See another beautiful reflection in my post Ripple in the Water
Seeing Double
Barn
A few weeks ago I wrote a post called Stamp Collecting about a photo competition of Finnish barns with the winning photo being made into a stamp. They have now reviewed the entries and decided on the five winners which I found a little unimpressive but the selection of runners up provides an excellent insight into the Finnish countryside as well as some great photographs.
The Life of a Reindeer
To many people reindeer are a mysterious animal and even in Lapland where they roam freely they are still a very elusive creature. It is odd to some people to think of a reindeer as an animal that is farmed and a form of livestock but in Sami culture the reindeer is very important. In many countries Reindeer have magical and mythical powers that stem from the Christmas story and they place it higher than other animals.
But when they are not busy pulling Santa’s sleigh what is a reindeer’s life really like?
The Life of a Reindeer
A reindeer’s life begins in spring when the females have their calves. At this time the reindeer are free to roam wherever they please in the nature of Lapland. They live off what nature provides searching for mushrooms and berries throughout the summer. At first their antlers grow soft, with the mature males growing the largest, and over the course of the summer they turn hard. The males will collect together a harem of females that they will then mate with.
During the autumn months the reindeer herders will collect up all their reindeer for counting and mark the years new born, each reindeer herder has heir own unique ear mark that identifies their reindeer. The herd will move very little during the winter as it is more difficult to travel and find food so the herders will provide additional food for them.
There are a few useful things to know about reindeer herding, one of those is that it is rude to ask a reindeer herder how many reindeer they have, its similar to asking how much money they earn. Though, you do have to have more than 100 reindeer in order to make a livelihood, which means many herders turn to tourism for additional income.
Since the introduction of motorised vehicles, especially the snowmobile, the herders no longer have to travel with the reindeer. Each herder is allocated an amount of reindeer they are allowed as reindeer numbers are monitored and controlled. As all reindeer have an owner you are not permitted to hunt them.
Reindeer herding is still very important in Lapland especially to Sami people and they have practiced reindeer husbandry for hundreds of years. Unlike traditional farming the animals are free to live in the wild for a majority of their lives with little human interaction and tampering.
It would be interesting to hear your opinions. Do you agree with eating reindeer?
Silhouettes
Kvarken Archipelago
The reason to visit Vaasa was to take in the nearby Kvarken National park, an area where the landscape shows signs of post glacial rebound. Since the compression of the last ice age the ground is now returning to its original position and that is happening here along the Finnish coast. In 2006 Kvarken National park became Finland’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
© Our Shadows Will Remain
A Quick Stop in Vaasa
Located on the west coast of Finland is Vaasa, a largely Swedish speaking area of Finland. Finland is a dual language country, meaning that they have two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Swedish speaking Finns live throughout Finland but the city of Vaasa and its surrounding area is know for its large number of Swedish speaking inhabitants. In this area of the country you will see the road signs in Swedish first then Finnish!
Reflection
The perfect reflection.
Three Nations Border Point
The Three Nations Border Point can be reached by ferry or an 11 km one way walk from Kilpisjärvi. There are a few different ways it can be reached of varying difficulty, I chose to take the ferry one way and return on the Malla Trail to Kilpisjärvi Via Pikku Malla making the total distance 16 km.
From the ferry drop off point the Three nations Border Point is an easy 3 km walk along the fenced border between Finland and Sweden. The exact point is located 10 meters into lake Goldajärvi and can be reached by following a planked walkway to where the monument has stood since 1926. The idea is that you walk around the monument and visit each country by doing so, this allows you to see it from every angle and with a different country in the background.
Once leaving the border point the trail takes you through the trees and up onto the mountains. Once up the walking is fairly easy and continues with beautiful scenery over Kilpisjarvi and Saana which is unlike any I have seen elsewhere in Finland.
Would you visit or have you visited the point where three borders meet?
Further reading:
Climbing the Stairway to Saana.
The Three Nations Border Point features on my post 5 Things to do in Finnish Lapland in Summer.
Stairway to Saana
742 steps lead up the 1,029m tall Saana fell from KilpisJarvi in Finland. Once you have climbed one of Finland’s longest staircases you are only a third of the way to the top and magnificent views over the surrounding Finnish landscape, you can even see to Norway.
See my gallery below, Saana From Every Angle.
Further Reading:
Another great walk in the Kilpisjärvi area is that to the Three Nations Border Point, where Norway, Sweden and Finland meet.
If you are interested in other things to do in Lapland I complied a list of my favourite, 5 things to do in Finnish Lapland in Summer.
I spent A Year in Living in Lapland and regularly took photos of my experience.
Saana
Saana and kilpisjarvi feature in my post 5 things to do in Finnish Lapland in Summer.
Our Shadows Will Remain 