin to the dining hut without kitting up with coat, boots, hat, gloves and scarf.

I know I bang on about this all the time but for people from the Southern Hemisphere – this was an astonishing experience. We had only four hours ‘daylight’ each day but wallowed in the bliss of every second of our stay in this wonderland of snow, half-light and shadow – and then the inky blackness of the Arctic night. Unfortunately we do not have many photos of our trip after Helsinki because of the Camera Crushing incident.

Gwenyth has a camera but it was made in 1992. Yes I kid you not. This is a woman who is a General Manager in charge of Technology in one of Australia’s major Law firms and she has a camera made in 1992. Well you can just imagine the quality of the photos it takes. In case you cannot - I will post some soon in the Picasa Album attached to this Blog. 1992. Sheesh!

Man murders camera in Lapland

These are some of the boys and girls who took us on our Husky Safari.

Finland – and Lapland in particular – was a fabulous experience. Never seen so much snow. Never been so cold. 

Falling off the dog sled and crushing my Canon 500D Camera with my ribs was also an amazing experience. The Doctor in Ivalo says that I have at least 3 broken ribs and maybe 4. 

He gave me permission to fly at the last moment so we got home as planned. The camera is totally pulverized and is probably beyond a rebuild. I will post some photos on Picasa in a day or two. Life is a bit of a struggle at the moment.