Finnhamn (not Finland)

When we last left off, I was on a ferry through the Stockholm archipeligo - bound for the tiny island of Finnhamn:


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It was about a three hour journey, and by the time I got there I was the only person left on the ferry.

The island has a restaurant/cafe/pub, a tiny store that I never saw open, a campground, and tons of tiny little cabins. Dirt paths connect everything on the island (there are no vehicles) and it seemed like every family there (because they were ALL families) knew each other. I don't know if they own those cabins or if they've just been coming to the same place for a long time, but it had the feeling of a giant family reunion (and for all I know it very well could have been).

Since I was just sleeping out on my own in the woods (much to the confusion and annoyance of some local deer) and didn't have money to spend at the restaurant, I totally became just this weird creepster, wandering around, observing families on their summer vacation. But no one seemed to mind. In fact, everyone was extremely friendly. When I would pass someone on the road I would give them the normal, southernly greeting of a nod of the head and a "hey" (except here it's "hej." But in Finland it was "hei." Sometimes in Sweden they say "hej hej," but in Finland "hei hei" meant good-bye. Confusing, I know). But the Swedes always greet me with a "hej!" of surprise and delight. Like I'm an old friend they're excited to see. It's nice, but it still takes me a little off guard. I've tried to improve my "hej," but I still haven't quite gotten the level of enthusiasm genuinely integrated yet. I've been going with the "hej hej." I find it's the most fun.

But anyway, here I am, roaming the island like a vagabond, while these people try to enjoy a nice summer evening with their friends and family.

Some gnarly oaks:

There were hundreds of these HUGE slugs:

For a size comparison:

I got tired of carrying my water bottle around, so I hid it in this tall grass. I took a picture of the spot so I wouldn't forget where it was.

Ever wonder how to make steps on a solid, smooth rock? Here's how:

I was also trying to stay up all night (add that to the creepster image) because the chances of seeing the northern lights were supposed to be really high that night. I thought that out in the middle of the Baltic Sea should be a pretty good place to try and see them. I put my sleeping bag on this rock (the largest patch of Sky Viewing Area that I could find):

The view from my rock:

But it didn't get dark enough to even have a chance of seeing the northern lights until almost eleven. So I wandered around a lot.

(I like this picture)

I didn't see the Aurora Borealis. I did, however, see a lot of good shooting stars, and got very wet with dew. I also had quite a special moment thinking about shooting stars, and how making wishes on them never really seems right to me since most of the times you see a shooting star it's because you're outside somewhere away from lights at night. And usually that means I'm already feeling pretty lucky about my life. So, I decided it would make more sense to think of something you were thankful for instead. And that seemed right.
And then someone started playing Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" really loud and yelling some sort of Swedish drinking chant. And I was thankful for that.