Earlier this week, when I visited ICEHOTEL 365, I met this sleepy Iceman hugging his pillow while looking for a place to lay down. I guess that he was looking for his room in the classic (seasonal) section of the hotel. But he was to early! This part of the Icehotel will be opened officially on 15 December at 6 pm. The sleepy Iceman therefore curled up on a chair for a well deserved nap while waiting for his room to be completed.
The worldfamous Icehotel is located in Jukkasjarvi next to Torne river, 11 km from Kiruna. The "ice part" of the hotel will always melt down at spring time and a new hotel will be built during early winter for the following season. This practise will continue also in the future. The winter season 2017/18 will be the 28th for the classic Icehotel. In addition to the seasonal part of the hotel a new, permanent 2.100 sq meter facility, ICEHOTEL 365, is ready to welcome guests from far and near.
The year around temperature inside ICEHOTEL 365 will be -5°C and to keep the temperature below zero also in the summertime, a 600 sqm solar panel has been placed on the roof of the ice storage hall. The solar panel will generate 130.000 kWh, more than enough for ICEHOTEL 365 and all the other buildings on the premises.
The Icehotel's famous icebar is now located inside the ICEHOTEL 365. This seasons theme is "fuzzy icecream" and MR FUZZ is keeping an eye on everyone visiting the bar. With direct access from the bar you will find 9 luxurious suites (with private bathroom and sauna) and 11 art suites.
The local moose community knows very well when it's meal time at Ofelas farm in Puoltsa. Yesterday morning 19 members showed up at breakfast time. Soon after they were all happily munching hay together with the horses in the enclosed pasture. The king of the forest was even bolder than his friends. He walked up all the way to the hay sled parked in front of the stable in order to get his free meal.
Meanwhile, inside the stable kitchen, Ofelas overnight guests enjoyed watching the big moose bull having breakfast while they were enjoying smooked moose meat...
Today the sun was visible over the horizon for 2 hours and 30 minutes. But soon we can enjoy a period without direct sun light. Puoltsa is located 90 miles (145 km) north of the Polar Circle. Polar Night is the opposite of the Midnight Sun, when none of the Sun's disc is visible above the horizon at all. It only happens within Polar Circles.
From 11 Dec 2017 until 1 Jan 2018 it will be down all day in Puoltsa due to its geographical location. All my flashlights are now fully charged! But already on Jan 2nd the Sun will be visible here for a full 42 minutes - unless it is a cloudy day.
Bringin in hay to the stable by snowmobile is often done in the dark this time of the year.
After 20 days of R&R at home upon my return from Las Palmas I will now cool off in Swedish Lapland. The quicksilver hit -30°C yesterday when i landed at Kiruna Airport. My dear ex Norwegian colleagues took really good care of me. (I must admit that I miss my great colleagues and my airline work at 10.000 meter above ground.)
During three weeks I will now stay at Ofelas farm in Poultsa as a farmhand/handymen. Guests from around the world visit the farm for a few hours or a full week. Main activities in the winter include horse back riding on Icelandic horses or snowmobile safaris, both with good chances to meet moose and reindeer in the forest. At night you can sometimes enjoy Northern Lights.
I help out as a transfer guide, many guests are staying at the worldfamous "Icehotel" in Jukkasjarvi. At the farm I fix broken fences and try to start diesel engines - both a challenge at -30°C! At a more pleasant temperature I clean the stable and prepare meals for our guests. At Ofelas it is possible to gain insight in Sami culture and traditions.
Pixel and her crew under command of cpt Micke (Mikael Lindell) is doing well on her 4th day at sea. Her position in cruising cat. C is number one and she is just now 10th among all boats (including multihull).
All four More 55 are now on their way to St. Lucia. Two of Pixel's sister ships are doing well: "More Amore" is 3rd in cat. C and "Athene" is 7th in cat. C. Due to various technical problems the last boat in the family, "Solid White", was not able to leave Las Palmas until early this morning. Her position now is 15th in cat. C and 183rd among all boats. Let's hope that she will catch up with her sisters!
For more information and details about these and other participants in ARC 2017 please visit: www.worldcruising.com.
It is now time for me to say goodbye to Pixel. On November 19 she will cross the Atlantic in a westerly direction to St. Lucia as a participant of the ARC 2017 race. ARC is an abbreviation of "Atlantic Rally for Cruisers". Her new crew will arrive Nov 11 but Micke, our captain, will continue to sail. Approximately 260 sailing boats of various sizes will participate in the rally out which 19 are sailing with Swedish crew. I wish Pixel favourable winds and a winning position.
I will today leave Las Palmas and cross a corner of the Atlantic in a northeastern direction in order to reach my home near Stockholm, Sweden. But instead of sailing I will fly Norwegian. I am looking forward to meet former colleagues on duty on my flight home. I have been flying LPA-ARN many times in the past. Our crew hotel during the last couple of years was St. Catalina, a classic ☆☆☆☆☆ hotel. Yesterday I took a walk to the hotel together with Annika. I had then had a chance to show her the beautiful garden behind the hotel - a favourite spot for taking wedding photos.
