We boarded the bus and, consulting our schedules, saw that next we would be visiting a reindeer farm. Before we reached the farm, however, the bus pulled into the parking lot of a large hotel. While this rest stop would be brief, a number of suites had been booked for us and we were told that if we wished we could debark from the bus and take a very private pee.

We then visited the reindeer farm, where we were encouraged to pet the reindeer. They were quite docile, so pre-occupied were they with shedding their antlers of fur by rubbing them on fence posts and bushes.

Next, as it was growing dark, we went to a restaurant where some local officials greeted our delegation before we all sat down to a dinner of—reindeer steaks. Most of us made do with salad, dinner buns, and dessert. As we left the restaurant after dark, one of our delegation pointed at the sky and shouted “Look, the aurora!”

We looked up. Never, we were in the midst of agreeing, had we ever seen such a display of the aurora borealis, when someone drew our attention to the source of the aurora, a group of variously coloured spotlights on the roof of the restaurant.

We boarded the bus in sheepish silence. Lapland, I’m sure, was quite relieved to see us depart.