Day 5

Sunday, September 18

I wake up at first light and in hardly any pain at all and spend some time on the flat cliffs of the island facing East and the glorious sunrise. The water is so smooth it reflects the clouds and even the incessant sounds of the surf have quieted down to a murmur.

As clouds start gathering in the South we decide to set out after a quick cereal for breakfast. As Heiko pushes my kayak and me off the rock and I slide out over the still water I feel pure joy.

Later the tediousness of mastering the technique and the pitfalls of navigation take back most of my attention but these first minutes are just perfect awesomeness.
The sun being soon entirely obscured by thick clouds the water becomes leaden and the landscape with its exposed rocks, pines and shrubs strangely somber and alien. Yesterday we met the odd motorboat along the way but now we're all alone. The sea is quiet and when we paddle near cliffs our voices make funny echoes.

As for navigation I throw caution to the winds and put my phone into my life vest instead of into one of the hatches so I can have a look at the GPS and take pictures too.

I still manage to get us a little lost as I underestimate our progress but a few hours later we're back on the sandy island where we had our tea break yesterday. The sun is back, I feel very warm und also exhausted by all the exercise. We call Magnus to expect us back at the harbour in two hours time.

Magnus's kayak rental

We're almost there and have 90 minutes left as we set out again - ample time -, but these last kilometers are among the longest I've ever experienced. The sun is back and it's getting warm inside the kayaks and outside. I take a lot of breaks, just drifting and moving my arms about. When we paddle back through the canal leading to the harbor I have to stop for a foursome of very relaxed ducks crossing from right to left.

Then we're back. What a ride and what a place to camp!

We stroll around Västervik for a while, the town is very pretty indeed with colorful wooden houses and some very interesting historic buildings too. As it's still early and we've decided not to look for a new camp spot we still have time so we take a drive around the area and to a nearby nature reserve. On the way we stop at a supermarket and get some sausages and marshmallows to cook at today's campfire!

The nature reserve is called Segersgärde after a nearby estate. Ada Rydström, a writer and contemporary of Selma Lagerlöf, used to live there but you can only read what she wrote if you understand Swedish! I picked this reserve for the two mountains Fruberget and Önberget and of course we have to climb a Swedish mountain - the Fruberget (early mountain). It's an impressive 67 meters high and indeed is the highest landmark for miles around.

 

As an Austrian I can only laugh at this idea of a mountain but as we climb it there is indeed a rather alpine feeling to it, trees become scarce, there's heather and blueberry shrubs but farther up it's just a desert of rock, smoothened by the centuries. Walking downhill, we marvel at the same fast motion transformation in reverse: within a few dozen steps heather and brushes come back in sight, then trees, then meadows. In the alps you would have to cross hundreds of meters for this.

Indeed we even manage to get lost here, on this miniature mountain though only for a short while!

The light is already golden again as we travel back along the narrow, winding roads through the countryside, back through Västervik and out to Händelöp where we laze next to the fire and settle in early - it's been a long but great day.