Porvoo

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Wednesday June 30 - Another long day. Didn't sleep that well, or long, at least. I couldn't fall asleep until about 1am, and then got up at 7:30am. I wanted to make sure that I would be in town early enough to buy a ticket for the old fashioned steamship to Porvoo, as they do not sail tomorrow. I managed to get out in time to make the 8:24 am bus, forgetting my breakfast banana in doing so. I brought a lot with me, including my laptop and enormous book, which weighed me down. The laptop was for checking emails after I returned from Porvoo but before I came back to my internet-free luxury guest suite. The book (and journal) were to keep me entertained for the three hour boat ride. In the end, I was plenty entertained. I got a seat on a bench up at the top of the boat, accidentally next to a woman from Argentina that I had briefly met in the information office the day before. The ride was very pretty as we cruised among the archipeligo of islands along the way to Porvoo. It was a beautiful blue sky, perfect for photos, but it was quite cold in the wind. Luckily I also had my fleece with me. The last hour or so got quite warm, which was unexpected on the boat. I think my nose got as little pink despite the sunscreen.

Once we arrived in Porvoo, I said goodbye to the woman and made my way to the tourist office to get the bus schedule back (the bus takes only an hour) and to use the free toilet. Turns out it was not free, so I decided to start my map waking tour instead. Luck prevailed and I eventually found a free toilet. Take that, tourist office! The walk I did was nice, and brought me to all of the main sights. It is a cute town, but not as cute as I'd hoped. I eventually ended up in a big shop and looked around and bought a comb. Then to the pharmacy to buy some hand sanitizer so I could sit down under a tree and eat the lunch/snacks I brought with me. From there I went to the bus station and just managed to buy a ticket for the 4:45 bus before it pulled away. An hour later I pulled up to the town hal to use their computer to book a room in Tallinn for Friday. When they closed, I went to the info center where I could their free wifi to send some emails and have a chat with the boy. My apartment complex sent out a plumber to look at my toilet, as it fills up with some form of sewage whenever it's not flushed for a day or so. Of course he could find nothing wrong. It does flush, and flush well, but that does not mean there is no problem with back flow later on down the line. Grrrrr. Made it back to my quarters by 9pm and fixed some instant noodles for dinner. I have about 20 euros left in cash and I would love to see it last until Friday morning when I get on the ferry to Estonia. I have breakfast for two days, snacks and a transport pass - I think I can make it happen, but we'll see.

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