Yllas, Lapland

I spent Christmas 2002 in a small village called Yllas in Finnish Lapland. Everywhere looked like a Christmas card and I have dozens of pictures of which just a few are reproduced here. It was very cold indeed; it hovered around -30 degrees, but the holiday company (First Choice) provided us with plenty of appropriate clothing so we were well wrapped up against the elements. Despite arriving on the day after the shortest day, we still had five hours of 'greylight' a day, often tinged with pink.

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Hotel Yllas Kaltio The food was excellent. Cooked breakfast and two 3-course meals a day!	Cabins at Hotel Yllas Kaltio Comfortable cabin with its own sauna, and fully-equipped kitchen.	Traditional teepee called a kota - this one in the grounds of the hotel. Originally these would have been made of wood covered with reindeer skin. Nowadays they are covered with wood or canvas. They have an open fire in the centre - the smoke goes out the hole in the roof.
A husky ride on a frozen lake. This was a 'taster' ride on the first morning. It taught us to respect the cold - it was -30C.	A taster snowmobile ride on the frozen lake.	A ride in a reindeer sleigh on Christmas day. Quite magical - through a silent forest.
The huskies waiting for us to take them on a dash through the forest. They love running, and shoot off like bullets as soon as the brake is taken off!	Some reindeer grazing in a field on Christmas day.	Santa arrives in his reindeer-sleigh, with his elf for company.
Everywhere is like a Christmas card.	The local supermarket has a thermometer on its roof. This day it was -29.	Moonlight in the day.

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