Time to say Goodbye to my Team

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Well it’s my last day with Hannah, Malfoy, Zaki and Tovak so feeling a bit subdued as I harnessed them up for the last time. The cabin last night was really nice with a fantastic view out of the window. Michael and Gurt from the team gave Torbin a rest and cooked fresh salmon from the lake for supper. It was delicious. As it had snowed during the night, Linda used the snowmobile to make a path for us across the lake, but unfortunately she got stuck so Torbin had to help her out. You can’t beat dog power!

However, before long we reached the base camp again where the dogs are kept. I unharnessed them and they were led away and I have to confess I felt a little bit emotional as I said goodbye to them.

Anyway, Torben then took us into Kiruna for a look around. There’s not a great deal to see, as it’s simply a mining town for the local inhabitants. Even though everywhere was covered in snow, it was strange to see cars and shops again. They seemed so un-natural and slightly offensive after the isolation I had experienced for the last week in the frozen wilderness. I bought some reindeer meat from a local butcher to take home that seemed like a good idea at the time and then we were taken to a cabin for the last night.

Torben gave us all a small gift that was nice but also brought along a few beers for the evening that went down well. But when I woke up at 3am and needed a pee it didn’t seem such a good idea. I tried to persuade myself that I didn’t need to go but after 15 minutes I had no choice. As the fire had long gone out and the hut was now freezing I had to firstly put my thermals on, then my socks and boots and then my fleece to go outside for a pee. It was about -20 outside and it then takes about 5 minutes before you can go by which time it’s almost fallen off! Jesus I was glad to get back into my sleeping bag only for most of the rest of the team to be woken up at 5:30am to be taken to the airport for their flight home. So for breakfast it was just me and Mario and some very solid butter.

By about 10 O’clock, Emma picked us up from the cabin and took Mario and me to the Ice Hotel. I was really glad I saw it and it is very impressive but after the week it all seemed a bit surreal what with tourists arriving by coach outside to see it. Still the “designer rooms” are impressive with some amazing themes carried out by designers from around the world. The ice sculptures are incredible with their intricate workmanship.

But soon it was time to be taken to the airport for the flight back to reality. I’m really glad I did this adventure and the only regret I have is that I didn’t do it a year earlier when my Dad was still alive as I would have loved to have told him about it. However I didn’t discover anything about myself that I didn’t know already, it was simply a fantastic experience and one I would certainly do again. I just hope that this last bit of wilderness remains unchanged and stays the beautiful inspirational place it is today.

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