A farting of huskies

Lesley - the passenger

Today, we went husky sledding.  It was great fun, even though huskies can be capricious with new drivers. We got through the experience unscathed and invigorated. Being lazy I was the passenger, while May was the driver. As our journey continued, I pondered the collective noun for huskies. The passenger in a dog sled has a different view of the experience from the driver. The passenger's nose is at tail height. All I can say is that from now on, 'a farting of huskies' is how I shall consider a collection of canines pulling a sled.

After an unfortunate incident when the dogs saw some reindeer foraging on the frozen lake, everything, except for canine flatulence, settled down, and we spent a lovely hour hurtling through the forest. My driver fell off once when we hit a hidden bump in the track, but she bravely held on and we arrived back none the worse for the experience. Indeed, I was driven the final few hundred metres by the lead dog handler as the team was beginning to play up again, refusing to halt, despite May stamping on the brake with all her strength. Was the experience different? Well, yes - but only because the dog handler shouted at them a lot. I was very impressed by how quickly May got the hang of things and controlled the animals. On the whole, though, I'm glad I wasn't driving as I know I would have fallen off the sled almost immediately.

May - the driver

After warming up, we headed off into Ivalo again in temperatures of -11C (-13C by the time we got back to our hotel rooms later in the afternoon) in search of lunch at the café at the other end of the main drag through the town (15 minutes or so walk). For those who have expressed an interest in Finnish/Sami cuisine, between us we had: orange chicken fricassee and sausage stovies with rye bread and vast amounts of several different salads including carrot and pineapple as well as hot beetroot and carrot. This was followed by coffee and sweet stuff - a cold bread and butter pudding for May and a berry and cream mix for me. 

Russian Orthodox Church, Ivalo

Then we needed a walk! We pottered off in a freezing wind until we found the Orthodox Church, took some photos and walked back to the hotel to take more photos of sunset on the river. Sunset in Ivalo

Now we're preparing for dinner and are hoping the lights will reappear in the sky; it's been such a clear, sunny day that the sky tonight should be equally clear. But will there be sufficient solar activity for a good - or any - display?