Spring memories

Oh how the time flies these days. I hope you’re following me on social media, so you’re more up to date with my trips and life. I’m trying to get up to date with the stories here as well.

Let’s start with a little photo dumb from a visit to Spain to enjoy some sun in Mallorca and Alicante.

It’s been a dream of mine to visit Mallorca for a long time and now I had the best chance to go in the spring when it’s not so crowded there yet. We rented a car and toured around the island visiting beautiful coves and towns. It was way more nice than I ever imagined. Also the cycling culture there is amazing and I would definitely like to go back to have a focus in cycling only!

Hopefully you enjoy these photos!

Winter trip to Vuokatti

In paid collaboration with - Vuokatti

Time of the visit: February Weather: Cloudy Temperature: -12°C Length of stay: 2 nights

After our awesome trip to Kainuu, we got to stay in Vuokatti for a few extra days. I had never been there before, so I was excited about our stay. 

Vuokatti is best known for its ski tunnel which enables skiing throughout the year and many other fantastic training facilities for athletes. There’s also a wide range of winter activities and services from spa and sauna world to downhill skiing and different safaris. This means that it is an excellent winter holiday destination for families and groups.

Have a look at what we were able to include in our visit!

Haapala B&B

We woke up in our cozy accommodation at Haapala B&B, which is in a nicely renovated old farm. The farm has been in the Korhonen family for five generations. Nowadays Haapala has a fantastic restaurant, accommodation, saunas and a brewery.

Our day started with a breakfast buffet in the restaurant, which actually shares the space with the brewery. Afterwards Craig gave us a tour in the brewery and told us about the beer-making process. It was nice to get to know how things work behind the scenes and how much time and knowledge it all requires. They have included ingredients and flavours from Finland in a cool way in their products.

Now we had gotten a pretty good image of what Haapala is about. Such a nice place to come for meals or for the whole experience with accommodation and sauna. 

Husky adventure

After a delicious lunch, we needed to rush as the huskies at Vuokatti Safaris were eager to go on an adventure with us. As we arrived, I think we were as excited as the huskies. We couldn't wait to get the briefing done and get going on the sleds. It’s funny to see how the dogs are jumping and barking before the departure as they can’t wait to go!

Once we took off, all the dogs got quiet and super focused. There's a beautiful bond between you and the huskies during the adventure and you definitely need to work together and respect each other. What a nice way to enjoy nature!

Snowshoeing

There was still a bit of daylight left after the husky safari, so we decided to pick up snowshoes from Vuokatti Ski Service. We got a good tip to visit a neighbouring fell to have a peek at the scenery towards Vuokatti. We also found a trailhead, where no-one had been since the last snowfall. We decided to go for a little hike along the trail.

It felt like we were on another planet with the snow giants and no one else around. We had time only for a little tour before it got completely dark. It was definitely a good workout to make our own path in the deep snow. There was no need to hit the gym after.

Glass Igloos

Later that evening, we were able to sit down in a restaurant for the first time in a long while due to the restrictions. Even just that felt amazing! We had a wonderful service and a very tasty meal at Amarillo!

Afterward, we continued to another superb accommodation, Arctic Lakeland Igloos. They are unique mirror glass igloos with outside hot tubs by the lake Sapsojärvi. These igloos and the hot tubs are a nice way to witness the northern lights if you're lucky with the weather.

Snowmobiling

Our last day started with an exciting snowmobile adventure with Vuokatti Safaris. We joined a tour with a guide to get familiar with the area. After a coffee break in a cozy cafe Heikkilän Pirtti, we continued the adventure on our own. It was time for Macarena to take control of the snowmobile, which she handled well. It took us a while for us to make it back as I wanted to stop and take photos of the snow-covered trees all the time. After we got back, you could see that she really enjoyed riding the snowmobile, as the smile didn't leave her face for hours.

All in all, we only got to see and experience a tiny part of what Vuokatti has to offer. We enjoyed every part of it and realized that everything you could ask for in a winter holiday can be found here!

Daniels top 3 tips for Vuokatti:

• Haapala B&B

• Vuokatti Safaris - Snowmobile tour

• E-Bikes

Other things to do in Vuokatti:

• Spa & sauna world

• Amazing tracks for nordic skiing

• Ski & Snowboarding

• Multiple nice restaurants

The New Pohjola Route

Ad - Visit Oulu & Pohjola Route

Summer has been quite amazing and warm this year! We’ve had almost tropical temperatures. With that in mind, we decided to pack our summer clothes, swimsuits and hiking gear and head north once again. Oulu region had just opened its new Pohjola Route and we wanted to see what it was about. We knew that the area has beautiful landscape and many hidden gems, so it was time to see them for ourselves!

We started our trip from Ii and we had a sweet little walk around Hiastinhaara after our arrival. The river and beach by the parking lot was so welcoming, but we had to keep going after the walk towards our next destination, a place that I had passed by so many times, without stopping. Finally, I was able to go and see the rapids of Koitelinkoski! As I expected, they were marvelous! It was surely a nice day and we finished it with a little biking trip around Oulu.

After a relaxing morning and a nice visit to Oulu Botanical Garden, we headed to catch our ferry to Hailuoto!

It was another amazing place I had been wanting to visit for so long - even just the ferry ride was an experience itself. We made it straight to Marjaniemi, where the beautiful sandy beach was waiting for us in a warm sunny day. We picked up our picnic basket and headed to the beach.

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay in Hailuoto for the night as it was time to hit the road again. It was a hot day, so a stop in Kempele for some ice cream was very welcome and a brief visit to the famous Liminka Birdwatching Tower was really nice. It was getting late and “the Captain’s Sauna” was heated just for us in a gorgeous historical neighborhood in Raahe, so there was no time to spare.

The next day was once again a beautiful one, but very windy. Our stop in the marvelous sandy beaches of Kalajoki had to cut short and skip swimming this time. Luckily, we had picked up a kite on the way down, so it became our main activity there and a fun way to go to enjoy the beach for a little while.

Rokua and Syöte were calling, so we had to go! We were kind of excited to drive inland and see some forests and fells. First stop was Rokua Geopark. At our arrival, the weather was beautiful, so we decided to go and visit Pookivaara and the fire watch tower. The sunset turned out to be magical, so it was definitely worth it!

Last but not least was Syöte area, which is less known for most people from the south. It is definitely a nice destination in summer and winter. The experience we had here and our stay in the Hotel Iso-Syöte definitely have definitely set this place on the map for me!

To summarise, it was an incredible fun trip with several places worth visiting. Hopefully, you’ll find some nice tips to go and visit the new #pohjolanrengastie!