Day 67 – Thanks to Stein, who did not feel the same pressing desire, but still joined for the detour – 7 May

Day 67. 7th of May. Löparö to Hestön. 44.3 km, 6.9 km/hr average speed.

We got off to an 0920 start. Tail winds and following seas like yesterday. On our way through the Onas archipelago, we passed a couple of cormorant colonies. They live in extremely dense colonies and they “over fertilize” the islets they inhabit to the extent that all trees and plants die. So you get these islands of dead trees with a cloud of not so pretty and not very musical black birds flying over them. Not exactly idyllic to see and nauseating to smell. No surprise that cormorants have a bad reputation in for example Norwegian folklore.

Speaking of stories. Today we made a detour to the summer house of Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä. Tove Jansson was the author and illustrator of the Moomin stories. And Erling is a fan of that immensely inventive, diverse and generous universe. He carries with him a Moomin cup on this adventure, a gift from his kids. So today Erling paid homage to Tove Jansson, and had lunch on Klovarhun.

Thanks to Stein, who did not feel the same pressing desire, but still joined for the detour. It wasn’t all that much of a detour, but it required a 1 hr 45 min open sea crossing. We took advantage of the winds and waves and made 44 km and still called it a day early, before the wind picked up.

About 80 km left to paddle to Hamina. The end of our Finnish leg, and point of departure for our Russian leg, which is continously on our minds. We are getting good help and safe places for our kayaks and gear are in hand both in Vyborg and in St. Petersburg.