And a great place to start our visit to Finland. Björko, a small island in the nature reserve park with a rather scary entry. The map and GPS suggest a snaking in and so it was indeed. The depth was not too clear though. So we sidled very slowly around…
We have reached Finland – I think. The navigator is not too sure about the country we set foot on (or rather jumped on) as the border between the Alands and Finland is not too clear on the charts. But we think it is Finland anyway, so here we are.…
We currently have a very handy north-westerly that is blowing us to our goal Helsinki. Perfect wind conditions, the temperature could be improved by a few degrees though. At night the temperature drops to 13 degrees and climbs an amazing 3 degrees during the day. I am so glad we…
What a lovely little harbour. On our way east we made a stop-over at Seglinge in the Alands. We came in rather late but the harbour master directed us to squeeze in between two boats and we were snug & save for the night. The harbour holds about 20 boats…
After a brief shopping spree at Mariehamn we left to get to our Rendezvous with Fizz&Joshi in Tallinn. We realized that time is of the essence and have decided to make good use of the northerly wind we are currently having. Unfortunately a northerly wind also means a very cold…
We have arrived at the Åland islands and are currently at the world’s smallest metropolis “Mariehamn”. The Ålands are an autonomous region of Finalnd where the people speak Swedish – seems like a perfectly reasonable set-up to me. Apart from this sensible approach, the Ålanders also have a tax-free deal…
The plan for today was to head a bit further north to an island that would make a good jumping-off point for tomorrow’s Great Sea Crossing, but we were foiled by the wind, which resolutely refused to blow. It particularly refused to blow while we were sitting in the middle…
Inra Hamnskär is a perfect anchoring spot, even though the view is spoilt by a massive radio/satellite/wireless antenna. Nonetheless a great place to stop. And as usual wonderful photo opportunities open up. (Unfortunately no sun, so we have to come back).
The outer islands are a harsh environment for plants and animals. But life spurts out everywhere. Even in the most stupid places.
Furusund provided us with shelter from the wind, electricity for the notebooks, showers for ourselves and views onto passing ferries and a petrol station. Amazing how a petrol station in the sunshine can look quite nice.