Day 4 Jakobstad - Lapland (Loma Vietonen)

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After breakfast we did a short tour of Jakobstad taking a look at the Skata (Old Town) area which has some well preserved wooden buildings and then visiting a nearby park which had some nice maintained gardens. While returning to the hotel we noticed that there was a demonstration downtown on the importance of wearing your seatbelt in the case your car rolls over - scary thought.

First stop of the day was a nearby supermarket so we can buy provisions for the Lapland "wilderness". After finishing our preparations we started on the long drive north toward Lapland.

Instead of returning to the main highway we decided to take the more scenic route to Karleby (Kokkola) called the Seven Bridges Route (7 Sillan Saaristo) and also to stop by the sea for some sightseeing and pictures. With information picked up in Jakobstad we went to the tip of an island at Inge Bergskärat first on paved roads and then on dirt roads. The views were great and we also found nearby a day/night time shelter for campers and day trippers. On the return to the main road we also found a wind turbine - not as impressive as the wind farms in California though.

After a couple hours of driving we decided to take another stop for a late lunch and while exploring the area found a very scenic view of a nearby river which made the relatively tough climb to it worthwhile.

Next stop and the only planned stop this day was Liminganlahti Bird Sanctuary where we got in time to still visit the interesting exhibitions inside the visitor center and then climb the bird tower. Still this was no substitute for the tower close to the water so we did a 1/2 km boardwalk out to the tower. Somehow there were no other visitors at the tower so we had both levels for ourselves. The lower level which was enclosed had views through blinds and after following one swallow we also found a swallow nest inside close to the door guarded diligently by both parents. The top level had some expansive views however we saw relatively few waterbirds - just a few ducks gliding on the open water between hiding places.

Being still far away from our accomodation we drove for a few more hours before finally arriving in Lapland. The first sign was that during a quick stop in a forest we were literally attacked by hundreds of Lappish mosquitoes - we sought Finland was bad but this was much worse. At least it gave us something to do during the drive trying to kill the approximately 50 mosquitoes that actually entered the car. Second sign was the fact that we saw our first reindeer leisurely walking down the middle of the road - had to wait for him to decide to go elsewhere.

Finally after all this excitement we got to our cabin via a scenic drive through unending forests while encountering almost no other cars for a few hours. Took a bit to find which cabin we were staying in as the reception had closed but then we got (fast due to the mosquitoes) inside. Cabin looked great with a private sauna however it was very rustic with no bathtowels - luckily we had some with us.

While the sun was setting after midnight (it never got really dark) we ate a late dinner and then went to sleep to recuperate before our full day in Lapland.

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