Sunday 11th July

First swim of the day for Sandy!

Sun, sun, and more sun! We awoke, after a very hot night in the cottage- it was really just too sticky for us to sleep much- to another day of sun. In fact, there were really no clouds in the sky at all and the temperatures began to climb quickly. By mid-morning it was already 25C and climbing. We swam in the lake again and took plenty of pictures. Then we took the rowing boat out onto the lake and rowed out a couple of hundred metres or so. There was a lovely breeze, which helped cool us.

On the rowing boat, with the cottage in the background.

This is the life!

A beautiful place!




Once back at the shore, we had an early lunch and sat and admired this perfect place. Four years ago in Kotka, I wrote that we were in heaven- that we had found the most beautiful holiday destination. Then, two years ago when we returned to both Kotka, then spent a few days in Varkaus, I again wrote that we had found heaven. Guess what- this place is even better! No joking, when you sit at the front of this cottage, looking out at Lake Hakojarvi, with the sun beating down from a cloudless sky, and just admire the absolutely unbelievable view, and total peace and quiet, it really is difficult to imagine a more relaxing place on Earth! It's a million miles away from what we have back at home in Scotland, and just so difficult to accurately describe without photos. The lake itself is so pure, with crystal clear water, and teeming with fish. The water is warmer than anything I have ever swum in, in the Mediterranean, and the shore is shallow and safe for the children. The wildlife is varied and different- we saw two cranes walking in a field today- and there are also loads of colourful dragonflies. Yes, it really is a place to enjoy.

We went to Varkaus after lunch to meet up again with Jyrki and his family. There, the temperature reached 33C- and we swam in Lake Saimaa behind Jyrki's house. The water there was cooler- Saimaa is a huge lake- but the thermometer told us the water temperature was 24C- which means that Hakojarvi's temperature is considerably warmer, as it's a small lake, only around 3- 4km in length. Mari treated us to dinner before we returned to our cottage and heated up the sauna and enjoyed a late evening dip in the lake again, before watching the World Cup final on TV.

Taken at 11.35pm, the sun is just setting.

Final thought- at Jyrki's, we saw the weather forecast for the next 5 days on the internet, and were amazed to see that it will be above 30C each day! What a place! My parents, who arrive in Tampere on Tuesday, are going to be finding a country much warmer than they expected possible for such a northerly location :-)