"What’s a
girl to wear in -30!??"
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| Arriving at the wilderness cabin |
That was the
biggest question I had regarding our trip to the Arctic, not in a fashion sense
(well maybe just a little) but I’ve only ever flown South and nearly always to
hot, sunny bikini type places and definitely never to the snow. Not being one for sensible clothing I went on
a borrowing mission, literally from top to toe pinching everything from hats
to boots and even a pair of Dior wrap around sunnies!!
The
temperature was definitely my biggest fear about heading off into the unknown
and I quizzed David constantly on what I would need to take with me to cope
with the cold, but as February drew nearer I began to get a mild panic about
other things like food; as a none meat eater what would there be for me to eat,
what if something happened at home and I had no phone, and the biggie, how and where do you go to the toilet in the
middle of the wilderness!!??
When it came
to the activities though I had no worries at all, despite my colleagues
concerns about how I’d manage a week without heels! Little did they know in my formative years I
was somewhat of a tomboy playing footy, climbing trees and generally getting up
to mischief with my brothers and sisters.
In fact, I was particularly looking forward to the snowmobiles and had
made Dale promise we would pair together to ensure the ‘need for speed’!
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| Breakfast beers, it's the law! |
So on a cold
and dark February morning and with my bag was packed to within an inch of its
life, I kissed my little boy goodbye and headed off into the unknown...well, to
Manchester Airport with the rest of the team.
After a hearty breakfast with the customary airport beer (it’s the law
don’t you know!?) and some alcoholic essentials in duty free (to keep us warm
of course!) it was time to board; bye-bye rainy Britain, Facebook, heels and
straighteners, hello snowy Sweden and wilderness survival!
Two flights
later we landed on the snowy runway at Kiruna, which is Sweden’s most northerly
airport and was about the size of a school gym!
We were introduced to Gaynor who was to be our guide for the next few
days and thrown straight in at the deep end, with a dog-sleigh ride through the
dark to the Mushers Lodge. We arrived
at the cabin (also home to 250 specially bred huskies) to a warm fire and hot
pans of chilli; moose for the carnivores and soya mince for me....it was
delicious, maybe I wouldn’t need all those emergency snacks I’d packed after
all!
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| Naughty dogs Dina and Oboy in the background |
The
following morning after a brief lesson on how to drive the sled I met my dogs;
the good ones Eric and Tora, and the naughty ones, Oboy and Dina. With the warning to keep my eye on them still
ringing in my ears we were off, yikes!
I’m not sure what I imagined it would be like, but after a few shaky
bends and the odd wobble I felt pretty confident and could take in the
magnificent scenery, it was like Narnia only better, a proper icy
wonderland! Winding our way through
snowy pine forests and across vast frozen lakes before we finally reached the
wilderness cabin, it was charming and cosy with candles and bunk beds and much
more comfortable than I was expecting, even the toilets weren’t so bad.
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| Ice fishing with Amanda |
After picking
our beds we went on to the lake for an attempt at ice fishing, we busily
drilled five holes in the snow and waited....and waited....and waited. This was my first time fishing and after over
an hour on the lake I had nothing to show, in fact there was only one small
fish caught by Julie, I hope they had a back-up plan for dinner! Apparently it was the time of year and not
our lack of fishing skills that was the problem!
Back to the
cabin it was time for chores. My job was
to chop wood with Adam, as it turns out I’m a bit rubbish at chopping so
instead I offered encouragement (and sips of Amaretto!) and ensured all the
wood stores were fully stocked.
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| Alexander Skarsgard |
Tasks
done it was sauna time, a chance to relax & have a giggle with a beer,
brave an Arctic roll in the snow....and maybe the occasional glimpse at Adams
six-pack!! After dinner we played a
getting to know you game, apparently our ideal men include Piers Brosnan, Jessie
Pavelka, David Beckham and even the Swede Alexander Skarsgard.
After
breakfast the sound of 44 dogs barking meant it was time to go! Now we were more relaxed on the sleds the
trail was much longer but still just as stunning.
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| On the trail with Dina, Oboy, Eric & Tora |
Unfortunately at one point I was a little too
relaxed, stood on the soft brake I was still adjusting my hat when the dogs
decided they were ready even if I wasn’t!
As they sped off I slipped off the break only to watch as my sled and
dogs thunder behind the convoy, as I attempted to run after them through the
snow still holding on to my hat I could hear David howling with laughter behind
me....it’s a wonder he didn’t fall off he was laughing that hard at my Benny
Hill impression!! Thankfully Jeanette
caught the dogs and I managed to get back on board.
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| Dale in the snow |
That
evening, relaxing in the sauna after our chores and with a wicked glint in his
eye David said we needed an early tea as he had something planned. So layered up again we headed into the
darkness taking the opportunity to push each other into snow drifts!
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| Inside the igloo before the 'trials' |
Up ahead was a fantastic igloo aglow with
blue lights and a small fire heating a big pot of glögg, a
Swedish mulled wine. After a quiz to
determine which team knew most about our host nation, we were allowed into the
igloo for our next game....’Igloo Tucker Trials’.
After a lot of drama over a banana and a boiled egg (yes really) I knew what was
coming, I’d seen it on TV and I could definitely smell the whiff in the
air.
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| Attempting the strömming |
Blindfolded, Steve and I were
challenged to eat strömming, a Swedish
‘delicacy’ of fermented herring. The
stench was so bad they had to open the tin outside and as Gaynor tried to feed
me the fish I could hear Claire shouting “just think of it as sushi!” Steve managed it and I did try but there was
no way I was swallowing that!! Some of
the others braved it too, but I’ll just stick to actual sushi in future.
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| Snuggling together in the igloo! |
The fun
continued with 7 out of the 10 adventurers deciding to sleep at the igloo. Obviously if you’re going to spend the night
in an icy box getting drunk and snuggling together was the only way to keep
warm!! This seemed like loads of fun in
the fuzzy drunkenness of midnight, but not so much come 6am when you’re dying
for a wee!!!
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| Snowmobiling on the lake |
Somewhat
jaded the next morning we headed off on our final trail with the dogs....it was
snowmobile time!! As promised, Dale and I clambered on to the first
skidoo. The air was heavy and
threatening to snow as Dale accelerated, wheeeeeeeeee!!! We loved it!
As Dales confidence grew so did the speed, touching 70mph at one point
and that was alright by me! We stopped
to swap seats and it was my turn to drive, and Dale braved it on the back as we
sped across the frozen lake before stopping for a brew in a traditional Sami
tepee.
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| Drinkies! |
On the final
evening we tiptoed back into reality with a night in a proper hotel with hot
running water and flushing toilets, never has a shower felt so good! Washed, dressed and smelling sweet we were
treated to a gourmet Swedish banquet cooked by our own private chef and washed
down with a different wine for each course, perfect! Back at the hotel bar you needed a small
mortgage to get the round in and a mastermind to remember the names of all the
beers! Much fun was had and some new
friends made before wearily heading to sleep in a proper bed!
Before
heading home we had chance to visit the world famous Ice Hotel and wave Gaynor
and some of our favourite dogs off on her 300km race.
All in all,
after a week away from home and all our creature comforts I learnt I can live
without straighteners (just about), I quite like the snow and I definitely love
my work friends, they make me laugh a lot....oh, and we definitely need a sauna in our new
offices!
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| Last night fun with our Arctic friends |
