I woke up at 7 then rolled over and went to sleep again. There was very little urgency today about anything but breakfast. I only dragged myself out of the tent by 8:30 because the breakfast buffet at the nearby hotel went until 10am.
I’ve probably mentioned before that the long evenings in this part of the world mean that I’m late to bed and after weeks of this, its tiring.
Anyway, I rode up to the hotel which is quite a rustic place but nice inside. Breakfast was good. I knew that there would be some food along the way today, but not much. These islands are nice and not overly populated but there’s not a lot in terms of grocery shops, cafes or restaurants.
Back to the campsite to pack up and be gone by 11am. Utti’s is a nice relaxed place. Talking to the manager, I mentioned that it wasn’t busy and the sites and cabins were well spaced apart from each other. He told me that the owner simply wants to maintain the area as it is, and has no intention of developing it further. That attitude fits perfectly with the vibe both here and all around these islands.
I had about 20 kms to get to Galtby with a short ferry ride on the way. From Galtby, I caught a ferry to Kokar – that was two and a half hours. There was a 45 minute wait and I caught another ferry to the port of Langnas on the Finnish, but Swedish speaking, island of Aland.
So I had a great day of cruising through the archipelago which is just beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but after arriving in Langnas at 9:45pm, I had a 30km ride to a campground in Mariehamn, the capital.
The ride was fun. I watched the sunset, which is usually past my bedtime, and felt the place change as the light gradually dimmed, the fog rolled in and the moon rose. It was stunning. Sometimes, I wish I had a better quality camera to capture the scene in a better way. However to do that properly would have taken time. I would have been eaten by mosquitos and would have had to ride longer into the night.
I arrived at midnight after many stops to take photos, call the campground, get snacks and just breathe in the atmosphere of this beautiful place late in the evening.
Finding a half decent campspot on the sloping ground wasn’t easy and if I was worried about disturbing people, then I shouldn’t have been. There is a music festival on while I’m here and the sound was deafening until after 2am.
Another sleep in was mandatory.
Also … Since July 19th, I’ve gone alcohol free, as an experiment. Not that I drank much, but I’d love to see if there is any noticeable effect. So, these days, I’m exploring zero alcohol beer options. I havent found one that’s particularly good yet, but let’s see how my tastes change over time.