108 wanderlust.co.uk April 2020
Iwastheretosampleanew
experience:sleepingwithreindeer.
Thetwohuts(whicheachsleep
two)arepositionedoverlookingthe
wideenclosurewherethereindeer
graze.Afterdinnerinsidethe
adjacentwhitelavvu(Finnishfor
lean-to)Iwatchedthesunsetwhile
thereindeermoochedoutside.
Idon’tremembertherebeing
awardrobeinvolvedbutitfeltvery
muchlikeI’dsomehowstepped
throughadoorintoNarnia.
IfIhadthoughtitoddtogo
straightfromsittingpassivelyon
aplanetocyclingthrough
awoodland,thenitwaseven
strangertogotosleepthatnightin
ahutandwakeupthenextmorning
‘Don’t you go foraging for food in your home
country?” Annu asked quizzically’
to find a reindeer licking the window
at the foot of my bed.
A knock at my door signalled my
breakfast hamper had arrived – but it
didn’t just contain food for me.
Alongside my tray of croissants,
cloudberry jam and fresh fruit were
two large buckets filled with lichen.
The deer munched happily as I fed
them from my window while I also
feasted on my own meal. As breakfast
companions go, the conversation
from these grunting, satisfied
creatures rates up there with the best.Magic mushrooms
My next stop would see me having to
actually work for my next dish.
I cycled about 10km to a place called
Hawkhill, a lakeside collection of
villas where owner Annu runs
foraging courses in the woodland
that surrounds them.
“Don’t you go foraging for food in
your home country?” she asked
quizzically. For Finns the forest is
seen as a bountiful place so she
seemed not to understand why
anyone wouldn’t head out with just
a wicker basket to gather ingredients
for a feast as a matter of course.
That afternoon she taught me to
identify ceps aka penny bun
mushrooms (through their large
bulbous stem, near microscopic
pores, and a cap that resembles
a crusty bread roll); how to pick
chanterelles without damaging their
stalks and allowing for regeneration
sotheywillgrowbackthefollowing
year(withaspecialtoolandin
limitednumbersperpatch);thebest
placestofindthenativelingonand
bilberries(aroundbogs)andtheart
ofclippingnettleswithoutstinging
yourfingers(bygrippingfirmlyinthe
directiontheleafisgrowing).
Oncebackatthecottagewe
preppedourspoilsbeforeheading
outsidetothewoodensummerhouse
(completewithafirestove)wherewe
mademushroomrisotto,followed
bynettlepancakeswithwarmed
hand-pickedlingonberryjuice.
Imustadmitthenextmorning
itfeltveryoddtosimplygrab
abowlofcerealwithouthaving
togoandfinditinthegardenfirst,
butonelookoutsideatthe
drivingrainsoonmademethank⊳
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