#traveldigest 1000 contest #pinmapple #haveyoubeenhere community and travel lovers

This blog has been a draft for about 10 days now, because I :
A. Know the deadline still is reasonable
B. Making a high quality content blog and providing tools that travelers love like Pinmapple and Haveyoubeenhere, needs a bit of preparation, and there are 9 days left so after you read this you might want to enter this opportunity aswell.

What am I talking about?

Well there is a new contest and I think we all need to join now that we are in quarantine and even more have a desire to go and travel again. Here is the contest blog, I will copy some of the rules and regulations again to read at the end of the blog.

https://peakd.com/hive-163772/@pinmapple/2000-hive-contest-to-celebrate-reaching-1000-digests

My fellow @ladiesofhive lady @livinguktaiwan is one of the team members on this great project with over 55.000 posts!
So all the @ladiesofhive maybe join in ( @justclickindiva @xcountytravelers and @surrealfia I already mentioned it to you would love to see your entries aswell )

Britt you are drifting....

Ok, the assignment where would you travel and what places would you visit if you had US$1000 to spend? Be creative. Be passionate. Don't just write I'd go here, then here, then here. Furthermore, the $1000 amount is meant to inspire you and be a guide, it does not mean you have to provide an accurate cost breakdown of everything you would do. You might prefer to be on a shoestring budget trip with many stops, or blow it all on one night in a luxury hotel. Then of course there is everything in between. The choice is yours.......

With this question my mind has been dancing ever since. I have so many places where`I want to go before I go on my last trip of life.
But I made a choice!

I decided to FOLLOW THE LIGHT !
BUT BRITT FOLLOW THE LIGHT?
YES , I want to go to the magical Northern Light

https://pixabay.com/nl/photos/noorderlicht-noorwegen-arctic

This green , dark blue phenomenon is at the top of our family bucket list. We have that list and we always take things off the list and add new beautiful places, UNESCO icons or nature phenomenons, to learn all that Mother Earth has for travel enjoyment and for gaining world knowledge. This light is perhaps one of the most beautiful natural phenomena and mysterious things in the world, but its on my bucket list so I am bias. Its an unprecedented special spectacle of beautiful colors of light in a dark sky: the Northern Lights. But what is the best place and time to see this phenomenon?
What do I need and what does it cost?

I had the advantage that my both my sister in law and my best friend went there so I can ask and count the money. But ofcourse I also researched some travel sites to see if the $ 1000 is sufficient. But if that is not the case i will be creative and make it happen for that huge amount of travel dice.

https://www.visa.com.bs/pay-with-visa/prepaid-cards

When can the Northern Lights be seen best ? Well Lapland is the best place to go. You can see the Northern Lights when it gets darker and the days get shorter. So approximately from mid-September to mid-April. The days are shorter in winter, especially in the North of Scandinavia. The chance of seeing the phenomenon is therefore much greater. Also take the moon into account: the less moon, the darker the sky. This contrast allows you to see the light the best. But when the moon is there the surroundings are also very beautiful and ther eis so much to do.

It doesn't have to be very cold to see the Northern Lights, because they are charged particles from the sun that you see. It is true that on a clear night the light is often easier to see and a clear night is usually colder. But when we go to Lapland, cold is nesseccary I think, that makes the experience even more magical if you ask me. Often the cold feels different than during a chilly winters in the Netherlands. But thats here say, I still have to go and experience and I will sure let you know afterwards.

Where to see the Northern Lights? Well you have multiple destinations like Canada, Alaska and Greenland. But there are also a number of places in Europe. For us better and cost like more effective. The best chance of spotting it in Europe is in Lapland, Scandinavia or Iceland. Unfortunately, there it is not always certain that you will see the Northern Light, for now I will say that we will see it there and I go with Finnish Lapland as our destination.

I found a trip for Euro 895,00

We will leave in january 2021, Finnish Lapland
( If the Dutch and Finnish covid rules let us of course )
We will stay 7 nights based on room, bed and breakfast.
The additional lunch or dinner can be in the restaurants of the hotel. Including the transfer time from Skellefteå airport: approx. 2 hours. Excursion to the Northern light on snowmobile is included. Day is yet to be decided depending on the clear weather and visibility for the light.

NOTE: To drive a snowmobile we must be at least 18 years old and in possession of a driving license. So on snowmobile safaris, our children sit in a sled behind the guide's snowmobile.

Centrally located family oriented hotel, extras included Ice karting (approx. 2 hours we have to see, but with a boys family I might be outnumbered ) Spa with swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi and outdoor jacuzzi. A chance to discover a traditional Sami church village ( free of charge ) Also possible Djurpark: where you have the possibility to come face-to-face with the animals of Lapland ( thats a yes with kids ) Ice skating on the Ume river
( also a yes )

I see myself making snowangeld, and make loads of pictures for #treetuesday for #shadowhunters and #feathersfriends cause the nature must be gorgeous! The snow ball fights with the kids and the smell of burning wood in the fireplace in the hotel in the evening, the slededogs huskies, for doglovers like us thats a plus aswell. Charlie and Joey will be at the sitter so this way the boys won’t miss the dogs that much. There were stories of eagles up north so that’s exciting to watch aswell. And the serene silence. Oh how I long for nature’s silence! The fact WiFi is not available everywhere that’s a plus aswell. Back to offline life even if it’s for a few days. Will be the first days missed on hive cause I still havent missed a day since my start 3 years ago but the northern queen light will be the best excuse, and I will just blame it on the @pinmapple team ! Yep great rule !

This is including the airfare and the taxes. The $100,00 left I will have to spend on gear.

The fact that we go to snowy areas we have to have snowboard, hats, socks, scarfs, thermic underwear and gloves, and not the ones we wear in dutch winters but arctic ones. So I will spend this in second hand stores and find all because I still have 6 weeks before I go. And another option is to borrow stuff from my sister in law and best friends. Both have kids and for the little ones I will have to buy because ages arent the same.

I would love to do more but the $ 1000,00 is almost spend.
The photos in this blog are from hotels that are more expansive, but I still have to dream a bit.

These excursions are also possible but expensive :

( Taken from the travel site)

Admire the Aurora Borealis in Finnish Lapland
The most popular place to experience the Northern Lights is Finnish Lapland. Think of: vast snow landscapes, husky rides and reindeer. You then spend the night in a fairytale glass igloo or in the Artic snow hotel. Complete with a warm fireplace, jacuzzi and sauna! How romantic!

You can also see the Northern Lights in the far north of Norway and Sweden. Tromsø and Lofoten are popular destinations in Norway. You also have a good chance at the northernmost tourist destination in the world, Svalbard (Spitsbergen). In Kiruna (Sweden) you will spend the night in Sweden's very first ice hotel. And in Norway you will find the most beautiful and fairytale accommodations such as a snow hotel or an igloo hotel.

Or this impressive tree house hotel!

Photo: © Treehotel, Sweden. https://www.scandinaviastandard.com/visit-the-tree-hotel-in-northern-sweden/

For now in covid times while we are not able to travel and the $1000,00 is not real there is a solution. A bonus: the Polar Light in the Netherlands. If you are very lucky, you could see the Northern Lights in the Netherlands under very favorable conditions. You have the best chance in Groningen, Friesland or, for example, in the Veluwe, because you have the least light pollution here. I will try that once we know when its the best time, as a alternative to this dream and wishlist holiday.

I am a pinner of trips, i was that when i was on the former platform and i still am. I love @pinmapple and my library in the map. We used it often as a contest or challenge in the redfishrally for @theterminal and that was always a succes in meeting the new ralliers. I also did some projects and the first one is a long time ago on Steemit.
https://steemit.com/steemitworldmap/@brittandjosie/did-you-ak-for-your-flag-on-my-steemitworldmap-already-this-is-the-endresult

Thanks to the team, @martibis @Choogirl @itchyfeetdonica @oroger @liznomadsoul and LOH friend @livinguktaiwan for rewarding over 11.000 blogs in curation of the 55.000 blogs made by Steemians and Hivers in this extended project on the blockchain.

For you reading my dream trip entry to the contest wanna join ?

To celebrate reaching 1000 #traveldigest posts we were going to give away 1000 Hive, but thanks to @roelandp throwing in an extra 1000 Hive, we now have 2000 Hive to distribute.

Talking about fellow Dutchie Roeland I have to pitch the hive fest too so sorry for the free publicity but go register:

Photo image from taken from the blog
here is the link to register
https://peakd.com/hivefest/@roelandp/announcing-hivefest-18-december-2020-altspacevr-stay-connected

Here is how you can win.

Join our raffle (1000 HIVE)
🥇 Winners: 10 x 100 hive prize pool (1000 hive total).
Go to the 1000 Contest raffle page and get raffle entries

Your Hive account needs to be at least one week old
“If I had $1000” Writing Contest (700 HIVE)
🥇First place 200 Hive 🥈Second place 150 Hive 🥉Third place 100 Hive.
Honourable mentions: 5 x 50 Hive (total 250 Hive).

Create your entry in the Haveyoubeenhere and Pinmapple community on the Hive blockchain.
In your own words, where would you travel and what places would you visit if you had US$1000 to spend? Be creative. Be passionate. Don't just write I'd go here, then here, then here. Furthermore, the $1000 amount is meant to inspire you and be a guide, it does not mean you have to provide an accurate cost breakdown of everything you would do. You might prefer to be on a shoestring budget trip with many stops, or blow it all on one night in a luxury hotel. Then of course there is everything in between. The choice is yours.
Get your inspiration from Pinmapple. Add at least one place that has been pinned to the map already and give someone's post a shout out. You don't have to upvote it, especially if it's outside the payout window, but you do have to reference it. You can also reference your own posts if you would like to return somewhere, but don’t just copy and paste that text into your contest entry (we will check).
Original content only, no plagiarism.
Do not use other people's photos without their permission. Use your own photos or royalty-free ones from pixabay, unsplash etc.
Use the tag #pinmapplethousand.
You must add "This is my entry to the Pinmapple If I had $1000 Contest" to your post.
User Experience Writing Contest (300 HIVE)
🥇Winners: 3 x 100 Hive (300 Hive total).
In your own words tell us about your experience with Pinmapple and/or Haveyoubeenhere. Some ideas include how you feel when you look at your own map/collection of pins, how you use it to plan your next trip, how you document your work around the world, your quest to travel and put a pin in every country, your experience with the Pinmapple team, etc.
Your post needs to be at least 300 words long.
Original content only, no plagiarism.
Use the tag #pinmapplethousand.
Anything else?
The closing date for all entries is Thursday 25th November 2020.
You can enter both writing contests multiple times.
Post a link to your writing contest entry/entries in the comments section of this post so that we don't miss it.
Please read about our new DHF proposal and if you like it, vote for it too of course!

https://peakd.com/hive-163772/@pinmapple/2000-hive-contest-to-celebrate-reaching-1000-digests

I know that @ livinguktaiwan also did a blog in 2018 so here’s teh link :

https://peakd.com/travel/@livinguktaiwan/dancing-in-the-sky-the-northern-lights

For people that use pinmapple for the first time here is the text from an earlier pinmapple post.

TIP POST:
WHAT IS PINMAPPLE?
Pinmapple (formerly Steemitworldmap) is a collection of the best travel content on the Hive blockchain shown on a map.

WHY SHOULD I USE PINMAPPLE?
On Hive as an author, once you enter your travel location, you get an auto-generated code containing the location of your post. If done correctly, adding this code to your post will enable the Pinmapple searcher to find the location of your post and pin it on the map within minutes.

The procedure works on any front-end for Hive.

Once your location is pinned to the Pinmapple map, it will be curated by the Pinmapple team.

Every day the Pinmapple team curates the best travel posts and issues a Travel Digest to showcase the authors' works.

This helps authors to gain more exposure and recognition. The team also upvotes the authors on Hive so they are rewarded for their quality posts.

DIRECTIONS TO PIN YOUR TRAVEL LOCATION TO PINMAPPLE:

{For this example, I chose as my location: Yellowstone National Park, WY, U.S.}

1. Go to: https://pinmapple.com;
2. Click in the Search box and type the location of your travel; Hit ENTER;
3. Click GET CODE;
4. Click on the location result on the Pinmapple map;
5. A box at the bottom of the page will appear;
6. Enter a name for your location;
7. Click on the code underneath the name for your location
   ​[//]:# (!pinmapple 113456.666 lat -123445 long Live this map-Brittandjosie d3scr)
8. Message above the code will state: Copied Successfully; and
9. Paste the code into your post. Anywhere in your post will be sufficient. You may need to place a space before and after the code.

NOTE:
a) The map is hidden and WILL NOT appear in PREVIEW.
b) The location will be added to the Pinmapple Map ONLY after you publish the post.
c) @pinmapple will visit your post and leave a comment once your location has been added to its map. The Comment will contain:
​1) A notice that your post has been successfully added to the Map; and
​2) A link to your Pinmapple PROFILE so that you can check if your location is correct.
d) Only 1 location per post will be pinned to the map.
e) Pinmapple code must be included in post prior to publishing.
¹"Pinmapple and Haveyoubeenhere." by @pinmapple. Posted on Hive. Pinmapple and Haveyoubeenhere

Thanks for stopping by, its appreciated and remember focus on being creative instead of being bee-zy.

Remember we are only one comment away from eachother.

Consistent Actions Create Consistent Results.
Not everyone is a blogger but everyone has something great to offer.

Lover of Life and L❤️ve in General - @brittandjosie

I am a proud member off the #theTerminal #powerhousecreatives @ladiesofhive.
Co founder for @theterminal, @heyhaveyamet and @steem-aide

(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me. @brittandjosie originals. Sources used : Pixabay and Pexels and with others its mentioned in my blog. I only use a canon camera and my iPhone.

I would like to thank you for reading my blog, feel free to leave me any feedback, if not, read you next time.

Your personal Discord terminal invite : https://discord.gg/XZGPGpz

Last but not least I will pinn these links :

Want to learn a bit more about the projects?
Learn more about Pinmapple

https://peakd.com/hive/@pinmapple/pinmapple-and-haveyoubeenhere

Learn more about Haveyoubeenhere

https://www.haveyoubeenhere.com

Blog Date :
16 november 2020