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Lapland’s Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, A Winter Wonderland

It’s not everyday that I get to sit down at my local coffee shop and meet a Laplander of Sami descent. But there I was yesterday with my wife, travel agent Lisa Leavitt, and Ari Siivikko, Marketing Manager of Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort. I receive a slew of media requests to meet people from around the globe when they make their way to Boston, and I usually decline the majority of those requests. I just don’t have the time. But after checking out this unique resort online, I had to meet Ari. The property lies 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in northern Finland. After an 80-minute flight from Helsinki, you’re picked up by snow shuttle or snowmobile and escorted to the resort. Here, you’ll find upscale log cabins with requisite sauna, snow igloos, and the main reason I took this meeting, glass igloos. See, Kakslautannen is one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights. And if you read my story in the Boston Globe on seeing the Northern Lights in northern Maine, you’ll realize that the winter of 2013/2104 is supposed to be a stellar year for solar activity. Within the glass igloo, you simply lie down, preferably with a glass of chilled Finnish vodka, and wait for the kaleidoscopic light show to happen. 

 
Daytime activities are just as enticing. Choose from a wide variety of winter offerings, from cross-country skiing on 150 miles of groomed trails, dogsledding, snowmobiling, horseback riding, ice fishing Sami-style, or taking a reindeer-led snow ride. Snowmobilers and dogsledders also have the opportunity to spend an overnight at a wilderness hut, way out in the forest. Ari mentioned that a typical stay is 3 to 5 nights, with many clientele spending a night or two in Helsinki and then taking a 3-hour train to St. Petersburg to see the Hermitage without the summer cruise crowds. 
 

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The Hmong Women: Lessons in Sales, Sapa, Vietnam

Guest Blog and Photo by Frances F. Denny

  
Sapa, in the mountains of Northwest Vietnam, draws native Vietnamese and foreign travellers alike to its cool temperatures and pristine landscapes.  The many so-called “hill tribes” native to the region, like the H’mong and Red Zhao, have adapted to the surge of visitors like savvy capitalists. 
 
In their traditional garb of indigo-dyed hemp and neon embroidery, the H’mong women are striking in appearance. As you arrive in town, they quickly engage visitors in workable English.  "Where are you from?" and "How long you stay?"  They answer all of your questions with ease and humor. The attention and seeming authenticity of the conversation is flattering. However, as soon as they’ve established a rapport, the H’mong women begin unpacking the baskets strapped to their backs, and display hand-woven pillowcases, purses, and blankets. You might buy a trinket from one of the girls as they follow you around town, and the others will frown and say, "You promise to buy from me, too?" The items for sale are pretty, but ubiquitous.  Offloading as many of these items as possible to any customer is the goal. 
 
A trek into Sapa’s valley of terraced rice paddies will inevitably be attended by three or four H’mong girls, hopping nimbly over mud puddles and stones, as visitors scramble and splosh.  The women chat about families, their work, their cuisine.  In a few hours, your guide will declare lunch, at which the point the baskets are opened and the wares arrayed again.  The implication is, "I trekked with you, now you buy from me."  
 
Once a visitor is marked, every departure from a hotel activates the sales force whose faces soon become familiar.  Every detail gleaned from earlier sales forays will be remembered by all: the visitor’s name and itinerary, the number of sisters in the family; the mother who might like a pair of silver earrings. Exactly what price their friend sold a belt an hour earlier will also be known. They frown and pout upon hearing, "No, thank you." A smile appears when they are asked if a purchase will end all the attention. This is the dance, too and the H’mong are expert hagglers. They know a potential buyer must be worn down; that guilt can drive a purchase as much as fatigue; that a tourist will pay 500,000 Dong for some peace. When the sale is done, the H’mong women tie a woven bracelet to their customer’s wrist, and the selling stops – though it is hard not to wonder if the gift is also marking you a sucker to the rest of the tribe.
 
The H’mong women would excel in any MBA program. They identify their customer, make a personal connection, offer something free – but of value (trekking guidance; cultural information) – for the chance to solicit, leveraging their ethnic authenticity with modern psychology.  It is a cold visitor who does not succumb to such marketing.  It’s the price of admission to Sapa.
 
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Cleveland Rocks!

Last Saturday, my wife and I picked up our son, Jake, at Oberlin College after a weeklong electornic music workshop. Then we hightailed it to Cleveland for the weekend to check out the city. Must-see stops were the Cleveland Museum of Art, whose impressive collection includes noteworthy pieces by van Gogh, Monet, El Greco, and Bierstadt. At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we viewed the famous jacket worn by John Lennon on the Sgt. Pepper’s album cover, Michael Jackson’s glove, and my personal favorite, Notorious BIG’s jersey. 
 
Then there were the pleasant surprises like the West Side Market, the historic food market that served a tasty bratwurst on a bun for 4 bucks and a Montrealer crepe that made Jake happy, created with brisket and Emmentaler cheese. West Side Market is located in Ohio City, a cool neighborhood of restaurants and bars like Crop Bistro, set inside the cavernous walls of a former bank. Nearby is Great Lake Brewing Company, a microbrewery that helped gentrify the neighborhood of derelict buildings when it arrived on the scene in the 90s. Also loved the milk shakes and falafels at Tommy’s in Coventry Village and the Italian fare at Mia Bella in Cleveland’s Little Italy. We stayed at a great locale, the Glidden House, a former estate across the street from the Frank Gehry-designed building on the Case Western University campus. We were within easy walking distance of Little Italy, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the resplendent Cleveland Botanical Gardens, in full bloom upon our arrival. The only thing we missed was a baseball game at Jacobs Field, now called Progressive Field. The Indians were out of town. There’s always next time!
 
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The January Newsletter Now Available at ActiveTravels.com

Looking for travel ideas in 2013, then check out our January newsletter. In this month’s issue, we discuss the long list of outdoor adventures found on the Big Island of Hawaii, recommend three eco-resorts in the Caribbean, divulge our favorite ground operator in Italy, and suggest a quick winter getaway in New England at the Mount Washington Hotel. As always, we’re here to talk about winter, spring, or summer travel. So if anything comes to mind, email me at steve@activetravels.com. 
 
Enjoy the three-day weekend. I’ll be back on Tuesday with my favorite National Parks to visit during the winter. In the meantime, get outdoors this weekend and be active. 
 
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This Summer, Book a Maine Windjammer Sail

With early spring weather in Boston this week, I’m already thinking of booking another windjammer sail in Maine this summer. A question I’m always asked is where does a travel writer/advisor go for downtime? For me, I’ll jump on one of these historic schooners any chance I get. Two summers ago, I made the wise choice to sail on the Schooner Mary Day with my daughter, Melanie, before she left for her first year of college at Indiana University. We had a glorious trip dining on all the lobster we could stomach on a deserted island off the mid-Maine coast, spotting harbor porpoises, lonely lighthouses, and making new friends around the country as we hoisted sails and sucked in as much salty air as necessary. This comes on the heels of two memorable sails aboard the Grace Bailey with my dad and his wife Ginny. A memory I won’t soon forget is my father taking the wheel of the Grace Bailey and sailing for a good hour or two. 

 
Do yourself a favor and book a sail. It’s the best way to see the rugged shoreline and tall timbers of the Maine coast. New themed cruises include a watercolor workshop aboard the American Eagle and bar craft and cocktail making aboard Ladona. Back by popular demand: Beer and Bluegrass (Ladona), Foodie Cruises (Stephen Taber), Kayaking Tours (Lewis R. French), Wine Tasting (Stephen Taber, Angelique), and Knitting (Isaac H. Evans). Prices start at $525 for a 2-night cruise. 3-day trips range from $595 to $1,428; 6-day cruises from $935 to $1,938. Average price per night is $220 per person, including all meals, lodging, and activities like the signature all-you-can-eat lobster feast. For more information contact the Maine Windjammer Association. 
 
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Hiking Though Lush Fern Canyon

When it comes to natural beauty, California is blessed with an abundance of riches. So much in fact that many of its state park like Pfeiffer Burns in Big Sur, Crystal Cove in Laguna Beach, and Prairie Creek Redwoods in Orick easily rival the scenery of numerous national parks in America. To reach Prairie Creek Redwoods, you take a spectacular coastal route, Highway 101, north of Trinidad (a small beach community definitely worth a visit) to Orick and then take a twisting dirt road, Davison Road, through groves of mega-sized redwoods to reach the remote sands. Those in the know booked the campsite on Gold Bluffs Beach while others should drive to the end of the dirt road to the Fern Canyon parking lot. As the name implies, Fern Canyon is a gulch with steep walls covered in glistening ferns, rivulets of water dripping down like a soft sprinkler system. On the short walk over to the canyon, trunks of spruce and red alder are covered in moss, giving you a hint that you’re in for a treat. Enveloped in this sanctuary of green, you walk as far as you like, crossing a stream on logs numerous times, before simply returning. But don’t just jump back into your car. Head over to the beach, where we spotted a buck elk with huge antlers gnawing at the sea grasses. Yes, Prairie Creek Redwoods is home to a large elk herd. A nice bonus!
 
A big thanks to Humboldt County for a great week of traveling! I’ll be back on Monday with one more blog from my trip, the surprisingly good Humboldt County wine. 
 
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Sharpen Your Photography Skills with Robert Kaufman in Boston

Robert Kaufman might not be a household name, but more than likely you’ve seen his photography gracing the walls of hotel lobbies around the globe or on that monthly calendar you look at every day. He’s spent the past 30 years traveling to every nook and cranny in Italy, not merely photographing iconic structures like the Tower of Pisa but more energetic street scenes ripe with spontaneity and whimsy. Also ripe are his collection of Edibles, fruit and vegetables so damn sensual, you want to lick the paper it’s printed on. Now the talented man behind the lens is appearing front and center in a 2-day workshop. On two consecutive Saturdays, October 2nd and October 9th, Kaufman will share the secrets of being a professional photographer these past 30 years. He’ll discuss the technical aspects of your camera before accompanying you on a field trip to get that special photo. Then you’ll analyze your work back in the group. Cost of the 2-day workshop is $199. Call 617-964-4080 to register or visit www.SilverVisions.com.
 

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