With winter just around the corner, I want to tell you how we survived the crash at full speed towards the wall. That's how it really felt. In Lapland, spring spirits were at their best, when that little "nasty" Covid-19 virus changed everything in an instant. The doors were slammed shut and Levi closed. At first I was depressed. How do we get through this? Not only did tourism stop, but also schools closed, hobby places closed and children were transferred to home school. I had to lay off the staff and worked alone in the office. At the moment, three phones were ringing at the same time and customers were inquiring because I would refund their prepaid accommodation fees, which they could not use. The whole of Finland and the world had stopped. I wondered what the point of all this was, and at the same speed as the money dwindled from the company's accounts, I began to lose faith in our company's chances of survival.

ADVENTURES IN THE FALLS SPRING IN THE SUN

I had never seen our village bathed in the beautiful spring sun so quiet. My recovery began when my family and I climbed to the top of a fell for the first time without answering to anyone. So we didn't see the cross soul. We went down the slopes of Levitunturi with a pole at breakneck speed, we climbed the trees with the children and it was a great feeling when we topped the last käkkärämäni of the tree line one by one. When I sat in the treetop and looked towards the north and the seven keros of Pallas, it felt like the whole world had stopped, and it had. Looking from the top of the tree, the whole of Lapland was under my eyes, and I got a strong feeling that nature continues its cycle of the year now, always and forever. That's how human life goes on. Closeness to nature is the permanent element here in Lapland, arctic wild nature is the refuge from which I found comfort and strength when the world around me closed down. It made my mind spark and the child inside me wake up and go crazy. Those moments in the fells made me believe in the future again, that this new normal will bring something new and wonderful.

PEAK WINTER SEASON 2019-20

I managed to finish the season, although not a single tourist arrived. I was working in the office and finally the end of April and May Day came. I had gotten all the advance payments returned and now it was time to leave behind that PEAK winter season 2019-20. It had been great and even though the world had heard news about that strange virus, we tourism professionals here in distant Lapland could not or did not want to believe in the power of the virus and the total shutdown it would lead to. When travelers had been arriving through the windows and doors all winter, this closing of the doors seemed surreal, only in a wonderland could this happen to Liisa. Now the time had come to start walking towards new paths and think about what that new and wonderful could be. For our family, it had been time together in nature, that precious time that had often been left behind by the rush and the season. We had become the team that overcame difficulties at home school and went on adventures in the fells in the afternoons.

VISION OF THE FUTURE - THE NEW NORMAL

I followed myself more and more closely and I can't describe in words the feeling of freedom and lightness I felt after each of our trips. My belief in being empowered by nature in the midst of a crisis came true when my mind rested and stress was far away while hiking with my family in nature. I had a strong vision that we all need rest and experiences in nature, far from large groups of people, the noise of the city, the children's home school and the whole corona hassle. The time spent in nature with my loved ones became the most important means of survival. And many peaks were conquered during the spring.

THE POWER OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN

In May, when Lapland's record snows began to melt and the midnight sun shone in the sky, my vision became brighter. Although the future looked uncertain, my faith in nature and its healing power was the path I wanted our company to take. For a couple of years, we had been thinking about how to increase the offer of excursions and experiences in nature. I had talked many times with my entrepreneur friend and true feller lover Raiski about his desire to retire, but at the same time find a continuation for his company specializing in nature experiences. He wanted to find a successor who would share his endless love for the fells and Lapland.

LAPLAND'S NATURE EXPERIENCE - EXPERIENCES FOR SUMMER

Now seemed to be the right moment for a new beginning and things fell into place. We made a bold acquisition in July and bought the legendary nature enthusiast Raija "Raiski" Palosaari's Lapland Nature Experience, which specializes in nature activities. My hand was shaking when we signed the deed of sale and I wondered what we were doing. After the deal, I went to the fells to make a fire and a lucky bird, a cuckoo, flew onto my shoulder and at the same moment I knew we were on the right path. A record number of Finnish tourists traveled to Lapland in the summer and it was great to see how they enjoyed themselves. I didn't even have time to count how many smiles and the look of a winner like this in rafting on a car tire, or how many happy hikers returned from Ounasjoki. Not to mention those moments in August, when the first aurora borealis blazed in the sky while we were sitting with the travelers around the campfire on a canoe trip on the Ounasjoki sandbar. I also don't forget the fatbike trips in the wonderful fell landscapes. Summer brought a lot of new experiences, joy, smiles and encounters with travelers, which I had missed so much during the spring break.

NEW WINDS IN RUSKA COLORS

in autumn, my soul really came alive and I went hiking with enthusiasm Pallas-Yllästunturi in the national park, wilderness rivers and nearby fells. Planning new nature activities, retreats and programs inspires me immensely throughout the fall. I love the crisp fresh autumn air and the autumn color scale is like a huge flow of energy for my soul. This fall, the northern lights also blazed on many nights, and my mind often ran away to dance in the night sky. Autumn was crowned by a photography trip with Tuomas Kytömäki's team to Hietajärvi and the fells. We photographed incredibly beautiful fell landscapes from the saddle of a bike, camped on the shore of a pristine fell lake and slept in tents. Lapland's fell nature gave its best. When I burned salmon on the campfire and looked around me in the darkening September evening, I realized how lucky I was to live in the middle of the arctic's delicate nature. That that quiet moment with a steaming cock in my hand next to my beloved entrepreneur spouse Juha is the life I want to live. A life that is as I see it and happy.

NOVEMBER – WINTER COMES

Now that winter is coming, the moment has come when we start to be ready for the publication of new adventures. From now on, they will gradually appear on our pages. The film we are shooting in September is ready and I am looking forward to the feedback from our followers. I hope the film conveys the atmosphere that our team had while making it. We have paddled, cooked on a campfire, cycled, slept in a tent and had a lot of fun while making the film. I sincerely hope that the viewer will be able to convey genuine Lapland hospitality, our passion for camping, and a huge respect for Lapland's delicate arctic nature. This movie has a piece of my heart and I'm happy to share it with you. I am so inspired by all this new stuff that has crept into my life and our company, and my mind is free from that little virus called Covid-19, which is raging around the world again. I believe that all of us "travelling souls" want to travel when that moment comes again and we get to travel!