Ferry to Finland

July 16, 2015

Lots and lots of rain!

I got up after a pretty good sleep at the hostel, ate the provided breakfast, and headed out to catch the ferry to Mariehamn, which is in the Aland Islands, and is part of Finland. I asked at the hostel for directions to the bike path to Kapellskar (which included phrases like "go uphill until" and "after the steep hill") and found the path okay. But true to form, I missed a turn later on and rode a few extra miles to recover, and then turned too early, and rode some extra miles before I realized that and backtracked. I was using paper maps and then started referring to my GPS. The GPS kept trying to put me on the motorway, which I was avoiding.

I tried to stick to smaller roads. I was not the first to go around the fallen tree.

En route to the ferry. No, I didn't change my plans.

It was thundering when I left the hostel, and there was a bit of rain enroute, but the sky really open opened up when I was waiting in queue at the ferry.

Gate for cars at the ferry. There were 4 lanes. Bikes just mixed with the cars. First of 3 queue points. It started raining on me here.

I just waited in the rain, with my hood up under my helmet, and tried to think sunny thoughts. It must have worked, since the sun was out by the time I had parked my bike and headed up to level 7 on the boat to get a view. It was pretty spectacular, with all of the small islands and boats. The views by themselves made the trip worthwhile.

This boat was headed in to Kappelskar as we were leaving. The boat I was on was similar.

Of course, it was windy and cold outside, and it started to rain again.

By the time we reached Mariehamn, in the Aland Islands, where I am now, it was just pouring.

I headed right to the hostel, which was close to the ferry terminal. There was a note to call the host, which required either a 5 kronor coin (I had a 10 and 4 1's, but it had to be a 5) for the pay phone, or a cell phone that worked in Finland. I asked a couple of people if they could help, and didn't have any luck, so I went and found a hotel.

There was a small group of young girls, maybe 12 to 14 years old, who arrived at the hostel on loaded bikes while I was there. I guess someone had already arranged access for them, and they disappeared quickly and I didn't have a chance to talk with them. They looked like a bunch of wet rats. I'm sure I did, too.

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Today's ride: 39 km (24 miles)
Total: 210 km (130 miles)

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