Kumlinge, Åland - Kustavi, Finland

Tuesday 17th August 1999

We awoke this morning to a beautifully warm and sunny day. We had breakfast by the lake, admiring the reflections of the colourful boathouses in the smooth and still waters.

After a languid couple of hours we hopped into the van and headed into the small village of Kumlinge, to see the parish church. It was built in the 16th century and is now the oldest church in Finland. We walked into the small nave and were greeted by a tremendous array of frescos, dating back to the original construction. They had suffered some damage during the Great Northern War in the 1800's when the Russians stabled their horses in the church, then some more when the townspeople tried to clean them up and started scrubbing them away completely. Finally someone decided to protect them by whitewashing over the lot. They were only recovered in the 1960's and now present a very impressive picture.

We took the only other road on the island back to the port to wait for the ferry for our next destination. It came along in due course and we were on our way to Brändö, a island about 20km long and less than 1km wide. The trip was spectacular, passing within metres of some of the thousands of rocky outcrops that make up the archipelago. The skill of the captain was something to be admired.

Upon reaching the island we headed a short way from the port and found a nice looking swimming spot, complete with slippery-slide and diving board. It looked a good place for lunch so we settled in. The day was pretty warm so I decided to test the water. A stroll in up to my ankles convinced me that it would be okay. I raced back to the car for my swimmers and headed into the water and up the slippery-slide. After the obligatory photo-opportunities I took the plunge. Cold, but not so cold to stop me doing it a few more times. The diving board I thought would be too much though so I skipped that.

We still had a couple of hours before the next ferry so we explored pretty much every road on the island then headed back to the swimming spot for a cup of tea. The sun was a little lower now so it was too cold for a repeat performance of the swimming.

By late afternoon we were heading up the final 10km to the port at the north of the island for the final ferry boat to the Finnish mainland. It was a short half-hour crossing and we said goodbye to Åland with some affection. We'd enjoyed our brief stay and were very glad to have chosen that route to Finland.

We reached the mainland and, after one more short ferry crossing over an inlet, headed up a quiet road along a peninsula until we found a spot beside a lake, near some small boat docks. Another evening watching the changing colours over the lake waters. Magic.