Peace and quiet in Finnish Lapland

Posted on by ilkkalariola

After a very intensive season at the paddling centre it is great to get somewhere where it is really quiet. The northern part of Lake Inari was just that.

Evening at Suolistaipale Open Hut

This picture is from our second night at the Suolistaipale Open Hut. The picture is a long exposure with a 10-stop ND-filter.

Blue moment at Lake Inari

A blue moment just before the dark. This was a great camping place at Kyynelvuono, one of the fjorfs on the northside of Lake Inari.

Sunrise at Lake Inari

The most beautiful sunset of the trip was close the to the Pisteri Open Hut, where we stayed for one night.

Sunset at Lake Nitsijärvi

A sunset at Lake Nitsijärvi, our last camp!

Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland

On the last two nghts we were also able to see some Northern Lights. This was a great place to camp. There was a small pond just by the lake and we pitched our tents in between.

Our group at Lake Inari

A group picture with Henna, my father and me.

We are travelling in Europe with Henna now, so the next post will be from our trip here. We are currently in Montenegro and have been to Slovenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina earlier.

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Some more kayaking

Posted on by ilkkalariola

September has been really great this year! Warm weather and very light winds. I like the feeling on the sea in September. The light is different and you have a sense of the upcoming winter, but on the warm days it still feels almost like summer.

Kayaking in the night in Helsinki

We did our last night paddling tour last weekend. It was full moon, but the sky was covered with clouds. The moon was bright even through the clouds.

Group of kayakers at night in Eastern Helsinki

This is our group getting back on the water after our break. My father Martti was guiding the tour with me. It was really calm and warm at night. We were really lucky with the weather for this tour.

Kayaking on a sunny day in Eastern Helsinki

I got to bed pretty late, but I needed to wake up early in the morning again the next day. I had made plans to go kayaking with Jens. He is visiting Finland from Denmark and is the president of a local kayaking club there. We went out for a couple of hours.

Kayaking in Finland

The weather was pretty much perfect, light wind from northeast. We paddled between Villinki and Itä-Villinki, where there is a small passage between the two islands. The water level was pretty low, because of the high pressure and northerly winds. But we managed to get through without getting out of our kayaks.

Kayaks in Hattusaari, Eastern Helsinki

We had a small break at Hattusaari and just walked around the island. There were no other people on the island although it was a beautiful Saturday.

September has gone really quickly and it’s less than a week before I head to Lapland and Lake Inari. I am really excited about the trip.

Stand up paddling and mountain biking

Posted on by ilkkalariola

It was raining very hard here in Helsinki on Saturday. But the skies cleared and it was a beautiful day on Sunday. I was supposed to be at the paddling center, but for some reason it was really quiet there. So first I escaped and went stand up paddling. We have had the boards for the whole summer, but still I have only gone out a few times. I’ll try to get our more still in September.

Stand Up Paddling in Vuosaari

It was a bit windy and I didn’t feel like fighting against the wind too much. So I just followed the coast.

On a break in Vuosaari

There are a lot of nice places to take a break in Vuosaari. I just sat here for a while and enjoyed the scenery. This small rocky beach is on the coast, but nobody comes here.

Going with the wind

Coming back was easy with the wind behind my back. As I got back to the paddling center it was still very quiet. So I went out for a short mountain bike tour.

Mountain Biking in Meri-Rastila

I used to bike a lot, but this was the first time in years. The trails were still pretty wet from the rain and I had way too much pressure in my tires. And I didn’t have any confidence in my skills, so I ended up walking a lot.

Mountain Biking by the sea

I hadn’t been biking in the area, so I didn’t really know the trails. I found some good parts, but I also needed to turn back several times, because the trail wasn’t good.
I still enjoyed it a lot and decided to start biking more again. Let’s see how that goes! The waether forecast atleast for the next week looks great. There’s still a lot you can do outdoors in Helsinki in September.

Night paddling in Vuosaari

Posted on by ilkkalariola

The nights are getting darker now in August and it is my favorite time to go night paddling. Most nights are still warm, so it’s a great combination. This was the first night paddling trip I was guiding this summer.

Starting a night paddling tour

We started out with some daylight left. Tha day had been a bit windy, but it was already much calmer.

On a break

It is impossible to take any good pictures on the water at night. So I mostly took pictures on our break. We made a fire and grilled some sausages. The full moon was just rising.

Moon light at sea

Our break was at an island called Läntinen Neitsytsaari. This is a picture towards the south and the island in the picture is Kalliosaari. The moon is really bright!

Enjoying the full moon

It was just a macigal evening. And still very warm. It was hard to get the group back in the kayaks.

Kayaking in the night

This is our group back on the water. The tour went really well and I think everybody enjoyed the experience. I think I want to guide our next night paddling trip too!

 

Shooting Stars

Posted on by ilkkalariola

A few weeks back I headed to spend the night on one of the islands of the Eastern Helsinki archipelago. It was the time of the Perseid meteor shower. If the sky is clear you can see hundreds of shooting stars. So I was hoping for clear skies.

Sunset at Hattusaari

I ended up staying at Hattusaari. It was the first time on the island this summer. In the early season it is full of birds, but now the birds were gone. I took some sunset photos, but was really waiting for it to get dark. The moon was about half, so I decided to sleep for a couple of hours as the moon was setting just after midnight.

A kayak and some shooting stars

As I got out of the tent the sky was almost completely clear and I saw the first shooting star in about 3 seconds.

Shooting stars and the milky way

You could see some light pollution from Helsinki, but it was still dark enough to see the shooting stars and the milky way. You could see shooting stars everywhere. It was just difficult to get them in the pictures every time.

Watching the Perseid meteor shower

It was an awesome night and I will certainly try to get to see this next year again! I lost track at some point, but I think I saw over a hundred shooting stars. At some point I stopped making a wish every time I saw one!

Hattusaari by night

Even without the shooting stars the sky is very impressive on a clear night. I recommend going out to watch the milky way now as the nights are getting darker!

Kayaking in Eastern Helsinki

Posted on by ilkkalariola

The weather has been great in May. It is a great time to go out the islands this time of the year. Still quiet and not a lot of people. On some islands there are still a lot of birds nesting, but there are places where you can go without disturbing them too much.

Kayaking in Vuosaari, Helsinki

On Friday we headed out. It was sunny and calm. Felt like summer. 🙂

Evening sun at Hattusaari

We stopped at Hattusaari, but there were so many birds nesting that we decided to go to Pihlajaluoto. A lot less birds there.

Sunset at Pihlajaluoto, Helsinki

We put our tent up and enjoyed the beautiful evening.

Enjoying the fire at Pihlajaluoto, Helsinki.

The two other kayakers camping on the island made a fire. It is always nice to stare into the flames.

Enjoying the full moon in the Helsinki archipelago

The moon was almost full and very bright!

Sleeping on the shore in the Helsinki archipelago

In the morning we took our sleeping bags out and had a nap on the sea shore. Such a great morning!

If you are here in Helsinki next Saturday, come and join us at our opening event at the new paddling center.

 

Sunrise in Vuosaari

Posted on by ilkkalariola

I have been busy getting everything ready for our paddling season at the new paddling center, so I haven’t had time to post anything in the blog. This morning I woke up early and decided to go out with the camera. I went to the Kallahti Peninsula (Kallahdenniemi in Finnish) to take some pictures of the sunrise. It was a beautiful morning.

Two birds at sunrise

 

Sunrise at Kallahti Peninsula

Sunrise in Vuosaari

Vuosaari is a beautiful place

Next week I will try to write something about our new paddling center.