THE LAPLAND SERIES, DAY 13 & 14
RUKA
River Floating & The Sauna Bus, Ruka. I always wanted to end this trip with a few days skiing but I had difficulty knowing where. I considered even flying to Austria (headache) and then eventually settled for a small town in the East of Finland called Ruka.
“I CAN’T SWIM” – MUM
Plenty of research was done but it was still a bit of a hit and hope. I wasn’t asking for much, some skiing, a few restaurants, activities and a decent hotel.
WHERE IS RUKA?
Ruka
RUKA PEAK
In Ruka Peak, we certainly got the decent hotel. It was located just out of the town at the top of one of the runs so thankfully ski in ski out. It was small, only 8 rooms and had great food throughout the day. We were shocked at how busy it was during the evenings. I suppose if this many locals come it has to be a good thing.
Considering most of the staff had to turn their hand at everything the service was exactly what you would expect from a 5* hotel and the views from the rooms would temp you to sit and lay in your bed all day in utter amazement.
River Floating & The Sauna Bus, Ruka
DAILY INFO….
- HOTEL – Ruka Peak 8.5/10
- ATTRACTIONS –
Skiing
River floating
Sauna Bus
Snow shoeing to the secret hut
Northern lights safari - STEPS – 6,500, 8,200
30/12/22 RIVER FLOATING, DAY 13
Today, big Nige is 69 and what better way to treat the family than yet another dip in the water. Although again this time they were protected by another cosy dry suit.
Mum tried her best to be talked out of the experience and when she threw a bone to the instructor he picked it up and flung it into the river only to see it float away.
“I can’t swim and I’m scared of getting caught in the current and getting stuck under the ice.” – Yes this is how my mum’s mind works!
“Ok I will stay in front of you but there is always a risk.” Instructor
My days, I couldn’t believe what he was coming out with. At least he was honest!
The experience was actually incredible and mum took to it like a duck to water…well maybe not quite. She was in such fear that she didn’t want to move an inch for fear of drowning and remained motionless floating down the river like her dead body had just been set free on the Ganges.
It was the first time on the trip were we all had a chance to experience an element of solitude and tranquillity, two words I don’t often use on this blog!
River Floating & The Sauna Bus, Ruka
RELATED READ: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS IN THE GALAPAGOS
SAUNA BUS
I’ve taken many different forms of transport, planes, boats, tuk tuks, motorbikes but never did I think I would board a sauna bus kitted out with a shower, toilet and a karaoke set! But again Finland came up trumps with an unusual experience. We spent some time in the sauna before having a sing alone but it wasn’t long until I realised how good an idea it would be to roll in the snow again, needless to say the other 3 weren’t best pleased! But never one to miss out, they complied!
River Floating & The Sauna Bus, Ruka
FINLAND FACTS:
- LANGUAGE – Finnish
- HELLO – “Hei”
- HOW TO CHEERS – “Kippis”
- BEVERAGE OF CHOICE – Beer
- POPULAR SPORT – Cross-country skiing, ski jumping, athletics, ice hockey, football.
- STAPLE DIET – Fish and meat (usually pork, beef or reindeer).
SECRET HUT
Keen to continue to try new things we arranged a snowshoe hike to the hotels secret hut. In hindsight there was nothing secret it about it considering the number of snow mobiles who whizzed past us, but a another new experience even if we were struggling to stay awake while in the hut!
River Floating & The Sauna Bus, Ruka
SUMMED UP….
- MVP – River floating guide for near scaring my mum out of the experience
- HIGHLIGHT – River floating
- LOWLIGHT – Northern lights
NORTHERN LIGHTS SAFARI
The last activity of Dad’s birthday would unfortunately have to be considered as a waste of time. The cloud has been so dense over the past few days that you can barely see anything during the hours of ‘daylight’ so we expected to see nothing that evening. I suppose we are a family who has serious FOMO issues so we joined in anyway.
We thought we were in luck when people started call out and jumping in pure delight, only to get out from the comfort of my seat to see the smallest cluster of green I have seen…again, you cant win them all!!!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Not a bad start to Ruka, a day of skiing and a day of activities for Dad’s birthday. The resort is small and not quite the Alps, but for a few days skiing is more than good enough.
NEXT UP
2nd time lucky at the karting? Reindeer yoga and NYE in Lapland!! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
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This post was part of The Lapland Series. To view my Instagram highlights click here.
If you would rather read the rest of the series from the blog just click here.
