Road Trip – Day Two
After waking up a bit late (thank goodness) we had a wonderful breakfast of grönsaker, sill, and knäckebröd. When we got back into the car, our first stop was going to be a bit further north-east to the Russian-Finnish border at Salla. On our way there, we spotted even more reindeer cruising along! I believe these last few that we saw were the last I photographed. (I think the “shine” wore off seeing them, especially due to the very severe braking any drivers had to make upon seeing them.)
Once we arrived at the border, I was surprised how quiet and small it was. Due to the fact that the only borders I’ve ever crossed in a car are for states or the Canadian-American, this was a shock. There was a small station, a small fence, and a few “railroad-like” guard arms. What was most interesting to me was the sign declaring that we were in a “green zone.” Wow. Well, that and seeing the Russian Ford Explorer parked next to us. Also very cool.
We then hopped back into the car for a short hop of perhaps two hours to Pyha. It is here near Pyha that there is an amethyst mine that is open to the public during Finland’s short summer months.
Ben parked the car and we headed down the trail to the mine. Little did we know until about a half-kilometer that the trail was a total of 4.5 to 5 kilometers until we reached the mine. Yuck. This normally wouldn’t be too bad, but our walk was compromised by a few things. We were tired and dehydrated, which will put anyone in a lousy mood to walk very far. Add to that a warm to hot day, and you’re even more drained. Then mix in a thick stream of mosquitoes, and you’ve got a bad walk ahead of you.
When we finally arrived, we purchased our admission tickets and stepped back outside. This is when we realized that to get to the mine, we also had to walk up the equivalent of about four to five flights of stairs, which were attached to the side of the hill/mountain. Yikes. This is after our hellish walk that we had to hurry on, as tours began at the top of every hour.
Once we’d reached the top, we were greeted by our guide. He was a very pleasant fellow, and provided us with a bit of lingonberry juice once we’d reached our desitination. He then told us about amethysts, the mine, historical uses, and so on. We learned that the amethyst mine is not a traditional mine, at least in the imagination’s sense. I had originally pictured a huge crater in the earth, filled with heavy machinery and loud noises. But no, this appeared to be just the top of a big hill or little mountain. Odd. We also learned that this mine is almost smack-dab in the middle of a national park, which protects the ground the mine is on, as well as the mining practices. Lastly, we found out that anyone can become a share holder in the mine. While you don’t rake in the money per se, you can have a framed share with a piece of artwork attesting to your ownership, and you are invited to the annual shareholder’s meeting. Fun!
After learning a bit about the gemstone, we were then told that our guide would now become our boss. We were going to be allowed to “mine” for our own amethysts! WOW! Our guide/boss let us know that to keep your amethyst for free, it would have to be fully enclosed in your hand. If you were lucky enough to find one too large for your hand, you could keep it for a fee. (Our guide was very funny; he said that because his bosses are in Helsinki, he gets to charge whatever he feels like. He said if the weather is nice and the “miners” are agreeable, he doesn’t charge much. J)
We were then led on a walk in and around the hill. We were shown the areas they mine during the winter, which are covered and parceled off. Our guide told us that during the winter months, they use electric blankets to thaw the ground so they’re able to mine for more amethysts. Crazy! After a few more twists and turns, we were led out to what I believe was the opposite side of the hill, where we would be allowed to mine. We were shown the different types of rock and quartz that were in the area, which included smoke quartz, milk quartz, and amethyst. We then were schooled on the different grades of amethysts (usually middle to dark purple is good) and what they look like (anywhere from lightly tinted glass). We were then given a pick and sent off!
I thought I’d hit the mother lode on my first attempt! I took my five or six specimens down to the wash basin where our “boss” was. He washed what I thought were my enormous amethysts, and found that I’m great at finding regular, everyday, boring rocks. Yuck. Michael then let me know that he was having better luck, so I joined him. After our ten to fifteen minutes of mining, Michael had found the lion’s share of our fortune, with maybe one or two that I’d discovered. Our guide was kind enough to sort them for us, with the higher quality amethysts being placed in my right hand. Ben and Bitti didn’t find as many as we did, rather they found larger, higher-quality stones. They did quite well!
On our trek back down the mountain, all of us were in better spirits. The mining tour/experience was better than anything we were originally imagining, which seemed to rejuvenate our spirits. We took a few pictures above the gorgeous Lapland geography, and headed back down the hill. Our 5k walk wasn’t exactly pleasant, but we were in a much better mood and had a wonderful experience to reflect upon. (We were also walking a bit slower, now that our adventure was complete. I was then able to snap a few pictures of Michael with is mosquito-gear, and of one of the largest anthills I’ve ever seen.)
From the mine and Pyha, we headed almost directly west, headed for Rovaniemi. Once there, we checked into our hotel, took blissful showers, and had a sumptuous dinner of steak and pasta. We walked around the city’s central promenade area, looking at the sights and the rushing river. After an hour or so of visiting, we all hit the hay in preparation for our third and last day of the trip: meeting Santa, driving into northern Sweden, and then to Jakobstad. J
Heck, please let me know if you like anything! It would make my day. 
