Intrepid Adventuring

Dear Reader

I was going to head this post Fearless Adventuring, but that would have been an untruth. There was a certain amount of fear associated with these adventures. But I faced my fears, embraced the opportunities and am rather chuffed with myself. Anxiety about such activities is well founded and makes me appropriately cautious.

Yesterday I went on a snowmobile, or skidoo, as the English call them. I had hoped to be a passenger, but this was not a possibility as there was a group of 5 in our party, and one of them rode behind the leader. So I drove a snowmobile. By myself. There was only one hairy moment and this was 100 metres away from our final destination, and this was after 20km of driving. I remembered the instructions and managed to keep the vehicle heading in the right direction. And upright. Driving the snowmobile through was an exhilarating feeling, and I enjoyed the second half of the trip better, once I got the hang of it and could appreciate my surroundings better. I was also spurred on to complete my journey by some of my sibs who in a text message discussion were rather cynical about my ability to ride safely.

We headed out to a reindeer farm, where we had lunch, which was a reindeer soup. The reindeer is a very important animal in these parts. They are used for pulling sleighs and sleds, they are farmed and wild, with the farmed ones also having a tourism function. They are an important source of meat and other nutrition, with a “delicacy” here being Reindeer Piss, which is a brandy and meat consommé drink served warm. (Didn’t try it). The reindeer skins are also extensively used to keep warm. The indigenous Sami people use them for boots and clothing and the skins are also placed on sleds, sleighs and on the snow to sit on, and are effective in keeping out the cold.

This is the toilet. A bit like a long drop. I was NOT getting out of all my gear to use it!

By the way, Dear Reader, it has been cold. Very cold. I have experienced cold like never before, but also experienced the lifestyle where this cold is managed so well. Before each activity we were provided with waterproof overalls, boots and mittens, balaclavas, hats etc. You are encouraged to wear your jackets underneath the overalls, which I did, and with the oversized boots I think I looked a little like a bear when I walked. Still, the exposed bits such as noses and cheeks get very cold. You do get used to the cold, and the resulting shiny red face when you come back inside. The buildings are all well insulated and heated. The glass igloo I stayed in was also well heated.

I was very grateful for the hand warmers Cousin Sal gave me while I was in Henley. It made such a difference. Sal uses hers when she goes to watch Lacrosse. I used mine inside my gloves, but not whenI was driving the skidoo. I will be lending them to Wendy Dawes when I get home, as apparently they are designed for people with Reynaud’s.

So, now for what I did. After the husky driving I went and had a rest as well as preparing the last post on the blog. I went on a reindeer adventure that evening, where you recline on a sled and are pulled along by a reindeer. We were heading out into the forest to hunt for the Aurora Borealis, as it is easier to see in the complete dark.

We had caught a glimpse of it, only an arc, but I can say I really saw them. Not enough to get a photo, but I did see them. In the absence of a photo of the Northern Lights I offer you a photo of a cocktail named after them.

Next morning was the snowmobile adventure to the Reindeer Farm. In each of these adventures we are taken to a place where we stop and have something to eat and drink. With the huskies it was fish soup, with the reindeer it was warm juice and biscuits, at the reindeer farm it was reindeer soup, rye bread, warm juice and coffee. There is always a fire, two of them were in teepees, one in a building and one built in a hole dug in the snow. They are also much welcomed.

Those of you who know me well will be aware of my coffee snobbery. It is severe. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I think I may have enjoyed instant coffee. If you are cold enough you will enjoy anything hot.

Last night we headed out to go Aurora Hunting again, and via snowmobile again. I’m not sure of the purpose of hunting something that the iPhone apps tell you there is 0% of catching. However, the experience is what it is all about. This time I was in a sleigh behind the leader’s skidoo. I was rather relieved not to be driving at night as the task would have been more challenging, I fear. It was nice to be relaxing in the sleigh, with two blankets on top, as snug as a bug in a rug.

There is not a lot to do in Kakslauttanen apart from the organised activities and meals, which gave me recovery time in my igloo. And on the last night a chance to “chill” in the warmth of the Igloo Bar where I had the aforementioned cocktail, Aurora Borealis. Or two, maybe. It was the wrong colour but a great flavour. I met a couple, Don and Stephanie from Tennessee, who were drinking red, and managed to buy a round for them. They wanted to return the favour but I was not up for another.

I met interesting people here at Kakslauttanen. The five New York lasses on the skidoo adventure were a hoot. There were families, mothers and daughters and a couple of women from Adelaide, one of whom went to the same school as me, although a few years earlier. There were a lot of Australians but also Brits, Americans, Germans, French and some Chinese. The staff were also international, with the chap making my cocktail a fellow Aussie.

There is a certain irony. I am currently sporting an injury. Not from any of the exotic activities. No, from jarring my leg while dressed up in the weatherproof gear and boots, and misjudging the step out of the building. It was only about 8cm but in all that gear a near slip can really hurt. Hopefully I will be able to walk it out as I did last time this happened at home.

I obviously have an affinity with animals, except for huskies that run away when I fall off the sled. The reindeer I fed were very friendly, and Misu, the resort cat sought me out this morning after we made friends last night. Why is it that cats will always find the allergic human and make friends? She sat on my breakfast table for the whole hour I was there, updating Facebook and beginning this post. And talking to my Mum. It is amazing to be on one side of the world and still able to talk to Mum on the other.

So now I am on a plane heading to Sweden to spend some time with my beloved Swedish Sister, Maggie. I suspect by the time I get to publish this we will already be together.

Dear Reader, if you have read this far, thank you for indulging me. It has been a privilege indeed to visit this spectacular part of the world and by writing about it, to try to put it into words.

Cxx