aded off together to hire some bikes so we could have a cycle around the village (pic of kids with their bikes). We took the short cut from our cabin through to the next street and within a couple of minutes had arrived at the Snow Fun Safaris lodge where we proceeded to hire bikes for us all. The guy on duty at Snow Fun was extremely helpful and gave us some great advice on the best bikes to have for what we wanted to do and also gave us loads of information of things to do when we return in the winter. He had loads of time for us and our daft questions and even taught the kids their first few words of Finnish.
ooked rather grassy and manageable. How wrong could we be? What started out fairly easy soon became a rather arduous climb as the ground soon turned out to be rather rocky and uneven and it wasn't until about two hours later that we all arrived at the summit somewhat sweaty and with the sun beating down on us brightly from the sky (so our thoughts for the whether were wrong today!! What a day we were having!!). Before moving on from this subject, I really must mention my mom, wife and girls who had all managed the climb to the top as well. Whilst I managed the exercise quite comfortably, it must have seemed never ending for my 5 and 8 year old daughters, my wife who was grandma sitting most of the way and my 72 year old mother. One thing's for certain, I won't be doing that when i'm 72. As for my daughters, they closely flanked me most the way, one attached to each arm and really enjoyed the exploring experience. Here's a couple of photos of the tribe taken 
at the top of Yllas fell with a few red faces from the strenuous exercise and the burning sun.
ater, we were arriving in the pleasant little town of Pajala and by now we had left the rain behind and the sun was shining. It was mid afternoon now and we decided to try a local cafe for lunch and had some great pizzas and chips. Upon leaving the cafe, the sky had somewhat darkened and the rain that we had left behind was now on the verge of catching us up. The rather dark pic shows the owl statue in Pajala (I think this must be some sort of symbol for the town) and the dark skies were about the darkest we saw it get at anytime during our stay.
Today we got up a little later and once we had eaten breakfast in the cabin, I took a couple of photos of our Lapland home (see pic) before we decided to venture out into the nearby woods and walk around Lake Akaslompolo. The experience was quite rewarding as the weather was pleasant and the whole perimeter of the lake (or the boggy bits anyhow) was nicely laid with duckboards so there was no danger of losing your legs in the mire. My youngest daughter Hannah thorougly enjoyed this experience leading the way and marching ahead of the rest of us and really taking after her favourite cartoon character Dora the Explorer. About halfway around the lake we passed the littl
e beach area and then climbed the watch tower to look over the lake before finally proceeding through a little more of the wooded area and back onto the road. Once out on the road, we had a quick look at the Yllashumina Hotel and Karaoke bar before heading down the road past the school and on to the Post Office where we stopped off for a coffe and cake and the kids had an Ice Cream.
After a leisurely afternoon at the cabin, we headed over to the Pipola Restaurant http://www.yllaksenkaivohuone.com/ where we joined our neighbours for our evening meal on their last night before they headed off to stay in Rovaniemi in preparation for their flight home. I enjoyed fresh salmon, Helen my wife had Peppered Steak and the kids tucked into Mashed Potato, Chips and Sausage and we all sat at a long table that had an excellent window view of the lake. The meals were all excellent and while the adults chatted away after finishing, the kids headed off outside to play by the lake. Over the next few postings, I will talk more about the Pipola Restaurant but must say that everytime we ate there, the food and service was first class and we are all thoroughly looking forward to returning there in December for our New Years Eve meal where we will enjoy watching the firework display on the lake.
Finally, after a few drinks and desserts, we headed back to our cabin to watch a dvd before retiring for the night.
That's all for today folks, don't forget to check back soon!!!
polo and decided to walk down to the waters edge. On route, I took a few pics to show how light it was at this time of morning (pic taken at 4.18am) and have included one of these as shown. Next I reached the Pipola Bar/Restaurant, and it appeared that it was turning out time (4am) as there were many people staggering back to their houses/cabins and hotels as well as a couple of taxis coming and going to take people home. Next stop was the supermarket where I checked the opening times so later we could stock up on supplies and the clock outside said the temperature was 5 degrees. After a few minutes I decided to head back and continued passed our lane and down towards the Destination Lapland office (again to check opening times) and the Akas Hotel (Snow Elf). Finally, after about an hour or so of fresh air, I returned to our cabin and back to bed where I stayed until about7.30am. 
ndeer and looking at the Souvenir Shops, Ski Shop and Post Office before stopping off at Jullis at about 3pm in the afternoon http://www.jullis.com/ for our first local meal of a specialist Jullis Burger and Chips (with hindsight, I really should have taken a photo of one of these as they're really for those with a Hearty appetite!! Enough said, I scoffed the lot!!) . Following this, we took a short walk and then returned to our cabin for the day to familiarise ourselves with it, take a sauna and enjoy its surroundings.
