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The Little Explorers' Journal
Archie’s Lapland Journal
Intrepid Explorers Log #1
My name is Archie, and I’m one of the Intrepid Explorers. Whenever I travel somewhere, I write about my travel experiences in a journal.
Today, we’re heading to Lapland in Finland.
I just spent a few days there with my friend Violet (The three other Intrepid Explorers, Ruby, Max and Alex, couldn’t make it) and a local boy we met there called Romeo.
And so much has happened!
If you haven’t read the story of our adventure yet, you can access it for free by clicking the image below.
After Violet and I discovered Tanerko, we had some time to explore Lapland—and this will probably remain one of the best trips of my life!
Here’s what I liked about this place…
Lapland Wildlife
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Being in Lapland is like stepping into a wildlife documentary—except this time, you’re part of the cast.
Reindeers were everywhere. Veeti, our guide, even told us that there are more reeinders than people in Lapland!
Romeo called them ‘snow cows,’ which made Violet giggle so hard she slipped on the ice. Veeti also told us that male reindeer’s antlers fall off each winter and grow back in spring. I gasped, ‘That’s so cool,’ and Violet muttered, ‘And completely useless information. Violet prefers small, cute animals, as she calls them.
We also spotted an Arctic fox. Violet caught it on her phone—it looked like it was posing for a magazine cover. ‘It’s like a snowball with designer fur,’ she said. Veeti reminded us that Arctic foxes’ fur changes colour with the seasons.
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And then there were the wolves. We heard one of them howling during one of our hikes, and it’s a sound I’ll never forget. I leaned over Violet and said, ‘Should we play my mum’s 90’s playlist?’ Remember how I scared away the wolf using this playlist during our adventure?
But we didn’t need to. We saw the white wolf from afar. It was beautiful and as white as the snow. It was probably just curious because it looked at us for a second and continued.
Later, Veeti told us about wolverines. “They’ll take on animals way bigger than them.”
We didn’t see one (Violet was pretty relieved when we went back to the hotel after this wildlife tour), but we sure heard plenty about them. “They’ll roam up to 15 miles in a day just to find food!” Veeti said.
“And they eat anything. Rodents, berries, plants and even Rabbits!” he added.
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On the last day of our trip, Veeti took us on a snowmobile tour. We wanted to see the Saimaa Ringed Seals. As you already know, they live near Lake Saimaa.
Once we arrived at the lake, we spotted a colony of about 30 seals. They’re mostly dark grey, like a stormy sky, with these funky white rings on their backs that look like little shiny bubbles. The underside is a lighter grey, kind of like snow. Apparently, these seals can hold their breath underwater for up to 30 minutes, which is pretty impressive! And each one has a unique fur pattern, kind of like how humans have fingerprints. They’re also really playful! One of them popped its head up to check out what Romeo was doing and started following him around. It was hilarious! We couldn’t stop laughing.
On the way back, I was riding with Veeti. He told me that this is one of the world’s most endangered and rare seals. They can only be spotted in Lake Saimaa.
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But the coolest thing we saw was an Eurasian Lynx. It’s super hard to spot, and it usually hunts at night. Veeti said we were lucky because most people never see one. The lynx we saw was standing near the trees. Veeti stopped the snowmobile, and we all saw it climb up a tree using its sharp claws to grip the bark.
I didn’t expect to see anything that cool on this trip, but it was definitely one of the highlights!
I can’t wait for our next adventure—who knows what amazing animals we’ll see next time!
Archie
The Intrepid Explorer
Now that you've discovered the wonders of Lapland, why not take the adventure home with you? Grab your apron and check out the awesome recipe for Lohikeitto, a creamy salmon soup! It’s like bringing a little taste of Finland straight to your kitchen. Ready to cook like an explorer? Let’s get started!