Day 21 – at Kornsjösjön lake

I hadn’t quite realised yesterday what a good site I was in. Add to that a Sunday morning feeling of laziness and I felt justified in my decision to stay put.

A Dutch guy was my only neighbour, travelling in his tiny Citroen car, away on a work break for two months, sleeping in a hammock, or more often now in mosquito season in his car. Bob is a gardener, self employed and had earned enough money for a break. We didn’t chat much last night but this morning I offered him a coffee, as he has no way to heat anything up in his small car. He is a keen reader, so we exchanged recommendations, and he is a vegetarian, and suited the book I had just started, another from the Wainwright Conservation Prize short list, Dan Saladino’s Eating to Extinction.

The dog and I needed some exercise of course, so I headed out on a circuit of the lake. The first half of which was very peasant, passing a mix of impressive holiday homes with their own beaches, and a few derelict run down homes awaiting renovation. At the far end of the lake is a small public beach, equipped with pit toilet, barbeque area, and swimming platform that would have made an even better place to stay than where I was at. The second half was on road, and much more of a drudge, and quite a bit further than I had thought.

Back at the van I took a late lunch, which is pretty much the norm these days, and read Saladino. I had suggested to Bob that we used the pizza oven, so the early evening was spent trying to master that. The last time had been in April in the Vosges with the two young cyclists. This time I was better prepared… with flour, and the experience of that initial trial. The first pizza turned out a treat, but with the second, the pail (the long metal tray) was sticking too much. I think it’s a cheap and nasty product which needs an upgrade. Anyway, we both ate well in the best part of the day here, just as the sun begins to drop over the far side of the lake.