There was the big event the week I was back to Rovaniemi – the Arctic Rally. I was a automotive journalist a while ago in Moscow and can’t just pass their media centre in the Pohjanhovi hotel without saying “hello”.

Photo album

I got a media pass to the rally spots in respect for my motoring background. The team of Italian TV guys offered me a ride in their minivan to all rally’s hot spots. They knew all of them as they kept coming to this event every year. This team seemed to be a big family with brothers/friends, nephews/uncles and suns/fathers relations. All of them were armed with a filming equipment and their director Luca drove them in the different spots. I was having fun while they worked hard.

First sun after Polar night

At that time my friend Johanna whom I stayed with at her apartment was finalising her thesis at the University. The State payed her a stipend, flat, internship and University would partly help her future employer to pay her a salary. That how it works in Finland. We became friends in Johannesburg, where she got her internship  in a huge international trading company.

Arctic Rally

There are great expats’ parties in the “golden” Sandton City area of Johannesburg, but this one we remember best of all. One girl leaded us to the “well known” karaoke place. It turned to be a dirty Chinese place a bit away from “the richest square mile”. I was about to turn back to my car but felt sorry for the girl who invited us, she looked embarrassed. The waiter brought a horrible snack and locked us for our safety in a small music room. I don’t know how it happened but we, few guys and girls, can’t forget this one of the best our evening. Even if I don’t like karaoke, at least I learned some old songs lyrics.

Since then every time  I hear the old “Stayin’ alive” or “Tragedy” in places like Long Street in Cape Town I know it comes from karaoke bar.

Arctic Rally

I was watching the Rally and wondering which place could I take if I was driving. Yes, many times I regret so much that I didn’t accept an offer of becoming a driver in a rally team. I couldn’t, because a sport garage wasn’t the best place to spend weekends in for the single mother of two. By the way, it happened that many years ago me and my little son spent Christmas week in Pohjanhovi hotel, were driving snowmobiling and skiing.

Bar Hemingway, Rovaniemi

I like motor talks but everything was in Finnish. Johanna hates this rally because of pollution around. So we met at the evenings, she heated up sauna, we sweat till our skin became red enough to chill out on the balcony at minus 20. Every morning I walked 2 km to Pohjanhovi and back in darkness across the frozen lake. There are some fire places around, where locals like to have a barbecue. So we did.

Bikes’ parking Rovaniemi

On Sunday the rally was over and after the prize giving the team from Oulu gave me a ride to Kemi. One musician from local band gave me a ride from Kemi to Hapasaranda. His father was Finnish and mother was an Indian from Swaziland. He’s almost my compatriot because the kingdom of Swaziland is surrounded by South Africa. Then I took a double decker bus to Lullea, then to Umea. There was a broken air-con over my head, but I didn’t want to change my seat. It was on the first row of the upper deck, just behind the wind screen, which I was watching the “road movie” through. In fact, it was a tube from outside with a hole instead of air-con and wind was blowing to my crown. I didn’t get flu for many years and I felt it in the town of Umea, so, straight from the bus, I came to the nearest pub to drink tea with lemon and honey.

Rock’n’Roll bar, Umea