Last month my family and I travelled to Finland for a vacation. Lapland is Finland’s northernmost region, it’s a sparsely populated area that borders Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Baltic Sea. It’s known for its vast subarctic wilderness, ski resorts and natural phenomena including the midnight sun and the Northern Lights.
As a local guide, this was one of the most interesting and challenging places I’d visited. The lowest temperature went down to -28°C so it meant my phone’s power was quickly draining when it was in the open and of course performance was affected. The Pixel 4 performed well though and I still maintained a good level of contributions, although I waited until I’d returned back to our accommodation to write the reviews!
Lapland is the natural homeland of the indigenous Sami people who are known for being welcoming and friendly people who don’t let a bit of snow get in their way! Of course, Lapland is also the home of Santa Claus although he had hibernated for a well-deserved rest when we were visiting! We did get the chance to meet lots of reindeer though, they are amazing creatures whose horns grow as much as 1½ inches per week. We visited a reindeer farm and got to feed the livestock… what do you think reindeer eat? I would have guessed ‘Carrots’ as that’s what we leave out on Xmas eve 
But you may be surprised to hear they eat moss! They love it, and quickly gobbled up as much as they could get.
One of the great features of the area is that there are sledges everywhere! They are propped outside stores and can be used and returned, left for the next person to utilise in transporting their shopping, children and even pets!
The children had a fantastic time, in the UK we get very little snow so this was a winter wonderland. The snow on average was around 2 feet deep so we had great fun although it was powdery snow so we couldn’t make decent snowballs for a fight!
Top tips for Local Guiding in below freezing conditions
- Keep your phone in your pocket as much as possible to conserve battery power
- Make sure your lens is free from condensation
- Don’t take too long to take pics outdoors
- Wear mobile-friendly gloves or fingerless gloves under thick ones that can be taken off & replaced quick
- Wait until you get into the warmth to write your review and upload pics
