17 June 2018
Happy Father’s Day from me & Cornelia, to all the fabulous men out there who are wonderful fathers! Cornelia managed to give Daddy her card, and kept it a surprise all day, but if I hear “Well, it is Father’s Day today one more time….!”
I got up and went out for my run, as I had promised myself, and it was just as beautiful and peaceful as I had anticipated. Totally loved the crunch of the gravel under my feet and it reminded me how much I love trail running. I had intended to run around the lake, but there was no public footpath that followed the lakeside, so instead I found myself a nice hill (!!) and ran up and down it several times, before pounding my way back, past the pretty local church and through the trees. It was perfect.
Ian went out after me, and I fed the Toddler and packed up ready to leave. We were just taking some final pieces out to Bluebell, when Hannu and Muti came out to introduce themselves. They were really lovely people, and it was a shame that we were only staying the one night, and it was such a super place, it would’ve nice to be there longer. They were also packing up that day, as they were off on their boat for a week, down and around the 30kms of lake that they have on their doorstep. Sounds heavenly!
It was my turn for the long drive today, as we headed up north, to a large campsite called Nallikari, which is a seaside resort on the outskirts of Oulu, Finland’s second largest city. The drive was easy – long undulating roads, with a speed limit of between 80-100kms almost all the way. The Finnish drivers are incredibly well-mannered. I haven’t seen any tailgating or dangerous driving. People allow others to overtake safely, and there doesn’t appear to be any “retaliation” driving. It all makes for a very comfortable trip!
We only stopped for our lunch briefly, next to one of the many lakes that we passed on the way here, then arrived at our campsite just after 17:00. Check in was simple, and we were handed the key to our Pooki lodge, which was just around the corner from Reception.
Cornelia was over the moon, and immediately opted to sleep upstairs, which is an open attic room with a ladder to climb up, just like Heidi! Thankfully, she has a bed, rather than piles of hay…
There are quite a few mosquitoes around, but we are well prepared this time. Fingers crossed the little buggers don’t catch us out.
I cooked tea while Ian took Cornelia out on her bike for half an hour, so she could practise her “start”, which is the only bit she’s struggling with. I’m pretty sure she can do it, and just likes needing Daddy to help her with it. She is still eating really well, and had two bowls of pasta, pesto & tuna (our safe dish when supplies are low or we are in a hurry!) before showering and getting ready for bed without any delaying tactics. I nipped out quickly to try and get some beer and chocolate (I returned with Gin & Grapefruit, an apple cider, and some local (as yet unsampled) beer), and when I came back, she was ready for her bedtime stories. She went straight to sleep afterwards, and we haven’t heard a peep from her!
Cornelia's adventures around the world 