We said goodbye to Ruunaa on our fourth day in Finland and headed out on a bus to the Patvinsuo National Park. Here we hiked through bogs on a gray, slightly damp day and were treated to more coos from the Cuckoo bird as we strolled miles of planks through the bogs. The big almost excitement was learning from a hiker coming the other way that he’d spotted a bear running across the bog in our direction. “Did you see the bear?”, he said in Finnish to our guide as we approached. But we were too noisy for a bear to stumble upon us. Every day we enjoyed hot food cooked over an open flame for lunch but the sausages we roasted this day were exceptional.
After our damp hike, we arrived at our accommodations at Herranniemi Guest House where we quickly took advantage of the hot sauna that was waiting for us. Dinner was some of the best food that we had eaten so far, delicious salads and hearty fish. We learned from our host that the guest house had been in his family for many generations and he was hopeful that his daughter would take over from him and his wife some day, keeping the tradition going. After dinner we were given the opportunity to listen to his daughter, Hedda, play her drum. Hedda was a woman of about about 30 with long, wild red hair in a flowing dress belted at the waist. Her drum she would later explain was one she crafted herself from the wood of an Alder tree and the skin of a reindeer. She had another drum sitting in the room with us that she used to play but it was reserved for her to experience alone as the drum contained her sorrow. Sorrow from the loss of a partner. As Hedda played her drum with her fingers she moved around the room to stand beside each of us. She would later explain this was so that we could feel the drum. It was a spiritual experience in a building that from inside looked like you were sitting on the water. I’ll probably always remember Hedda and the experience she gifted us all that night.
Morning at Herranniemi Guest House brought a cooking lesson. We were taught patiently by the lady of the house how to make Karelian Pies. Karelian Pies consist of a rye flour dough that is rolled very thin in small circles, then you place a small quantity of rice porridge in the center and pinch the circle up into the shape of a canoe, sort of. These pies were served at nearly every meal we had in Finland and the ones we made were sent with us to supplement our lunch on the trail.
On day five we hopped on a boat and crossed Lake Pielinen to an island where we took a short hike and were treated to a fish stew freshly prepared over an open fire. One of the most amazing things about Finland is that the hiking trails are maintained by the national forest service. They also create convenient spots to have an open fire including wood chopped and ready to use in wooden shelters nearby. Each wood shelter also has an axe and sometimes a saw so that the wood can be cut into kindling if needed. Our guide explained that this is the Finnish way and told us we could expect this all across Finland.
Our accommodations for the next two nights were at Koli Freetime which was recently purchased by a young woman and her husband who left their city jobs in IT to move north and try a different way of life. Each night the general sauna at Koli Freetime was hot at about 80 degrees Celsius and ready for us when we arrived. But Joe was treated to a special sauna for men only with our guide Anton, “sauna with a real Finn”, where the temperature reached 100 degrees Celsius. Yes, the boiling point of water, 212 degrees Fahrenheit. In Finland, sauna is most often taken separate by men and women and you enjoy it sans clothing. This exposes more of your skin to the benefits of the heat and also prevents any chemicals from being released from your bathing suit by the high temperatures. The Finns also enjoy a cold dunk after a sauna and like our other accommodations the lake was also used by the braver members of our group for that cold dunk, including Joe, in between baking our bodies in the sauna.
Saturday was the long dreaded canoe trip. Not being a water person and having never paddled a canoe meant I was likely going into that cold lake and taking someone with me since they were two person canoes. But I was saved. They were short on canoes so Joe and I ended up with a tandem kayak and the day was quite enjoyable.
On day seven, Sunday, we said goodbye to our hosts at Koli Freetime and boarded a bus for a 15 minute ride to the start of our 6 mile hike to our next lodging. This was the most challenging day so far and were rewarded with amazing views from the three peaks, Paha, Akka, Ukko, we ascended on the way to our accommodations at Hotel Break Sokos Koli on the mountain.
At Break Sokos Anton had a special treat for us all, passes for the spa. The hotel spa had three different mixed gender saunas, several soaking pools, inside and outside, foot bath and a 7 Celsius/45 Fahrenheit pool to dunk yourself in after the sauna. Joe and I both ‘enjoyed’ the cold plunge after each of our three times in the sauna.
Monday, on what turned out to be the last day of hiking for Joe and I in Finland, we were treated to using another mode of crossing a lake to get to the other side of a hiking trail. A hiker ferry. With this hiker ferry there are docks on either side of the lake with a rope and pulleys attached to the dock. Then there is a floating dock attached to the rope and you stand on the floating dock and use the rope to pull yourself to the other side.
The last day of hiking we opted out and stayed at the beautiful hotel. It was our anniversary and we wanted to do a few things like ride the gondola for the ski trails that left from our hotel and do a little shopping in the visitor center.
The Finnish Way
The connection the Finns have with nature is demonstrated by the government care taking of the land. The maintenance of the hiking trails, building and stocking of all the sturdy wood sheds, fire pits with cooking grills and benches built around them and outhouses along the trails wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
The statistics say there is one sauna for every two people in Finland. The sauna experience Finns enjoy is an ability to take time to relax and unwind each day that we American’s could learn important lessons from.
One of my biggest surprises in Finland was due to the time of year we went. When sunset is at 11pm and the sunrise is at 2:30am there is little darkness. We found ourselves sleeping in the eye masks we brought with us for the plane because even with the room darkening blinds shut the sun would make its way in through the smallest of openings and if you woke up at 3am and saw the light coming in your body thought it was time to get up. These long daylight hours play with your mind and you often lose track of time and think its earlier in the day than it is.
The flip side of this, short days and long stretches of darkness, the other half of the year would challenge most people’s mental and physical health. But I bet the Finns summon their sisu and end their hikes earlier and go to the sauna and enjoy a slower pace during the dark days of the year.
Words of Wanderers 