"Ankka, ankka, ankka" - The Finnish Island

I am sitting in a hostel in Riga right now. It is called the Tiger hostel and compared to all the other hostels I have ever stayed in it is like a hotel. For one, it has Internet in every single dorm room. Meaning that, unlike Russia, I can update my blog. Unfortunately, I am very far behind. I have left Finland, traveled through Russia and now I am in Riga. So now I have the arduous task of recounting previous events.

First up, the Finnish island!

Located an hour and a half north of Kouvola, the island is truly isolated in the middle of a lake. Monna's sister, Sanna, was nice enough to take all four of us down to the lake. There we meet Johan, Monna's cousin, who swiftly put all our stuff in a little boat and drove us out to the island.


**View on the island from the beach

From the water, you can barely see the three cottages that belong to Monna's family. They are all somewhat hidden by the trees. Each has its own sauna and outdoor toilet.


**The sauna, also the sleeping quarters of Sven and Claudio

We stayed there for two nights and needless to say, on the first day, when the weather finally turned sunny, none of us were too keen on leaving for Russia.

Monna's relatives made sure we felt very welcome on their island. The evening we arrived Annika, Monna's Aunt, and her husband Henrik hosted a family dinner for us at their cottage. Johan grilled a delicious leg of something (I believe it was lamb) for us and Annika and Minna, Johan's partner, prepared salmon lox and herring with new potatoes. We were also joined at the table by Patrik, Monna's cousin, his son, Leon, as well as Johan and Minna's son Peik. It was truly a lovely meal!

The next day Henrik took us on a boat tour of the lake. It was massive. I enjoyed riding around in the boat and peering into the lives of the various Finnish households on the lake.

Every evening we went for a sauna. Girls and then boys (they have their saunas quite hot!). The deal was that after the sauna you had to run and jump straight into the lake. Well let me tell you, that lake is COLD! But after a sauna it feels oh so refreshing! Either way it was a great way to end the evenings!

Weirdly enough I have been traveling for awhile now and this was the first place that actually felt like a vacation and not just another backpacking trip. Which was good. It left our spirits high in anticipation for what was to come... Russia!

COMING TOMORROW..... Our trip through Russia!

P.S. "Anka" means duck in Finnish! Sorry for not including that the first time around! :)