ART DESTINATION: Cultural Gallup in Remote New Mexico

By Jorge R. Jefferds May 20, 2020

Gallup offers an astonishing and unparalleled variety of high quality turquoise and silver jewelry, paintings, murals, pottery and sculptures, rugs and blankets, Kachina dolls and other Native American arts and crafts. This town is the Indian jewelry capital of the world; wares produced in their community supply the art markets of Santa Fe and San Francisco. As the gateway to the Native American culture, Gallup affords easy access to visit Zuni Pueblo and the Navajo Nation. You might experience authentic traditional nightly dances right in Gallup, all of them performed by a variety of area tribes, with traditional drum, rattle and flute instruments.

Hopi katsina figures, also known as Kachina dolls, are figures carved, typically from cottonwood root, by Hopi people to instruct young girls and new brides about katsinas or katsinam, the immortal beings that bring rain, control other aspects of the natural world and society, and act as messengers between humans and the spirit world.

A View of Gallup Downtown

The Gallup area is home to over 1,000 Native American Artisans creating unique works in jewelry, pottery, basket weaving, rug weavings, sculptures, unique textiles, paintings, and more.

Founded in 1881 as a headquarters for the southern transcontinental rail route, Gallup has become the gateway to the Native American cultural experience and a center for Native American arts. Visit the local museums to learn more about Gallup history, Native American art & culture as well as the Navajo Code Talkers.

Main Entrance to the Gallup Cultural Center

The Gallup Cultural Center was created in 1996 at the newly renovated Santa Fe Depot by the Southwest Indian Foundation. The concept for the Cultural Center is modeled on the Public Square, where the community, school children and visitors can gather together for forums, lectures and to celebrate the extraordinarily diverse heritages of our region.

The exhibits at the museum of the Gallup Cultural Center (located on the 2nd floor of the building- the Storytellers Museum) showcase the museum’s traditional approach to the interpretation of Native American Arts & Culture. Developed through active partnership between Native and non-Native people, the museum's exhibits convey the message that Indian cultures are complex diverse, steeped in Tradition and very much alive. There are also unique train models for the public that give a sense of Gallup's rich train history.

The Gallup Cultural Center is now home to Gallup's Navajo Code Talker Exhibit.

The Red Rock State Park

Several archeological sites here record the presence of the Ancestral Puebloans, a prehistoric farming culture that developed and thrived in the area from 300 to 1200 CE.  From 1700 to the present, members of the Navajo tribe have sparsely inhabited the region.

Through interpretive exhibits, the Red Rock Museum chronicles the lives and culture of the Ancestral Puebloans as well as the present-day Zuni, Hopi and Navajo.

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The Museum houses permanent displays of Kachinas, pottery, rugs, silver, and turquoise as well as traveling art exhibits.  Museum hours are 8:30-4:30 Monday-Friday and by appointment.

Directions to the museum are not difficult to follow. As you come from I-40 East, take exit 33 and proceed west on the frontage road for 4.5 miles. Follow signs into Red Rock Park. The museum is located west of the Convention Center main doors next to the office. If, on the contrary, you come from I-40 West, then take exit 26 and proceed east on NM 118 for 2 miles. Follow signs into Red Rock Park. The museum is located west of the Convention Center main doors next to the office. Do you use a GPS? Set the address 825 Outlaw Road, but once in the park follow the left road at the fork, not the right. 825 Outlaw Road is located inside the Campground area, and the museum is on the other road.

Sign of the Rex Historical Museum

Explore Gallup’s rich and colorful heritage at the Rex Museum. Get a sense of Gallup’s rich and colorful heritage at the Rex Museum. Once a brothel and later a grocery, the museum building houses exhibits detailing a wide swath of local history, exploring the culture of the area’s earliest inhabitants, mining and railroad activities through to present-day Gallup. Researchers will find a number of important historical resources including an inventory of the graves at Hillcrest Cemetery, photographs, newspapers, artifacts and books about Gallup’s past. The Rex Museum is located at 300 West Historic U.S. Highway 66 at the intersection of Route 66 and Third Street. Their phone number is (505) 863-1363 or you can contact them via email. The attraction is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday.

Gallup at Night

Gallup is accessible by automobile, rail, and bus transportation. Although there is no scheduled service at this time, the city also operates the municipal airport. There are several local and regional bus transportation providers:

Gallup Express provides local transportation in Gallup and Zuni, as well as intercity service between the two towns. Navajo Transit provides regional transportation within the Navajo Nation. Greyhound provides intercity transportation. The local Greyhound station is located at the Route 66 Mini Mart at 3060 West Highway 66. Amtrak provides daily service from Gallup to the Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, Albuquerque and other destinations via Amtrak's Southwest Chief. The station is located in the Gallup Cultural Center at 201 East Highway 66. Gallup lies along U.S. Interstate 40, one of the major transcontinental East-West thoroughfares, between Albuquerque, NM and Flagstaff, AZ. U.S. Highway 491 (north) and N.M. Highway 602 (south) provide additional access to the Gallup area. As reference, Albuquerque is located 136 miles east of Gallup or about 4 hours of drive.

  

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CITY DESTINATION: Helsinki's Espa

By Jorge Jefferds May 14th., 2020

The popular Esplanade Park, fondly referred to as “Espa” among locals, is the most famous park in Finland and the green heart of Helsinki. People come here to see and be seen, to listen to music and watch performances, and to enjoy picnics. Originally, the principle architect of Helsinki Carl Ludvig Engel designed the park in an area of low-lying wetland. Locals referred the eastern portion (Chapel Esplanade) to as “Small Calf Hook” and the central and western portions (Runeberg Esplanade and Theatre Esplanade) as “Large Calf Hook”. The foul smelling Kluuvi Bay (Kluuvinlahti) extended southwards almost to the Esplanade, so the authorities required a lot of landfill to construct the park in the 1850s.

The Esplanade Park

Esplanade Park was designed as a green promenade in the Continental style. The more pragmatic reason for the tree-lined alleys was to promote fire safety; wooden buildings still predominated in the city, despite the growing number of stone buildings.

The park features an architectonic style with its straight tree-lined alleys and flowerbeds. The rows of linden trees on either side of the park create a hall-like space. Svante Olsson (1856–1941), Helsinki’s first City Gardener, also influenced in the design of the park. Furthermore, landscape architect Leena Iisakkila designed the most recent renovation in 1998.

One of the most historic restaurants in Helsinki is the Chapel Esplanade. Kappeli was designed by architect Hampus Dahlström (1829–1882) and built in 1867. According to a legend, the name of the restaurant originally referred to a booth from which a local “shepherd” boy (“pastor” in Latin) used to sell milk and which was affectionately known as “The Chapel”. This was followed by another “chapel” in the shape of a lofty building used by the confectioner Jerngren to sell pastries and lemonade in the 1840s. It seemed natural, therefore, to christen the new restaurant Kappeli. A public toilet can be found at one end of the restaurant.

The Chapel Esplanade

Opposite to Kappeli is Espa Stage, which hosts the longest festival of music in Finland each year from the beginning of May to the end of August. Each summer around 200 artists and groups perform on the stage. The program is organized by the Cultural Office of the City of Helsinki. The current stage was built in the 1930s; the original stage was considerably more decorative.

On either side of the stage there is a pool with interesting sculptures commissioned from Viktor Jansson (1886–1958) in 1939 and unveiled in 1942. Water Nymphs depicts a mermaid and child playing with a fish; the mermaid was modeled on the sculptor’s daughter Tove Jansson (1914–2001), world-famous creator of the Moomins. Hey There (Hi) depicts a small boy playing with a fish.

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The pools are lined by perennials, such as moon lilies and exotic lilies of the Nile that spend the winter in greenhouses. Audiences listening to the performance on Espa Stage can also enjoy the summer flowers in the large flower pots.


The open-air café next to the stage is open in summertime and also sells tickets for sightseeing tours departing from Fabianinkatu next to the park. In the center section of Esplanade Park, roses blossom among the trimmed cotoneaster shrubs. As you get close to the statue of J. L. Runeberg in early June, you will be able to notice the beautiful flowering crab apple trees (Malus Nipissing) on the northern side of the park. The statue is circled by columnar aspen trees, and laburnum bushes with exotic golden flower clusters also growing on the lawns.

The Pool with a Water Nymph

An impressive flowerbed surrounds the statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877), Finland’s national poet and author of the Finnish national anthem. The flowerbed is replanted three times a year: Pre-grown bulbs are planted after the May Day celebrations; colorful summer flowers are planted before the Midsummer holidays; and heather and conifer plants are introduced in autumn. During wintertime the large trees are brightly illuminated.

The statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg was the first public monument erected in Helsinki. The unveiling occurred on May 6th., 1885, exactly eight years after the death of the poet, and turned a major event attended by the cream of society plus 20,000 other patriotic Finns. The memorial committee was appointed by the Estates and headed by the author Zacharias Topelius (1818–1898). Local residents lit candles in the windows as a sign of patriotism, beginning a tradition that continues to this day on Independence Day (6 December).

Johan Ludvig Runeberg Memorial

The poet’s son Walter Runeberg (1838–1920) commissioned the memorial. On the pedestal of the eight-meter-high statue stands the Maiden of Finland wrapped in a bearskin. In her right hand she has a laurel wreath, and a pile of Runeberg’s books lies by her feet. In her left hand she is holding a tablet with the words of the first and last two stanzas of the Finnish national anthem in Swedish. On the side of the memorial is the inscription “Suomen kansa maamme laulajalle – Af Finlands Folk” (“From the Finnish people to the Singer of our Nation”). Runeberg’s name does not appear anywhere on the memorial, as it was considered self-evident. The statue remains popular among the locals, and it’s a convenient place to arrange to meet.

Runeberg Esplanade also contains the park’s four historic kiosks. The decorative wooden kiosks on the southern side were built in 1893 and 1909, while the functionalist kiosks on the northern side were designed in 1928 by City Architect Gunnar Taucher (1886–1941).

Close-up of a Wooden Kiosk

The park benches were designed in connection with the renovation of the park in 1998, as were the black 120-liter garbage bins with the city’s coat of arms. The lamps are also new but based on a historic model.

The western section of the park is dominated by the restaurant Teatteri and Svenska Teatern (the Swedish Theater, familiarly known as “Svenska”). The theater was designed by Professor Nikolai Benois (1813–1898), the court architect of Tsar Nicholas I, and completed in autumn 1866. The building was modernized and expanded in 1935–1936 under the direction of the architects Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) and Jarl Eklund (1876–1962). The architects left the heart of the theater, the original beautiful red and gold auditorium, almost untouched. The most recent renovation was completed in 2012.

Fact and Fable Statue

The park at this end is more shaded than the rest of the Esplanade, making it a pleasant place to sit on hot days. The old horse chestnut tree blossoms beautifully in early June. Rhododendrons, hydrangeas and seasonal plants flower next to the restaurant’s terrace.

Two memorials can be found in Theater Esplanade. The first is to the author, journalist and historian Zacharias Topelius (1818–1898), the man behind the memorial to his friend Johan Ludvig Runeberg. When the memorial project began in the 1920s, the trend favored symbolism over exact likenesses. The design competition organized in 1928 by the Society of Swedish Literature (Svenska Litteratursällskapet) was one by the sculptor Gunnar Finne (1886–1952). Fact and Fable was unveiled in 1932, 34 years after the death of Topelius.

Eino Leino Memorial Statue

The second memorial is to the great Finnish poet and journalist Eino Leino (1878–1926), the first writer to use the Finnish language fluently for all artistic purposes. The memorial was designed by the sculptor Lauri Leppänen (1895–1977), a personal friend of Eino Leino. The Eino Leino Society, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the publishing company Otava organized a competition for a memorial to Eino Leino in 1948. The final round of the competition was held in 1951 and won by Leppänen. The memorial to Eino Leino was unveiled in 1953, 27 years after the death of the poet.

In 1999 the first “Helsinki model” City-WC was opened in Theater Esplanade. The public toilet was designed by the architect Juhani Vainio from the Public Works Department of the City of Helsinki and manufactured in Sweden. The toilet has two parts: a larger pay section with a toilet, sink and changing table for babies that is accessible also by wheelchairs, and a free-of-charge pissoir that was later converted for use also by women. The City-WC is cleaned once a day.

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ADVENTURE DESTINATION: Paradisaical Madeira

By Jorge Jefferds May 8th., 2020

Madeira is an archipelago located in the North Atlantic Ocean 430 miles west of the Morocco coastline. Access to the islands is through two major airports from Lisbon and from 30 other important European hubs. Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport and Porto Santo Airport are settled on the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, respectively. Transportation between the two main islands is by plane, or ferries from the Porto Santo Line, the latter also carrying vehicles.

Upon the arrival, a recommendation is to rent a car if you want to spend the entire time visiting the island and the trip will last for a couple of days. Hertz, Rodavante and Sixt will be looking forward to welcoming you with their best offers and vehicles.

Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport

Madeira is famous for its laurel woodland, mild and sub-tropical climate, Mediterranean summer droughts and winter rain; in fact, there are several micro climates as courtesy of changes in the mountainous elevations. Only the Madeira Island, which is your final destination in this article, is at the top of a massive shield volcano that rises about 12,000 feet from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. It formed atop an east-west rift in the oceanic crust along the African plate. This process began during the Miocene epoch over five million years ago and continued through the Pleistocene era until about 700,000 years ago.

Following an extensive erosion, the volcano produced two large amphitheaters open to the south central part of the island. Researchers recorded the most recent volcanic eruptions with a date of about 6,500 years ago.

Pico Ruivo (Redheaded Peak)

From the airport, your vehicle will take you along via VE1 to an excellent place to explore the magnificence of this volcano. In about 40 minutes, you will be in Pico Ruivo (Redheaded Peak). Actually, it is the time to drive to the parking lot at the Pico das Pedras State Forrest. From there, be ready for an exciting hike experience. This is an excursion you have to make leaving the hotel early morning if you plan on doing this only for a day.

  

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There are no roads to Pico Ruivo, but levadas. The island of Madeira is wet in the northwest, but dry in the southeast. In the 16th century, Portuguese colonists started the construction of aqueducts or levadas in their language in order to carry water to the agricultural regions of the south. Madeira is very mountainous, for building the levadas became difficult. As a result, they often pushed convicts and slaves against the rigorous work. Many are cut into the sides of mountains, and it was necessary to dig 25 miles of tunnels, some of which are still accessible.

Levadas

Today the levadas supply not only water to the southern parts of the island, but also provide hydro-electric power. There are over 1,350 miles of levadas and they administer a network of walking paths. Some give easy and relaxing walks through the countryside, but others are narrow, crumbling ledges where a slip could result in serious injury or death. Since 2011, some improvements have been made to these pathways, after the 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides on the Island, to clean and reconstruct some critical parts of the island, including the levadas. Such improvements involved the continuous maintenance of the water streams, cementing the trails, and positioning safety fences on dangerous paths.

The Laurel Forrest of Madeira

Two of the most popular levadas to hike are the Levada do Caldeirão Verde and the Levada do Caldeirão do Inferno, which should not be attempted by hikers prone to vertigo or without torches and helmets. The Levada do Caniçal is a much easier walk, running 11.4 km (7.1 mi) from Maroços to the Caniçal Tunnel. It is known as the mimosa levada, because "mimosa" trees, (the colloquial name for invasive acacia) are found all along the route. If your excursion turns out to be longer than a day, you might consider to stay in one of the two nearby hotels: Destination Madere, located on the west side of Pico Ruivo or if you can make it to your vehicle in the parking lot, there is another lodging place called Lua de Mel, only if you want to stay for another day in this beautiful spot of Madeira Island.

Pico das Pedras State Forrest

Hopefully, you will enjoy this trip. Always remember to check with airlines if they are having regular flights during COVID-19. Also, verify availability with hotels and even entrance regulations to the parks.

 

ART DESTINATION: The Sinebrychoff Art Museum of Helsinki

By Jorge Jefferds February 11, 2020

In 1890, while a Helsinki family prospered in the brewery industry and in the banking, they also commenced their adventure in the trails of the arts. “We loved art from a young age," recalled Fanny Sinebrychoff, who was married to Paul Sinebrychoff, the magnate first heir of the brewing family. "When we traveled abroad after we got married in the 1880s, we never failed to visit art galleries. Seeing all those beautiful and uplifting things they presented to viewers in abundance, we were struck by a burning desire to give the citizens of our faraway home country an opportunity to have their share in it. The decision to start collecting valuable pieces of art to our own home evolved then, pieces that we could – maybe one day after the collection had grown – donate to the Finnish government.”

View of the Museum from the Sinebrychoff Park

As she said, it was done. In 1921, after almost thirty years of collecting, Fanny Sinebrychoff donated a collection of about 900 works of art to the government, fulfilling their mutual wish. The collection is housed in its original home, in the Sinebrychoff Art Museum in Helsinki, at Bulevardi 40, where the home of Paul and Fanny Sinebrychoff has been “revived” after many decades.
The Sinebrychoff Art Museum is situated at the end of Bulevardi right next to a large park. The building, completed in 1842, was the home and office of the Sinebrychoff family.

The Empire Room

The 1st floor originally had offices of the brewery and accommodation for servants, and the 2nd floor was reserved for entertainment and the Sinebrychoff family living quarters. The office space of the brewery was located in the north-east corner of the building and the entrance to the office was directly from the street. The kitchen and the servants’ room were in the south-east corner of the building; the entry to the living quarters was via the stairs at the western end, with the rooms facing the street being for entertainment and those facing the park were the private quarters of the family.

Paul Sinebrychoff's Study

Paul and Fanny decorated the interiors with valuable ceiling paintings, stucco surfaces and French wallpapers. The house had a bathroom and an indoor toilet, which was a sign that this was a very modern building in Helsinki at the time. Although the cellars, offices and the proximity of production plants were indications of a bourgeois way of life, the need for entertainment was taken into account at the planning stage. The garden and the park beside the building were for public use.
One of the most important private houses in Helsinki opened to the public as a house museum in 1921. The four rooms facing the street exhibited beautiful chambers in different styles and filled with interesting artifacts, to a great extent as Fanny Sinebrychoff left them. The museum remained like this until 1939 when it needed to be closed because of the outset of the Winter War. The collection was evacuated to a safe storage. Bombings and insurrections badly damage the house located at Bulevardi 40, and it was rented out to the Helsinki University of Technology as a chemistry laboratory after the war.

The Empire Room from a Different Angle

In 1959, the collections moved back to the rooms restored with funding from the Sinebrychoff company, and in 1975, the government bought the entire building from the brewery. After extensive restoration, the Sinebrychoff mansion returned to life as a museum. In 1980, the collections of old European art from the Ateneum Art Museum were moved there to join Paul and Fanny Sinebrychoff’s art collections.
Some extra work completed in 2002 focused on preservation and restoration. Black and white photos of the Sinebrychoff home, taken by photographer Signe Brander in 1912, formed the basis for the displays of art works and other artifacts. The four upstairs rooms facing the Bulevardi street have been restored to their original look as far as possible. The rooms facing the park display other art collections of the museum, whereas the downstairs rooms house temporary exhibitions.

The Gustavian Room

In modern days, the house museum presents the home of the Sinebrychoffs as it was in the 1910s. The art collection, artifacts and furniture are in their original places. The surface materials and paints were selected carefully to reflect the original decorations. The restored museum opened to the public in February 2003.
When you visit Helsinki from now and until the end of summer, there will be two interesting upcoming exhibitions in the Sinebrychoff Art Museum:

Life Under Threat (from February 13th. until August 23rd., 2020)

Animals are one of the oldest pictorial motifs – known already in prehistoric times. The exhibition presents visions of animals and nature from the 16th century to today. The artworks convey the relationship humans have had with animals and with nature through the ages. How do we perceive these works today? As humans, we also look at ourselves through animals. In the western worldview, animals and nature are viewed as something that exists for humans. In reality, humans are merely a part of the whole. The works in the exhibition examine the journey of humans in and as a part of nature. Understanding co-existence helps to preserve living space both for humans and for all other creatures.

Albert Edelfelt and the Romanovs (from February 6th. until May 10th., 2020 in the Red Cellar)

This exhibition focuses on Albert Edelfelt’s lesser-known works related to the Russian Imperial family. The centerpiece is a portrait of Alexander III’s nephews, The Grand Dukes Boris and Kirill Vladimirovich as Children (1881) from the Rybinsk Art Museum collection. This painting, long thought to be lost, is being displayed for the first time in Finland. Also on display are other captivating portraits of children from the Romanov family. The exhibition includes oil paintings, sketches and letters from the artist. The exhibition has been arranged together with the Finnish Institute in Saint Petersburg. The curator is the institute’s director, Sani Kontula-Webb. Partners for this exhibition are: The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, the Finnish General Consulate in Saint Petersburg, the Finland-Russia Society, the Friends of the Finnish Institute in Saint Petersburg, and Finnair.  

  

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CITY DESTINATION: Bariloche, the Swiss Argentinian Spot

By Jorge Jefferds February 2, 2020

San Carlos de Bariloche locates in the south corner of the Argentinian Patagonia, in the heart of the country’s lake district. Nestled on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi and its corresponding national park, Bariloche offers travelers thrilling outdoors activities as well as a pretty Swiss-style town sweetened with chocolate shops and boutiques. In a visit of ten days, you will be able to explore also ten of the best things to do and see in the area.
Aside from its beautiful scenery and national park, Bariloche is famous for the chocolate-box architecture found in its town center, the Civic Center. Any visitor who has been to Switzerland will immediately be reminded of its pretty Alpine houses when they walk through the town. Log and stone buildings are home to souvenir shops, exclusive boutiques, and outdoor activity stores catering to Bariloche’s main tourist demographic. The center is small enough for a pleasant stroll, and is full of restaurants and cafés. The highlight is the cathedral, with its grand stone walls in a prime position, looming over the lake.

Bariloche Downtown facing Lake Nahuel Huapi

The biggest crown of Bariloche is its national park, Nahuel Huapi. Visitors can simply drive through and admire the scenery from the car, or they can park up and take a walk along one of the many hiking routes. The more adventurous visitors can raft or kayak on Lake Nahuel Huapi, a huge water body that was formed from melted glaciers and is surrounded by stunning snow-capped mountains. Visitors can usually book tours and activities through their hotel, or alternatively they can jump in the car and take a drive through the park, and see what’s on offer when they arrive in there.

Close to Bariloche is the small town of El Bolsón, to which it is possible to take a day trip (about two hours by car from Bariloche). Its first non-native inhabitants came from Germany, and consequently it has become famous for its production of cheeses and beer. It prides itself on its focus on ecological living and organic farming, and is therefore a popular destination for the liberal-minded. Likewise, there is a number of hiking routes nearby, of which one of the most popular is up to Cajón de Azul (Blue Canyon), a small vibrant blue lake where it is possible to swim. Further out from the city of Bariloche itself is the Lanín Volcano.

Blue Canyon near El Bolson

Not in Nahuel Huapi, but instead bordering a national park with the same name, it can be seen from all around the area due to its height of 3,776 meters. It is possible to climb, but by experts only or within an official guided tour group, and even then it is not recommended for the faint-hearted. While this volcano has not thought to have erupted for around 10,000 years, it has not officially been declared extinct, due to the occasional tremors. The crater itself is not visible, and is thought to be underneath the glacier found at the peak of the mountain.Another small town possible to visit in a day trip from Bariloche is Villa La Angostura, high in the mountains and home to Los Arrayanes National Park. An arrayán is a kind of tree native between Chile and Argentina, and has been important within the Mapuche indigenous culture as a rich source of medicine. Visitors can bike or walk through the forest, or alternatively get a boat across the lake to reach the park. The nearby hiking trails also offer fantastic views of Lake Nahuel Huapi.

Museum of the Patagonia

Inside one of the Civic Center’s Swiss chalets you will find Bariloche’s Museum of the Patagonia. It contains an interesting collection of exhibits relating to the history of the national park and its surrounding area, specifically archaeological finds, natural history and indigenous artifacts. Most impressive is the Sala Pueblos Originarios, which examines the native people who lived around the area, notably the Mapuche people whose practices are still common today, just across the border in Chile. For a break from the outdoors, this museum provides plenty of information that visitors will find adds to their appreciation of Bariloche and what it has to offer.

Aerial View of Lanin Volcano

In an attempt to match Bariloche’s famous Alpine architecture, there are numerous specialty chocolate shops in downtown for visitors to enjoy. Most of them are located on the main shopping street, Bartolomé Mitre Street, so they’re hard to avoid and resisting the temptation is worthless. The most popular shop with locals is Chocolates Rapa Nui, which has existed in the town for generations since it was first set up in the early 1900s by an Italian immigrant. The shop is also home to a café serving desserts and other patisserie items, as well as ice-cream. Other popular shops include Chocolates del Turista (mainly due to their free samples), Mamuschka and Bonifacio.
Tronador Hill in Nahuel Huapi National Park is the highest mountain in the lake region of Argentina. At the foot of the mountain visitors can see glaciers, which can be heard creaking – especially when huge chunks of ice drop off. It has three distinct peaks, called Argentino, Internacional, and Chileno, so it is easy to identify. Tronador Hill is an extinct volcano, and the surrounding area encompasses several small lakes and green forests to be explored. The Manso River, which visitors will pass when traveling to Tronador Hill from Bariloche, is a popular spot for white-water rafting. It is only a couple of hours away from Bariloche, and most hotels offer day tours.

Catedral Hill in Winter (June to September)

Within the Nahuel Huapi National Park is Isla Victoria, a small rugged island on Lake Hahuel Nuapi reachable by a short boat journey. The island is approximately 31 km² in area, but only about a third of it is possible to walk around due to the difficult terrain. In the past it was inhabited by indigenous people, the evidence of which can be seen in cave drawings scattered across the island. It is a lovely spot for a tranquil walk through its forests, as it is home to a great variety of flora and fauna. The trails are also on boardwalks so it is not too strenuous, and perfect for families.
This activity is not possible all year round, but is certainly worth it when the snow is still on the ground. Catedral Hill is the most popular ski destination in the Bariloche area, and you can visit it with a short bus ride from downtown. A typical ski resort, among its stand-out feature are the views of the Nahuel Huapi lake and surrounding national park. The staff at the ski center on Catedral Hill come mostly from Bariloche and surroundings, for they have good knowledge of the mountain, its preservation and how to ski responsibly.

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ADVENTURE DESTINATION: Extreme Arctic Hotel in Kakslauttanen

By Jorge Jefferds February 1, 2020


Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort is located in the Urho Kekkonen National Park, the largest of Finland's national parks, in a region inhabited by the Sami for over a century. Actually, it is situated 250 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. Anybody might give up the intentions to get there, but it is not difficult. The nearest international airport is in Ivalo, just a 30-minute ride away. Finnair and Norwegian fly regularly from Helsinki.

One of their most admired accommodations is the complex of glass igloos. With capacity for two and four people, you can admire the northern lights and the twinkling of the bright starry sky either with a group of friends, or snuggled up romantically with your loved one. The igloo for two includes a toilet and the option for an extra bed. Saunas and showers are available in separate facilities. The four-person igloos include their own shower besides the toilet.

The kelo-glass igloos combine the comforting warmth of a cozy log chalet with outstanding views from the world-famous glass igloos. They offer a sleeping capacity of six, featuring a private sauna, fireplace, kitchenette, and a bedroom with a glass roof.

For those not afraid of freezing temperatures, a night in one of the Kakslauttanen snow igloos might be an unforgettable experience. Rarely does anyone get the chance to sleep as cozily as they do in an ice-cool igloo that shields them from even the faintest outside noise. Regardless the minus 40 degrees, to which the outside temperature might drop in a single night, the interior temperature might stay between minus three to minus six.
As winter goes by, Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort has a great assortment of activities to explore the wonders of this distant untouchable part of Finland. There are two big husky farms right next door to the resort. It will not take you too long to get a feel for steering huskies, and before you know it, you will be sledding through the wilderness drawn by these eager and friendly dogs. There is a range of safari lengths available, from a snappy 15-minute ride to a full-on overnight adventure.

Meanwhile, a reindeer safari can be a relaxing trip into nature, hosted by local reindeer herders. You will be able to chat with them and just to connect with Sami people in an authentic way. The resort offers varying lengths of safari, with the longest including an outdoor lunch. As weather can be sometimes extremely cold and windy, you will be warm and comfortable in one of the resort's enclosed panoramic sleigh, pulled by unique snow tanks. They will take you across the snowy fells while you breathe in the beauty of the landscape surrounding you with a guide answering all your questions and telling you more about what you see. Choose from a two to three-hour ride with a break for traditional refreshments on the way.

An icebreaker cruise called Sampo that departs out of the town of Kemi is one of Finland's most popular travel attractions, and this nautical experience is within easy reach of Kakslauttanen. Over the course of the day-long trip, you will have a lifetime opportunity to take a dip in the icy Bay of Bothnia - in a dry suite, mind you. The period for icebreaker cruises extends from mid-December until the end of April.

For more information about rates, reservations, special events, and more, visit https://www.kakslauttanen.fi/

For flights to Helsinki from the United States, you can also book tickets with American Airlines at www.aa.com. 

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