DOG
SLED EXPEDITIONFINLAND 2009
DOG
SLED EXPEDITION
FINLAND 2009
(updated 4 June 2008)
Tue.
Mar. 10:
Welcome to Helsinki, Finland!
We will be met by a long time family friend; a native Finn who will be
our guide and translator until we return to Helsinki.
Helsinki is a crossroads of culture, architecture, history and
cuisine. There are fine shops with
treasures that reflect the purity of Finnish design.
Stockmann has Sami handicrafts, Finnish textiles, Kalevala Koru and
Lapponia jewelry.
HOTEL: (HELSINKI)
Wed.
Mar. 11:
Breakfast will be provided every morning.
Flight departure, Helsinki.
Flight arrival Kittila, Lappland, north of the Arctic Circle!
We will stay at one of the finest spa / ski resorts in all of
Scandinavia! This beautiful complex
at the base of Levi Mountain will provide for our use a huge heated pool that
extends to the outdoors, sauna, steam baths and gymnasium.
The entire area will be covered with a blanket of snow.
In the afternoon, new snowmobiles, thermal suits and the services of a
professional guide will be provided for a 4-hour ride over the mountain tops and
through the surrounding forests. This
ride is faster and wilder than you would ever imagine!
We will visit a reindeer farm where we will drive our own sleighs pulled
by semi-domesticated reindeer. This
part of Lappland is magnificent. Discos
are open late and the night clubs even later. (On our way home at night we will probably see the Northern
Lights!)
SPA RESORT: (SIRKKA)
Thur.
Mar. 12:
Private vehicle with driver to our husky camp in an extremely remote
area; part of the largest unspoiled wilderness in Europe.
It is from here that we will begin our dog sledding expedition. We will be fitted with our thermal suits and boots and
assigned our team of huskies. Each
of us will have our own sled, which, as “mushers,” we will drive ourselves.
The services of professional sledding guides will be provided.
Our main guide is known throughout the frozen North of our world. He has won countless international races with the very dogs
that make up our teams. After a
high adrenaline start, we begin a drive through winding forest trails, allowing
us to get acquainted with our sleds, dogs and the terrain.
We will stay in a large log cabin with a wood burning stove in the
central room. There is a large
sauna by the lake, a luxury you will appreciate!
All meals will be provided until we return to Helsinki.
CABIN: (WILDERNESS OF LAPPLAND)
Fri.
Mar. 13:
Today is a longer day, along trails through spruce forests and across
numerous frozen rivers and lakes. Lunches are typically sausages roasted over
a campfire with hot soup, tea and coffee.
On arrival at camp, there will be fires to light in the stoves and sauna,
ice holes to drill in the lake for water and; of course, the dogs to feed. The dinners will be excellent; quite often including
smoked salmon or reindeer stew.
CABIN: (WILDERNESS OF LAPPLAND)
Sat.
Mar. 14:
By today you will feel like a veteran musher; in command of your own team
of the best Siberian huskies, going full sped through dense forests. We will cross vast, snow-covered lakes in silence except for
the hiss of the sled.
CABIN: (WILDERNESS OF LAPPLAND)
Sun.
Mar. 15:
Today we will experience a little of all that we have come to enjoy wile
sledding. We know each of our
dogs’ characteristics (and they know ours!).
CABIN: (WILDERNESS OF LAPPLAND)
Mon.
Mar. 16:
A short sled ride back to the husky camp; then some emotional farewells.
We have come to know and respect our guides; and to feel an affection for
our huskies. Private vehicle,
with driver, to the airport in Kittila.
Flight departure, Kittila.
Arrive Helsinki. A
24-Hour Helsinki Card will be provided.
This will give us free admissions to all museums, many other attractions,
and most public transportation. It
also grants us discounts at some of the city’s finest shops.
Gourmet restaurants abound; featuring every type of the world’s
cuisine. Perhaps the most
impressive is the Russian restaurant, “Saslik.”
Pass through its massive doors and you are in the time of the czars;
opulence and self-indulgence are the dominant themes (no wonder there was a
revolution!).
HOTEL: (HELSINKI)
Tue.
Mar. 17:
You can relax and explore Helsinki on your own.
There are over 40 museums; eight feature major art exhibitions.
Tonight, you will want to go to “Zetor,” one of the wildest (and
friendliest) nightspots in Helsinki: music, dancing, Finnish beer and cider;
and, some of the most beautiful people you can imagine.
HOTEL: (HELSINKI)
Total cost of $4,980.00 ($5,328.00, effective Friday, June 6 for new participants) (per person, double occupancy* except at cabins) includes helsinki / kittila flights); all hotel, spa resort and cabin stays; all transfers; buffet breakfasts at all hotels; services of a guide / translator, Helsinki to Helsinki; an afternoon of snowmobiling with a professional guide; reindeer sleighing; private vehicles with drivers as noted; thermal suits, boots, a dog sled and team of huskies for each person, training in sled driving, and the services of professional, English-speaking sledding guides; all meals while dog sledding and at the cabins; and, a 24-hour Helsinki Card.
*Single supplements for all hotel and spa resort nights are available for an additional $300.00 per person.
A non-refundable payment of $2,490.00, payable to W.S. DONAHOO and received at:
will be required for reservations.
BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF BEDS IN THE CABINS, AVAILABLE SPACES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED TO 12 PARTICIPANTS ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS, UPON RECEIPT OF INITIAL PAYMENTS.
ALL PAYMENTS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE; Payments are not transferable to other passengers nor other trips. Credit cards are not accepted.
* There is no additional cost for those signing on alone.
Final payments will be due in December, 2008. Failure to pay on time will result in the cancellation of your reservation and forfeiture of your initial payment.
Items in italics are not included, but are suggestions based on location and time available. Initial flights to and from Helsinki, taxes at foreign airports, porterage, and gratuities are not included.
Passports, valid for 6 months after the end of this trip, will be required.
Buz Donahoo, Condor
Adventures
Post Office Box 3415
Winter Park, FL 32790, USA
Tel/Fax (407) 645-0490
buz@condoradventures.com