You pedal as slow as a snail,
And rain is bad...but NOT as bad
As marble-sized balls of HAIL!!
Days 26 - 29 Distance 263 km
Helsinki - Pargas
The further west we've pedalled the more beautiful the scenery. More and more lakes appear - as does something we haven't yet encountered...HILLS!
It's been like a roller coaster ride, and I don't mean due to the weather. I mean it's been like a roller coaster ride - up and down and up and down - so add that to headwinds, rain, hail and exhaustion and you could say we haven't been able to enjoy the scenic beauty to it's full! I feel like we've climbed the combined heights of Latvia AND Estonia. Twice!
But we've had some special encounters. Jukka found us looking for a flat spot to pitch the tent one night and invited us to pitch up at his. A stunning place on the lake where he, his wife Rakel, and their four children live.
Three deer walked passed our tent in the morning.
We got talking to a local outside a supermarket and she directed us to a superb camp spot on a Lake where I even got a chance to swim!
We arrived in Turku, the oldest city in Finland and it's former capital, to a very party atmosphere. We then discovered there was a huge pop festival going on, so had to pedal on dreckly to the nearest available campsite and much needed hot shower - 25 km away!
It is a stunning spot, and en-route to catch ferries into the maze of islands that make up this incredible archipelago.
Hopefully the rain that is forecast will blow off to more needed parts of Europe!
