Keep On Keeping On..

A more or less typical day on the road. If for any reason thought turned towards settling down and living in one place for a while, another reason to shelve that and keep on keeping on.

Unpredictable. Adventurous – new people, new places. Fun.

There were some things I wanted to get out of the day, to read a book, a couple of hours exercise with dog, a social sauna, find a good place to stay, another couple of hours exercise with dog, and watch sport with a beer or two. That’s pretty much what I managed, with a French Giallo film thrown in for good fortune.

It’s what we work / worked for… days like this..

It all began in Kurjenrahka National Park, a half hour drive from where I was, on the Bothnian coast. Kurjenrahka is 29 square kilometres though most of that is bog. It would be less entertaining in the mosquito season. This warm spell of weather has resurrected a few of them, but they are slow and ponderous. Though here in southwest Finland, it isn’t rare to spot gray wolves and brown bears here. The section I was keen on was a circular trail south of Mynäjärvi lake.

It was wet in places, and had many trees down, so something of an obstacle course. I had set out to run it, but that would require some agility in getting over branches, so I pruned my goal and settled for a walk.

Just before lunch I drove into Pori to the sports complex where a couple I had met when walking, the only people, had recommended a sauna. There were actually three in the male area, two dry saunas at 80 and 85C, and a wet sauna, or steam room. It’s inevitable to get chatting, as good manners mean asking before hurling water on the hot coals. I claim to be English and inexperienced and that usually provokes further discussion, usually predictable though. Today not so, as I got chatting to a 67 year old who had, the weekend before, run his 268th marathon. He had been around the world in his endeavours, but still had plans, for at least the next ten years he hoped.

With some hot days ahead I then headed back to the coast. Specifically to the middle part of the Bothnian Sea National Park and an area of rugged coastline near the town of Reila. The rocky shores of Kyhkärännokka offer views of the open sea, with shallow sandy beaches bordered by a pine forest shaped by countless storms. On a day like today, 26C and windless, one doesn’t think so much about the stormy weather that will soon arrive to the area. There were 12 named storms in the Western Europe section (UK, Ireland, Netherlands). The Northern section, Scandinavian, doesn’t name storms as they can be so numerous and localised, but here in southwest Finland there were more than 20 storm events between September 2023 and April 2024.

I was keen to hike the Hierkonpolku trail, with easy but varied terrain. In the early evening, between Rugby Championship games, Roja and I took on a section of it, then settled in for the evening.

I’ve found an excellent place to park at, just a hundred metres from the sea, and completely quiet. It was important as well, because in these temperatures Roja will stay outside until the evening cools, which was after 10 pm.

This morning we walked the Trail, twice in effect, once right by the sea, returning through the forest, rather more off-piste, a few hundred metres inland.