We decided to start blog in our website. It will be more or less my thoughts about topic issues and our life with my family and huskies next to the Riisitunturi National park. Many of you are already following us in Facebook and Instagram but this blog has probably sometimes little bit deeper thoughts about life here.
COVID-19
We have lived strange times since last March. Covid-19 caused sudden stop for our season and it seems that it will effect even more for the next winter. Companies all over Lapland are thinking about future and how to survive. No matter if company is located Posio, Ruka, Kuusamo, Suomutunturi or Rovaniemi, you can’t be sure how is your future. Do we have clients next winter at all? Is it possible to come to Finland from abroad? How is domestic travelling next winter? Lots of questions and not so many answers.
We have 80 adult huskies and five puppies here in Kota-Husky
Autumn has come and leaves has started to fall from the trees. Dark evenings and cold nights. Huskies knows that it is time to start training for the next winter season. They know that soon they are able to do the thing they love the most, pull the sled where two of happy travellers are enjoying their journey. Kuukunen has probably been thinking that why is Lauri sometimes so quiet and in his own thoughts? Cuuro has been wondering why he is not noticing me even that I’m leaning on his leg and waiting some petting? After while they forget those thoughts and move forward in their lives. Maybe Kuukunen and Cuuro are watching some birds or smelling fresh autumn air. Both of them are happy. Should we learn something form the dogs? Well, lots of things but one would be their way of living in the moment. They don’t worry about things which has happened before or about the future. They just makes decisions which makes their life better in that exact moment.
Also we as a human shouldn’t worry about things which has happened before or things we can’t effect by ourselves. Of course we have to notice those things and maybe adjust our life little bit so that we can survive. We should be happy for the small daily moments in our lives and concentrate solving out, not to worry, problems which we happen to have in our hands in that moment. If we live our life that way, life must be little bit more simple and same time happier. That’s something I learned from Kuukunen and Cuuro today.
Husky safaris and Finnish travellers in Lapland
In travelling business as many other businesses we live our life before and after COVID-19. Last summer was busy time especially for the accommodation because of domestic travellers we had a lot. Hopefully Finnish people keep travelling here in Lapland also in the future. One big challenge during the years has been how to sell services like husky safaris for the Finns? Can Finnish travellers replace foreign customers? Answer is no. Can we have at least some Finnish? I think we can have plenty. We have always concentrated so much for foreign travellers that I suppose nobody has not even tried to market these services so much for the Finnish people. Why we even should have done that because we have had enough clients from other countries? Of course Finnish people has used to snow and that is not so exotic thing for them but not so many of them has been standing on the runners of the sled which is pulled by six arctic huskies full of power. I think this would be great experience for everybody, no matter if you are from Australia, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands or….Finland.
Being an entrepreneur is not always easy
So, what do you think if we just stop whining, take the lines and carts from the storage and start training the huskies like we always do to make sure they are in perfect fit in December! I am sure we will have some clients who are ready to have once in the lifetime adventure with us in Riisitunturi National Park. We don’t care if they are Finnish or other side of the world, we are ready! Probably we don’t have so many clients coming winter what we are used in few last seasons but we will concentrate them even better than before and make sure they will remember this experience rest of their life.
Being an entrepreneur is not always easy. We have lots of challenges especially now when COVID-19 tries to bring us down. What we must do is fight back and not surrender. After we have survived through these difficult times we are much stronger to face the next battle. Being entrepreneur is my way of living and I love this. I enjoy all the challenges which ever comes in front of me and I know that I never give up! COVID-19, you have lost this battle.
“It is so exciting to live. Everything can turn upside down in seconds – for no reason.”
– Moomintroll