跟隨薩米人狩獵北極光

讀過《尼爾斯騎鵝旅行記》的人，有沒有“像尼爾斯一樣飛去拉普蘭”的心愿？拉普蘭在歐洲的最北部，大部分位于北極圈內。北京直飛赫爾辛基，或在哥本哈根轉機到達赫爾辛基后，于Ivalo機場降落，就進入了拉普蘭地區。雖不能騎鵝飛來，但長途飛行之后，拉普蘭會以北極獨有的風光等待你—純白色的世界，冰與雪，松與柏。

拉普蘭是一片遼遠神秘的土地，這里除了有北極光出現，還生活著薩米人—他們是歐洲游牧民族的后裔，如今被稱為“歐洲最后的土著”。直到21世紀的今日，薩米人依然遠離喧囂，在拉普蘭飼養馴鹿，過著寧靜質樸的生活。跟隨薩米人體驗北極光躍動的冬日，是別具浪漫的選擇。

在北極圈乘坐馴鹿雪橇

在Ivalo夜晚追極光，冰天雪地的，白天能做什么呢？別擔心，有趣的活動有很多。例如馴鹿雪橇。兩個小時的雪橇體驗，每人120歐元。盡管價格不菲，多數旅行者還是選擇體驗—原因簡單：好不容易來到北極，誰不想親眼看看圣誕老人的坐騎？

生活在芬蘭的馴鹿常年在曠野中悠然散步，看起來很自由，但其實沒有一只是野生馴鹿，全部是大范圍放養的。放養人呢，當然是有“馴鹿民族”之稱的薩米人。報名預約后，馴鹿牧場的主人會開車來酒店接游客。他們一身傳統的薩米彩色服飾，長褲和靴子都是馴鹿皮制作的，配在一起帥極了。到達馴鹿牧場，大家首先需要更衣—換上更加保暖的藍色連身羽絨服和專用雪地靴。兩人乘坐一只雪橇，工作人員會按照乘客的體重、身高分配拉雪橇的馴鹿。等馴鹿站在眼前了，才忽然發現，這鹿的模樣好生奇怪！如果不是頭上的鹿角，這體型和粗脖子，簡直就是小牛犢！可是，屁股上的尾巴倒是很堅持“鹿道”—短小利落，絕不似牛尾巴亂甩。

馴鹿雪橇隊伍出發了！五六只馴鹿排成一隊，每只鹿的身后拖著一只木制的雪橇。小鹿任勞任怨，低頭負重，慢慢向前蹭，頗有老牛風范；馴鹿雪橇的隊伍穿越松原，吱扭吱扭，吱扭吱扭。按說，馴鹿是圣誕老人的坐騎，應該跑得快才對。可憑它們拉雪橇的速度，大家對圣誕老人一夜間能送全世界孩子們禮物這事持嚴重懷疑……抬頭忽見淡淡的彩虹掛在空中，籠罩著雪原之松。這清冽的空氣、潔凈的松原、淡淡的彩虹和耳邊吱扭吱扭的雪橇聲，是北極送給旅行者的最美禮物。

下雪橇后，薩米人拿來一小籃地苔植物。地苔是馴鹿最喜歡吃的食物，由旅行者送到小鹿嘴邊，算是對剛才辛勞的嘉獎。喂過馴鹿，旅行者們也進入溫暖的休息室，一面喝茶吃點心，一面聽薩米婦人講馴鹿的故事。薩米婦人會取出巨大的、形狀夸張完美的馴鹿角給客人們看，據說它們的尺寸已經大到被吉尼斯紀錄收錄的程度。也有靈巧可愛的小鹿角，放在小孩子頭上正正好。茶畢，每位客人都會得到一張馴鹿駕馭證，有效期5年。據說，如在野外遇到馴鹿，一晃此證，鹿就跪下讓你騎！

Tips

著裝推薦：上裝推薦帶防凍層的羽絨服+保暖衣+羊絨毛衣+圍巾帽子。下裝推薦棉毛褲+羊絨褲+駝絨棉褲+寬松的防風羽絨褲。

Dress： anti-cold down wadded coat + thermal wear + cashmere sweater + scarf and hat for the top； cotton trousers + cashmere trousers + camel wool padded cotton trousers + down wadded trousers.

Tips

在芬蘭拉普蘭地區的羅瓦涅米（Rovaniemi）以北8公里處的北極圈上，有一個圣誕老人村（Santa Claus's House）。每天都有游客來到這里一睹圣誕老人的真面容。

8 kilometers to the north of Rovaniemi， Lapland is the Santa Claus's House， which is visited all year round by tourists who wish to meet face to face with Santa Claus.

Have you ever wished to fly to Lapland when you read the Wonderful Adventures of Nils？ Mostly in the Arctic Circle， Lapland is at the north end of Europe. You can fly from Beijing direct or transfer via Copenhagen to Helsinki， and continue north for 2 hours until you reach Ivalo airport， the gateway to Lapland. Await you there is a world of pureness， of ice， snow， pine and cedar. In this vast and mystic land lives the Sami， the descendants of indigenous European herdsmen. Till today， the Sami still lead a simple lifestyle herding reindeer away from the bustle and hustle of cities. In the Lapland winter， we followed the Sami onto a romantic journey.

Reindeer Sledding

Don’t know what to do at daytime？ Don’t worry. There are plenty of interesting activities you could join in. On top of the list is Reindeer Sledding. Even though a 2 hour ride costs 120 Euros， most travelers to the North Pole would not hesitate to try out the ride of the Santa Claus.

The reindeer in Finland are often found roaming free， but they are not wild animals but owned and herded by the Sami people. We booked a reindeer safari for the first day and the owner of the reindeer farm dressed in colorful Sami traditional clothes and boots and trousers made of reindeer hide picked us up from the hotel. The first thing after we arrived at the farm was to change into a warmer one piece anti-cold down wadded coat and snowshoes. Each sleigh seats two passengers and is pulled by a reindeer assigned by the farm owner according to the weight and height of the passengers. At close range， the reindeer is quite odd-looking. Without the antlers， I might easily mistake it as a calf， except for its extremely short tail.

The safari set off with 5 to 6 reindeer in a row. They trudged ahead and took us across the pine tree forest as fast as a slow moving ox， which made us doubt how Santa Claus could send gifts to kids all over the world in this slow ride. But we enjoyed everything during the 2 hours-- the vague rainbow in the sky， the chilly air， the clean forest， the snow capped pine trees， and the squeak of snow.

After the ride， the Sami took out a basket of lichen for us to feed the reindeer. We then entered a warm lounge where we enjoyed refreshments and stories told by the Sami women. They showed us Guinness-record-size weird-looking antlers as well as cute little ones that could fit on a child’s head. In the end， each of us was given a reindeer ride license valid up to five years. It was said that if we show it to a reindeer in the wild， it will knelt down so we can ride on it.

跟著薩米人冰上垂釣

第二天要去的是一個叫做熊湖的地方。在拉普蘭地區有很多可供冰上垂釣的湖泊，即使已經到北極圈的邊緣，湖泊依然被綿延幾公里的冰河森林包圍著。一大早起來，向導帶著大家認識當天的新朋友，一群哈士奇。和它們打完招呼后，向導說：駕駛著哈士奇雪橇需要不停的跟哈士奇“說話”，以免它們走神，領頭的哈士奇Dash甚至可以在拉雪橇的過程中將草叢中的野兔拉出來并“就地處決”。向導說完，喊了一聲“Hike”，哈士奇們就駕著車前進了，我們的雪橇也都跟在后面。

到達熊湖后，向導把裝備發給大家，有帶齒的橡膠靴子和一個裝有餌料和食物的背包，還有一個橙色的鉆孔器。大家都既興奮又緊張的踏上冰湖，仔細聆聽冰面會不會在自己腳下發出咯吱咯吱的聲音，或許還在想象冰面裂開導致大家游冬泳的景象。向導突然打破沉默說“不要擔心，冰面厚得可以承受一輛車”，大家還是一臉困惑的表情，于是他拿出鉆孔器，大概5分鐘，鑿了一個洞。大家湊過去看，冰層大概有30～40cm厚，證明所有擔心都是多余的。每年10月到3月是結冰面積最大的時候，成群的鮭魚和彩虹魚都會在湖中，可以看到很多人手里握著伏特加在此釣魚。很快大家都找好自己的地點，鑿好洞，時間都很短，不過卻比想象中更費力。

然后大家拿出一個塑料釣魚竿，還不到40cm長，像個玩具。接著，把假蠕蟲放在鉤子上，慢慢地把線放到冰洞中。按照向導說的步驟，一旦注意到線已經觸及到湖的底部了，就回收半米線，鎖上滑輪。據說，釣魚主要是99%的運氣和1%的技術，比如彩虹魚總是成群的在同一個地方游，如果運氣好，在它們聚集的地點造鑿了洞，也許幾分鐘就能掉到魚。如果等一段時間沒有魚，就換了一個地方再鑿一個洞。等待中，可以聽見冰洞下嘩嘩的流水聲，遠處隱約有狼的吼聲在回蕩。很多時候離你不遠處的友人就已經釣到了魚，而你還在等待。不過終于有魚上鉤的那一刻的喜悅是難以言喻的。導游說薩米人總是很享受自然和戰勝自然，除了釣魚，現在的薩米人也常常乘著雪地車穿著雪地靴進行遠足，甚至在整個拉普蘭地區進行滑雪和狗拉雪橇的戶外活動。

Ice Fishing

On the second day we traveled to a place called Bear Lake. Even though we’re merely a few kilometers to the periphery of the arctic， we are surrounded by acres of pine tree forests with the frozen lake stretching for miles， many of which are good for ice fishing. At dawn， our guide introduced us to a pack of huskies and asked us to keep “talking” to them to help them remain focused. According to him， the lead dog， named Dash， could even scare out and hunt wild rabbits down while pulling sleighs ahead. He shouted out a loud “Hike” and the huskies darted ahead.

Upon arrival， each of us was handed a pair of plastic boot， a bag of food and bait， and an orange drill. We stepped on the ice both excited and anxious， wondering if the ice beneath our feet would crack and we would be swimming in ice-cold water. “Don’t worry. The ice is so thick it can even support the weight of a truck.” Our guide broke silence. But we were doubtful and it seemed to show on our faces. To reassure us， he took out an ice drill and bore a hole into the ice. It took him approximately five minutes， and once he reached the water， we poke our heads through the hole and felt slightly more convinced.The ice layer is about 30-40cm thick. The lake freezes each year from October to March， and pods of salmon and rainbow trout live in this lake all year round. There were already people fishing while drinking vodka. We found ourselves a comfortable spot and proceeded to drill our holes. It took more strength than I’d imagined， but soon enough， I’m ready to drop my line.

We pulled out a less-than-40cm plastic fishing rod， put on the bait， dropped into the hole， and once it reached the bottom of the lake， pulled up 50 cm and locked the pulley. Some say ice-fishing depends on 99% skill and 1% luck. The rainbow trout always swim in one place， if you are lucky enough to drill the hole above them， you will be able to get a catch within munities. Otherwise you may need to change your location. We were soon engulfed by a calm soothing silence， except for the occasional wolf howling echoing in the distance. The guide told us that the Sami has always enjoyed being surrounded by nature. Besides ice-fishing， they also lead excursions on snowmobiles and snowshoes， cross-country skiing and dog sledding.

拉普蘭天空的交響樂

拉普蘭的夜晚，充滿了盼望與奇跡。入夜后，人們可以在極光觀測點抬頭望天，等待幸運，也可以隨車奔馳在雪原，做個極光狩獵者。

出發去Kittila看極光之前，可以先享用一頓薩米族晚餐，晚餐的肉類都是薩米人狩獵的當季動物。晚餐過程中，薩米老人說：我們不飼養馴鹿，是馴鹿在飼養我們。再次說明了薩米人和馴鹿之間深厚的關系。薩米人的原始小木屋房構造及其簡單，一個裝有飲用水的水罐，幾個睡袋，房屋中間有個小小的柴火堆。老人提醒我們脫掉靴子烤火，這樣能最快的溫暖身體。廁所在屋外的另一個小房間，需要用抽水器抽水。僅僅是這些簡單的設施，已經足夠滿足薩米人遠離城市的質樸生活了。

然后在薩米向導兼司機—一位身高體胖的大叔的帶領下，驅車向北，一路追光，一直走到芬蘭、挪威與俄羅斯3國的交界處。薩米向導會頻繁地短暫關閉車燈，尋找每一處應該停車的地方。遇光停車，拍照，嘆息，再前行。極光格外眷顧人們，他們整晚在天空長袖善舞、天女散花、隨風飄蕩。有的極光是橋狀的，雪野蒼蒼中，西湖斷橋似的一束光帶橫在天邊。淡淡的綠色，像是舞臺上的水袖，它在空中慢慢地移動，舒卷，時長時短，根部細小而清晰，漸漸長大變粗，到了尾部，就如煙霞一樣，飄散在星空里。這形狀的極光很像彩虹—氣貫長虹—這詞也適合極光的氣勢。

行走在茫茫大地上，薩米向導給大家講拍攝極光時單反相機設定的最佳數值，講馴鹿的馴養狀況，以及一則流傳在薩米人中的傳說：冬天到了，天上的火狐貍奔跑過北極荒原，尾巴濺起了雪花，他們就幻化為極光！所以，它們也稱極光為“狐貍之火”。這樣浪漫的想象、無羈的思緒，配得上北極光的靈動與闊大！

Tips

極光出現在9月至次年3月。其中，9月、10月期間，湖水尚未結冰，可以看到極光在湖面上的倒影。

Northern lights can be seen from September to March. In September and October when the lakes are not frozen， you could see northern lights reflections on the lakes.

向導還鎮定地告訴大家，前一日太陽有一次劇烈的爆發，一般來說18～24個小時之后，也就是這個時段，地球會迎來極光的高潮……他的話引來小規模驚呼，讓極光狩獵者愈發期待。 行車中，忽然一只小小的動物出現在車前部的燈光里，靈活的身體，長長的尾巴，一眨眼竄到路旁的黑暗中去了——“Fox！”——向導介紹說。未來得及壓下驚奇，一只馴鹿橫過馬路，在燈光里成了剪影，鹿角如巨大的樹枝一般完美。尋極光的路上，驚喜不斷，樂趣多多。而拉普蘭的天空，就像露天音樂廳；夜晚的北極光，宛如一首波瀾壯闊的交響樂，樂長3小時，作曲、指揮、演奏者均為大自然！

除了冰上垂釣、坐馴鹿雪橇和追尋極光，你還可以在世界一流的滑雪場滑雪，可以租一輛雪地摩托體驗北國的速度，還可以嘗試傳統的芬蘭浴：在桑拿之后直接跳入桑拿室外的湖水或雪地掘出的冰水池中，如此這般，反復數遍，直至通體舒泰……

拉普蘭的日日夜夜，無不充滿精彩與神奇，靜待你的到來。

Night Sky Symphony

The nights in Lapland are full of hope and miracle. After dusk， you can either wait at an observation point， or drive in the wild to seek the northern lights.

Before we left for Kittila to watch the northern lights， we had a Sami dinner at an aboriginal wooden hut， where we were served with seasonal hunt. A Sami elderly shared with us their close tie to reindeer， “We do not feed reindeer， the reindeer feeds us”. The hut furnishing is simple but adequate， a water jar， several sleep bags， an open fireplace， and a water ejector equipped toilet outside in a separate hut.

Our guide， a strong and tall Sami， drove us all the way north to the joint Finnish， Norwegian and Russian border area. Every now and then， he would stop the car and turn off the lights so we could step out to take photos. We were lucky to have a whole night of northern lights， some in the shape of bridge， spreading across the sky， some in light green， rolling like a long sleeve and thinning like haze， and some like rainbow， dancing in the sky with its beautiful colors.

Under the vast lighted sky， the guide told us how to configure our cameras， how they head reindeer， and the Sami legend about northern lights. According to local folklore， the lights were caused by a magical fox sweeping its tail across the snow， spraying it up into the sky.

When he told us in calm voice that a sun eruption the day before would supercharge the northern lights 18 to 24 hours later， about the time we were out there， we applauded in excitement. Just then， a small animal appeared in the flashlight. “Fox”， exclaimed the guide. A while later， a reindeer crossed the road again， leaving behind a tree-like shade of its antlers. In the concert hall of the boundless sky， we enjoyed a 3-hour magnificent symphony of northern lights， written， conducted and played by Mother Nature.

Apart from ice fishing， reindeer sledding， and northern lights seeking， you could also try here skiing， snowmobile， or Finnish bath -- jumping between sauna bath and freezing water until you are fully relaxed.

Lapland promises wonder and amazement every day and night， all you need is to hop on a flight.