AssikoGal
I did the reindeer sledding, meal, and overnight camping in a laavu. The start of our trip seemed a bit disorganized, to tell you the truth, but as the experience unfolded, it was really worth it. We initially stopped at a large laavu to change into thermal suits, etc. We were then driven to the area where the reindeer sledding was going to occur, and hiked up a snowy hill to get to the actual location. The reindeer are not fully domesticated, thus any expectation of getting "cozy" with them should be dispensed (which was fine with me). Our guides were a group of 4 young Saami gentlemen, and though they weren't effusive, they were friendly and engaging. The reindeer sledding was a lot of fun. It took some time to get the reindeer and the sleds set up and they had to be adjusted at a couple of points while we were en route. After, we were able to feed the reindeer -- and of course, for food, they came right up to us and ate from our gloved hands.After finishing this phase of the activity, we walked down the same snowy hill and were taken to a laavu-shaped, very cozy wooden structure, where we ate reindeer stew, bread, and learned more about the Saami. I appreciated that our guides had a sense of pride in their heritage and wanted to share that with the group. I think that the meal is normally served in a laavu near the reindeer sledding, but that structure had been blown apart by a prior storm (and I think it's now been repaired).After the meal, everyone else returned to Tromso, but I had signed up for the overnight laavu stay. The company had previously mentioned that I could stay alone ("with the reindeer"), but that night, a storm was moving in and they felt it might be unsafe to leave me -- thus, one of the staff members (Tor) stayed with me. It was a really great experience. Let me say that it was NOT a cushy experience. To relieve myself, I had to use an outhouse that was some distance from the sleeping laavu, and to get to the outhouse, I had to trudge through snow that was up to my mid-thighs. When I got there, I found that it was stocked with toilet paper and hand sanitizer, both of which were frozen and unusable (luckily, I had similar supplies in one of my pockets).The laavu itself was small -- two wooden platforms (close to the ground) on each side, covered with a couple pieces of reindeer hide. In the center of the structure, there was a wood stove that made the space quite cozy and warm. Lighting was provided by a kerosene lamp and two candles. There were two mummy-style winter sleeping bags on each "bed" (Tor and I each used one of the sleeping bags to create head pillows). I have to say that I'm not that young, and the sleeping surface was very hard. I tucked some additional clothing from my knapsack under key areas like hip bones, and was able to make myself reasonably comfortable. Tor also informed me that he doesn't feed the fire during the night, and once the fire went out, the laavu would get quite cold. We were indeed hit by a storm, and for most of the night, the canvas (it was not made of the traditional reindeer hide) of the laavu was battered by high winds, sleet, and hail. That definitely disrupted my sleep, but certainly made for an interesting experience. The entryway of the laavu was also filled with slush seeping in from the outside.Tor got up at a certain point as morning approached and got the fire going again, so by the time I awoke, things were toasty (and I have to say that between the layers I was wearing and the winter sleeping bag, I never felt cold during the course of the night). We had a lovely breakfast of bread, cold cuts, cheese, chocolate, and a selection of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I had time to snap some daytime pictures before we went down the hill (by snowmobile) and back to town.Overall, this was a worthwhile and rather unique experience.
Nashco1
We were given a warm friendly welcome by the Sami gentleman guide. Nice modern mini bus, we drove 10 min to a teepee to be given warm clothing to change into, there was an open log fire that was nice and warm, the guide spoke perfect English, chatted to us about the day, answered our questions and was with us all the time.We then drove 30 min to the reindeer, two Sami guides, cousins, instructed the small group of us about reindeer, life living and working with them, moving around the far north, we had a sleigh ride, the snow was deep, but no problem for the reindeer, that is how they live in the wild.We fed them and spent time with them.We returned to the teepee, had a hot broth, I enjoyed it but not for vegetarians!!We sat around the fire and the Sami guides told us about their life and traditions in the high arctic, for over an hour, as long as you wanted, we asked lots of questions, they showed us wonderful clothing, artwork and artefacts they still use.Great stories about marriage and courtships.Only go with Sami guides, do not miss this.
