A Finnish news item appeared on the Today programme again this morning, that’s twice in a week. This time it was for the ‘World’s Quietest Festival’. Hiljaa Fest began on 10th October in Valkmusa National Park in the southeast of the country. As well as promoting itself as the World’s Quietest Festival, it also tags itself as the world’s first Festival of Nature Listening. The line-up is 13 performers from the natural world, spread across four stages dotted around the park. Some example headliners include the black grouse, the wind and the bog moss, plus a rare moth called the rämekulmumittari, which is also the national park’s official symbol.
The piece of Radio 4 went on to discuss whether walking through nature with no headphones on was becoming more rare. It’s something I do less. I usually listen to podcasts and audiobooks on Shox, though they do allow for external noise to be heard also.. not a good excuse I know.
This week I’ve been based at Pyhäjoki, which is on the Bothnian Sea where the river Pyhäjoki meets it. There was some good walking, and a new campsite that opened this summer just gone, and promoted itself as being open throughout the winter. But.. the owners are still developing, and at present have no heated or insulated piping for water, so with the recent freezing weather the site has had to close. I had contacted the owner, and he had no problem with me staying though.
Also there when I arrived was a young, mid-thirties, Dutch couple who live in their van. They had been working is hospitality in Lapland for the summer season and were now returning home. They were supposed to be getting that evening’s ferry across to Sweden, which they said was at midnight. The following morning however they were still there, as they had missed the ferry, because it had left on 12th at midnight, not 13th as they had mistakenly thought. They did get rebooked without charge, but for later in the week, as the ferry only goes twice a week at this time of year.
After some rain on Monday the middle of the week was with clear skies again, 8C in the day, minus 10 at night. Out hiking, this was the first time Rua has encountered ice, and there were many amusing incidents, as he fell through water in pools and slowly realised what it was all about.
The days are getting shorter of course, more quickly than in the UK, and our evening walk, just after his dinner, usually at 5:30 pm, is now in fading light. On Wednesday evening, while out, next to the school, a guy asked about him, and showed me a picture of his young labrador, just a couple of months older. It’s was Rua’s 8 month celebration that day. He insisted the two dogs met, so we walked together, initially past his place of work. He was a teacher at the school, and had to call in at a Parents’ Evening on the way, just to sign out, fortunately he had finished his appointments. I waited outside for five minutes for him, working out how I had found myself at another Parents’ Evening, one the most dreaded parts of the job, years after having retired from the job.
The dogs duly met, Buba and Rua, and tore around his garden for twenty minutes while we talked parents’ evenings over a cup of tea.
Today we made our way south along the coast and are at the sandy beaches of the island of Ohtakari. I expect we will spend the weekend at Kokkola again, as last weekend, before continuing further south.
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