10 August 2014 (hot and sunny) 22 km

Life is an adventure

As you travel many roads

With only bare necessities

Making up your load

Your tent…a home and shelter

To keep you warm and dry

Your bike…to take you where you please

It never questions ..why..?

The world becomes your playground

And your school along the way

Mixing with the locals

That you meet from day to day

Language proves no barrier

When you show a welcome smile

Communication in many forms

Though it sometimes takes a while

And with your travels over

We take the road for home

With experiences we’ll treasure

From the gypsy life we’ve known.

We had so many photos of Helsinki yesterday, we had to save a few for today and we'll put some in tomorrow too as we won't be doing much touristy stuff.

A  few modern buildings

We weren’t expecting much of a sleep at this busy campground full of dogs and festival goers, but all the dogs quietened down as darkness fell and we camped well away from any festival people so they didn’t bother us either and we both had a great night’s sleep, waking at 6.30am.  Decided to hit the showers before everyone else did and then brewed up a coffee and ate a nectarine before wandering up to the supermarket to see if it was open.  In Finland, supermarkets tend to close at 6pm on Sat and not open until midday on Sunday and that was the case here too.  So we had to make do with a toastie from the garage which came with a free coffee and an orange juice.  It was another lovely day so we decided to go for a little exploration of this area which is full of forests and beaches. 

After cycling a couple of kms along forest tracks, we came upon a lovely little bay, which looked to be a family beach.  With the chance of harming Anglo-Russian relations, I do have to make a comment here.  As a male, when I hold a door open for anybody, male or female, I expect to have at least some form of acknowledgment.  The Russian Finns we have encountered of the female kind, are not only extremely pushy when it comes to waiting in line, but extremely rude in all forms of social etiquette.  At the beach we witnessed another side to Russian Finn females, in the form of a woman and her three children.  The kids were demanding to be noticed, not just by Mum but by everyone on the beach and Mum was definitely being noticed because she was so loud.  The whole time we were there, she and her kids never shut up, especially the one named Alex.  The whole beach knew who this kid was in five minutes.  So even though our swim there was extremely refreshing and enjoyable with lovely deep, cool water, we were glad to be leaving 45 mins later.

Outdoor gym equipment is very popular in Finland and Sweden

Continued our ride which took us through the pine forest and out to a marina and apartment area which was very well laid out and had the usual playgrounds as well as an outside basketball court and outside gym equipment. 

However, it also contained Neanderthal Russian workout junkies complete with their eight pack of “water” bottles which probably contained all sorts of “juice” to get them fired up for their next workout.  These guys, on a stinking hot day, were dressed in jeans, t-shirt and shoes, which they proceeded to workout in.  To be cool, you’ve got to be hot – that is temperature wise.

Younger Russian-Finn women, love to decorate themselves with tattoos.  We aren’t talking one and two, we are talking arms and legs and torsos covered.  It has been one of the most noticeable aspects of females in Finland.  Another is the amount of males and females who smoke.  The anti-smoking message has not been promoted here at all and NZ is light years ahead.

Another peculiarity has been the handheld bidet showers at nearly every toilet we have visited in Finland – even the campgrounds have them.

Had lunch at a café by the popular beach of the area, which got deep very quickly, much to our relief.  There are no waves here at all and people don’t swim…they bathe …or splash water over various body parts… whilst trying to look cool.

Not a bad place to spend our last few days!

As we write this blog , we are being annoyed, as is usual in Finland, by wasps. They are really annoying and anyone who is scared or allergic to the bloody things, should not choose Finland as a holiday destination.

Met a couple of Froggies at camp today [Christian and Patricia ] who are serious bike packers.

Their latest venture hopes to see them travelling the globe for four years. They are currently four months in….so good luck with that…! They have done a fourteen month tour from France to Beijing, so definitely roadworthy souls.

After our enjoyable swim in deep water….we returned the way we had come….since it was so scenic….but half way back, Julia encounters a problem with her brakes. Nothing immediately obvious and after further examination….still no solution.

Now…..if we were beginning our tour….we’d be right on to it……but ya know…..it;s the last day of cycling tomorrow…..we have 20km’s to ride…..we have already achieved what we set out to do and we are packing the bikes up tomorrow afternoon……sooooooo…….stuff it……it’s not going to stop us getting to the hotel…..

Back at camp….we donned our cleaning gear…..and attitude…and spent slightly over an hour cleaning the bikes ready for packing….before riding to the supermarket to pick up some beers and nuts and dinner [posh version ] for later.

This is Also the last night we will be spending in our tent…..and we will not be bringing it home with us….so we are on the lookout for someone who may want a tent….other than that…it’s a sign saying FREE TENT written in Finnish….and left by the side of the road…!

We are also shedding other well used articles….including clothing….dishcloths….flannels….plastic bags….useful for those rainy days……????

Apparently …the curtain falls on the ‘Cock and the Pigeon’ very soon…..can’t wait to see what happens there….