Going south to Kuopio via the Kajaani Castle
Continuing south we see our last reindeer, eat lunch at Hesburger and then visit Kajaani Castle before stopping for the night in Kuopio
Rovaniemi, the home of Santa Claus, maybe
The first major stop for today is Rovaniemi with the focus on the Santa Claus villages in the self proclaimed home of Santa Claus
A crashed plane in Pallas Yllastunturi National Park
We return from Sweden to our accommodation via a very roundabout route stopping to find a crashed plane and seeing lots of reindeer on the way
Vasikkavuoma naturreservat, a bucolic area
Our last stop in Sweden is at a nature preserve with beautiful rural landscapes and picture perfect views
Visiting a Struve Geodetic Arc survey point at Jupukka
Crossing into Sweden we explore the Struve Geodetic Arc Survey Point at Jupukka which is part of an Unesco WHS
Tervetuloa Sompasen hiking trail
First stop today is a short hike on Tervetuloa Sompasen to explore the Lappish forest and enjoy some great views of the area
Staying on the Arctic Circle
We stay a couple nights on the Arctic Circle exploring the area viewing reindeer and also taking a short jaunt to Sweden for a few hours
Looking for birds at Liminganlahti Bird Sanctuary
From Jakobstad we go north to the Arctic Circle meeting our first reindeer with only a few stops on the way with the major one being Liminganlahti Bird Sanctuary
Jakobstad, the Swedish town in Finland
After overnighting in Jakobstad we spend the morning exploring the compact but nice old downtown area before continuing further north
The interesting but closed Wolf Cave (Susiluola)
The last stop for today is the largest cave in Finland, Wolf Cave or Susiluola, that can be accessed via a short trail but is closed for entry unfortunately