Meeting Selina Carthy
I met Selina when I moved to London back in 2015 and she soon became one of my closest friends in the city. However, I realized how important was her friendship many years later. When in 2018 I decided to open my travel blog, she enthusiastically believed in my scatterbrained project. And she helped in realizing it giving this interview and writing the intro with a bio about her life.
Selina has spent her entire life in London, so far…Occasionally, the inner global nomad lets rip and escapes to less urbane parts of the Planet.
She wants the City Mini Rats: Ananya and Luke, to experience traveling to natural spots or as UNESCO says ‘heritage sites’. Always on the look out for inspiration and new ideas, traveling is at the heart of our imagination…
Hi Selina, you have just returned from the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi — 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. Why did you choose to go there?
I thought it would be an adventure for my children who have never seen snow! I have spent my entire life in London and when I need a break, I head to extreme nature. I also watch a lot of nature documentaries like Brian Cox’s Wonders of the World/Universe and of course Planet Earth and Blue Planet. They trigger an affinity with the Natural World and inspire meaningful adventure. Actually, when I think about it: the first answer should be James Bond. 007 has been to the Ice Hotel in an invisible car, with Bond girl who wasn’t me and a fistful of diamonds and I loved that film. Actually, it is my fave 007 movie — ‘Die Another Day’.
All these factors lead you to go with your family to Lapland booking your stay at the Ice Hotel. How was this experience?
The winter landscape is picturesque: but I feel a ski resort has many features of a city just only with snow and boutiques. Having been to Antarctica, a decade ago — I wanted awe inspiring scenery, quietude, and a place to reflect. The Ice Hotel has a roll call of artists, sculptors, architects, and designers, who have created an ephemeral and ethereal world out of blue ice. It was definitely calling me!
We originally booked for three nights but then we stayed for only two because I didn’t want Ananya (my eldest City Mini Rat) to miss school.
Can you tell me a little bit about your experience there?
I have never been to the Scandinavian countryside before and it was like a dream. It felt magical like something out of Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia): snow covered forests, heavy snowfall, and the wilderness. But, also with such extreme cold, you realise that you live pretty well in a temperate city. We had to wear snowsuits to walk around and I think our base thermal layer cost the same amount as the trip! It was –8 for the first couple of days but on the last day, it hit -23 C, so it was appropriate to dress very well for the sub-arctic conditions. On the first day, we went to dog sledding and it was the most exhilarating experience I have had in a long time. The four of us were on one sled. The dogs were not Siberian huskies; they were a hybrid because, apparently, Siberian huskies are very aggressive towards each other. It was amazing.
We went on the frozen lake into the forest, where we passed horses coated up. We took a ‘coffee’ break in the middle of the forest and had hot drinks in a wooden hut. It probably looked 300 years old but it was built only 10 years ago. It felt like ‘back to basics’, a break from Starbucks! Then we returned through the forest and on to the lake. We traveled through a very powerful landscape, I loved this and I booked the same trip for the next day. However, the next day was -20 C, and was more difficult for the children on our way back. During the pit stop, they went to the ‘bathroom’ lost all their body heat changing out of the snowsuit, and then felt really cold on the return journey! Yep, this is how thermodynamics works in the Arctic World!
What has been your most memorable experience?
My main motivation was to see the Northern Lights but that excursion was late in the evening so it was a bit tricky with the kids. The guide had a sleigh for me and the kids. Everyone else was on a snowmobile, including Neil (my husband). It was a really bumpy road for an hour and a half. We traveled through the forest in the dark and it was amazing to see the sparkling snow by moonlight. Also, to feel the atmosphere of the forest by night, I kept my eye open for trolls!
There are also beautiful clapboard houses and when you go through the forest, you see these settlements with Christmas decorations outside. It was so magical and idyllic, sadly though we did not see the lights.
It was extremely cold and on our way back we stopped by a cabin for dinner. I think we expected a three-course-meal, instead we had a bowl of reindeer soup (cooked by a very nice Swedish guy who made it earlier at home). Ananya was disgusted by the idea of eating reindeer and we told Luke that it was made of chicken and beef. It was actually nice. It tasted like Bolognese sauce. Our guide also baked a cake and we drank lingonberry juice (a kind of cranberry). It was an amazing experience. We were inside this wooden hut, sitting on benches around a roaring hearth fire. On the return journey, I drove the snowmobile and it was an adrenaline junkie ride — I’ve never driven one before. I thought it would be very cold because you race through the forest for more than half an hour but thanks to heated handlebars, it’s a toasty ride! So, I will definitely return to do that again.
What about your kids? Did Ananya and Luke enjoy it?
It was hard for the children especially for Luke (my 4-year-old) because this trip is recommended for kids aged 7–11. Also, it was especially cold for the children, but they managed well and Ananya, who is 6 and a half, will remember it. They have never been to a snowy place, so it was an extreme introduction. Rather, than go to a ski resort, we did snowy activities: sleighing and sled, chasing the northern lights and building snowmen. Mainly they just threw themselves into the snow and loved it!
You have stayed with your family at the Ice Hotel how did you like sleeping on a bed made of ice?
My room was -5 C so they give you a special sleeping bag, which did not work well. So, I was wrapped in it, wearing thermal layers and I tried hard to sleep. I stayed awake until 4 am and then I went to the heated bathroom and slept there!
What has this trip taught you?
Lapland offers many excursions such as cross-country skiing, ice sculpting, photography, and survival skills. If you really want to have a full wintery experience, it’s the right place. You quickly realize how tough it would have been to live in these conditions and it still is. It takes endurance and a resilient spirit.
Usually, a weekend in London would be spent attending children’s birthday parties and domestic life, so this was time spent at another level. It really made me think of Narnia — the snow and blue ice are at a different level of consciousness and the winter forest is the portal! I brought along my inner Snow Queen and Luke plays the part of naughty Edmund very well, so all we needed was Turkish Delight…
Selina passed away in 2020. I will be forever grateful for having met her. Our conversations about our shared love for traveling and writing are and always be a source of inspiration.
