Both had a great night’s sleep once we had rid the tent of
mosquitoes that is. There are so many
flying insects with midges, flies and mosquitoes being the main
perpetrators. The flies are especially
persistent and we have noticed since Denmark that a lot of the horses have
masks over their faces of some description.
At first we were going “What are they doing? It’s so hot, why would they put masks on the
horses?” Until we stood stationary
ourselves and the flies started to settle on us, then we realised what the
masks were for. Boy they are
annoying. They won’t just fly off with a
casual swat either. You have to actually
move them off you with direct contact and then they come straight back
again. Merely sitting on your skin is
not good enough either and they will try and climb into your eyes and up your
nostrils. Fortunately this appears to be
mainly a countryside phenomenon and doesn’t happen by the beach.
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| An old villa at the edge of the campground |
We were both woken by the cleaning lady banging and
clattering away in the toilets and showers at 5.45am – I guess she figured well
she has to be awake so why should anyone else sleep? We were just managing to tune her out when
our alarm clock went off – at least that’s what it sounded like. A tuneless blaring caw, four times in a row
by a jackdaw in sync with the cleaning lady and right by our tent. I’d have liked to whack him on the head as
you would an alarm clock. He set off a
whole cacophony of tuneless cawing from every jackdaw in the campground and I
thought sleep was over for sure. But we
rolled over, they quietened down and we slept on til 7.30am, when the diggers
started just outside the camp gate.
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| We don't like to air our dirty laundry in public, but we're fine with clean laundry! |
Decided we’d get up and get our washing done in the shower
seeing as we had unlimited hot water at this camp. They had a washing machine but we have little
faith left in camp washing machines and figured we could get our clothes
cleaner ourselves. We then packed up a
nice dry tent and headed into the supermarket to pick up some nice cold milk and
yoghurt for our breakfast. Man you sure
appreciate refrigeration when you’re on the road in hot, sunny weather. Back to our favourite spot at the beach where
we spread out the groundsheet and laid our wet washing out to dry while we ate
breakfast. Then had a lovely cooling swim, being careful not to
touch the bottom, and then Pete went back to the supermarket to get the rest of
the day’s supplies while I wrote the blog and kept an eye on the laundry.
Pete here……I managed to escape the heat for a half hour
inside an air conditioned supermarket….but …man.. when you come outside
again….phew..!
Back at the beach…more of Finlands finest, were sprawled out
on the sand and grass. I must say any young man looking for LOOKS…. would be
hard pressed to beat Sweden and even though we are in Finland…. This area takes
it’s roots and heritage from Sweden. 80% of the language used here is Swedish
and you get the picture that these are the ones with the money….whereas the
Russian based Finns, seem to be up against it. Probably not as clear cut as
that…..but it definitely looks to be a West and East situation.
After another swim, we packed up our gear, including laundry
and headed up to the Tourist office to
post the blog and say goodbye to the girls who work there. That done, we
wandered over the road to a nice little café for some lunch, before preparing
ourselves for the afternoon ride.
Now that we are in Finland….the pressure is off to complete
big mileage, so we are cruising this final week and enjoying everything that
Finland in this region can provide.
We’d only gone about 2km’s and the sweat was well and truly
flowing….[except for Julia…who was glowing ]
From Ekenas we headed for Snappertuna [boy they must love their fish
here…..one name…two fish ] Very hot and hilly going, which is normal. After a
short time we went from tar sealed… to gravel… until not far from Snappertuna
when we got the tar seal back.
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| Raseborg Castle |
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| Add caption |
Decided to visit Raseborg Castle. First begun in 1370….took
100 years to build. Operated as a castle, with troops…blacksmiths …livestock
for trading….and eating and was the home of the Swedish king for a while. Then…
in 1550….the sea surrounding the castle had receded so much so thatit was
deemed to be of no further value. Shortly after a fire damaged a large portion
and it was eventually abandoned. It lay in ruin for 300 years totally
overgrown, until it was rediscovered and people began to visit the site once
more. Very interesting…..and beautiful castle.
We had been given the location of a free camp with a good
swimming beach……hey….they’re our top two requirements….so we set out to find
it. About 45 minutes later we were walking into a lovely cool sea. This area
really is stunning….. so anyone looking to holiday in Finland….this is the
place.
However …the Tourist info girls were telling us that….in
winter the temperature drops to -25°. When the temperature reaches -15° the
kids in school [yes they still have to attend…..] are allowed to stay inside
for recess…..but only if it exceeds that temperature. Toughen up Kiwi kids…!
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| Solid as a rock? Or the several strategically placed rocks holding this building level! |
Just around the corner were freecamping areas and another
massive rock on which to dry off, laying in the sun. About this time, I entered
the water and slipped between some rocks. Felt something against my big toe and
upon emerging, sure enough, something was in there. Julia, with trusty tweezers
managed to haul out the offending object…..a piece of rock….!
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| "The Cock" at work |
Anyway…it’s now 6pm and we are looking out over a beautiful
vista with the sun still high in the sky and glinting on the water.
Back again…9.44pm…sun just setting behind the trees….moon up
over the lake.
Had a few guys down here earlier fixing up an old dinghy and
taking a swim. Got talking to one, who offered us some water. Then met another
guy, around our age, just out of Helsinki…he’s doing a four day trip on a bike.
Ate earlier and have also taken our final swim for the night.
Tomorrow morning we will have one week until we depart these shores and head
for home. The time has gone so quickly….no sooner have you established a life
on the road….with all that entails….and you are looking at normality once more.
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