Via de la Plata 1/3, October 2023

Via de la Plata, October 2023.

Hola Via de la Plata, here I come. It is always a great feeling to start a new pilgrimage. Started from Seville. Had no high expectations but I was wrong. The landscape of the first third of VDLP was warying. The first week was very hot but normalized later on. I met many other interesting pilgrims and enjoyed various discussions in the evenings. After walking for 15 days and about 330 kms I ended up in Canaverall.

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Midsommarpaddling, Juni 2023

Midsommarpaddling, Juni 2023.

Traditionsenligt blev det insjöpaddling midsommarveckan. Den här gången blev det sydöstra hörnet av Saimen. Startade från Salmensuu i Puumala. Turen gick medsols; Ruokolahti, Imatra, Päiviösaari och Lintusalo. Fem paddlingsdagar, 140km samt många trevliga minnen var turens saldo.

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Camino Portugues 2/2, October 2022

Camino Portugues 2/2, October 2022.

At last after two years of covid I was able to continue on the camino from Porto. Not that many pilgrims on this particular trail. Most spaniards started from Tui, Spain. The northwest of Spain is called Galicia, this region is known for being rainy which I experienced first hand. It was an interesting peregrination and I met many interesting people from different coutries. Hiked 11 days and covered 211 kilometers.

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Stor-Saimen paddling, Juni 2022

Stor-Saimen paddling, Juni 2022.

Årets insjöpaddling startade och slutade i Partakorki i Savitaipale kommun. I början var vädret inte det bästa; regn och blåst, men redan halvvägs visade norra Stor-Saimen sin soliga sida. Här finns otaliga fina sandstränder och lägerplatser. Det blev fem paddlingsdagar och 141 kilometer.

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Midsommarpaddling, Juni 2021

Midsommarpaddling, Juni 2021.

Årets insjöpaddling startade och slutade i Anttola, ca. 30 km sydost om St. Michel. Det var glest med båtar, kajaker och människor under midsommarveckan ute i skärgården. Vädret var i överlag bra, om man vill klaga så var det lite onödigt hett. Med kajak söker man ibland vindskydd i lä av holmar, den här gången sökte vi skugga. För min den blev det 191 km på 6 dagar.

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Camino Ostrobotnia, Oktober 2020

Camino Ostrobotnia, Oktober 2020.

Covid-19 betydde: ingen fortsättning på Camino Portugues. Till all lycka hade Kronoby folkhögskola dragit en vandringsled från Karleby till Vasa. Det blev min vandring denna höst. Första fyra etapperna från Karleby till Nykarleby vandrade jag i en grupp. Allt som behövdes, mat och logi, var fint ordnat på förhand. Från Nykarleby framåt gick jag ensam. Fungerade busstrafik gjorde så att jag kunde logera hemma. Likaså kunde jag ta vädret i beaktande när jag fortsatte. Riktigt vackert senhöstväder var det. Vandrade inte precis enligt leden och sammanlagt blev det 204 km (jfr. riksåttan 122km). Riktigt bra vandring men mycket annorlunda jämfört med Caminorna ute i Europa.

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Sulkavan Soutu med kajak, Juni 2020

Sjösystemet Saimen, Juni 2020.

Utforskningen av Saimen fortsätter. Midsommarveckan var bokad för detta ändamål. Det var ännu lugnt på sjön och stränderna. Rutten gick runt den stora ön Partalansaari med avstickare till Puumala och Lohilahti. Saimen är stor och vacker och sevärdheterna verkar aldrig ta slut. Det blev , för min del, sex paddlingsdagar och 225 km.

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Camino Portugues, October 2019

Camino Portugues, October 2019.

After having walked to all three major christian pilgrimage destinations had to ask myself: what´s next? Decided to walk towards Santiago de Compostela but this time from Lisbon. The first half was rather flat and not so crowded. After walking the Camino for 15 days and 390 kilometres I ended up in Porto. The days were mostly sunny and everything was great.

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Kayaking on Lake Vuoksi, June 2019

Kayaking on Lake Vuoksi, June 2019.

This year our inland tour started and ended in Savonlinna. We paddled on Lake Pihlajavesi.
I paddled alone for the first three days after which a couple of friends also joined in. Paddled a total distance of 215 kilometers in 6 days.

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The Lycian Way, October 2018

The Lycian Way, October 2018.

Lycia is the historical name of the Teke Peninsula which is the bump on Turkeys southwest coast between Fethye and Antalya. In ancient times there were many small towns and the region was called Lycia. But soon it was invaded by persians, greeks and romans. They have all left their marks.

My hike started from Fethiye and ended up in Geyikbayirinear Antalya. For the most part I follewed The Lycian Way which is marked, although I took some shortcuts. Walked 18 days and covered about 350 kilometeres.

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Paddling i Saimen, Juni 2018

Paddling i Saimen 2018.

Årets insjöpaddling startade från Rantasalmi. Vattenområdet där heter Haukivesi i sjösystemet Saimen. Stora och små sjöar samt massor med holmar att campa på. Där finns även Linnansaari nationalpark. Och som en belöning fick vi se en saimenvikare. Det blev för min del 6 paddeldagar.

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Hiking in Israel, November 2017

Hiking in Israel, November 2017.

Every fall for the past seven years, I've walked different stages of an ancient pilgrimage trail. I started walking, from Great St. Bernard Pass in Switzerland, and I've now reached Israel. The pilgrimage this year took place in November to avoid high temperatures. I walked mostly my own paths but also along the Jesus Trail and part of the Israel National Trail. I Visited many biblical places, met many religions and interesting people. After 15 days of walking I ended up in Jerusalem and Via Dolorosa.

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Kayak trip Kuopio - Rantasalmi, June 2017

Paddling Kuopio - Rantasalmi.

This year our inland tour started from Kuopio. We experienced all three days both sun and rain. After 115 kilometers we ended up in Ranta-salmi.

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Hiking in southern Turkey and Cyprus, October 2016

This year the pilgrimage started where I left off last year, Antalya. The plan was to take a ferry from Alanya to Cyprus, but surprisingly there were no connections. Had to travel to Tosuco to catch one. I again lucked out with the weather during my trip with no rain and temperatures of between 25 and 30 degrees. The next trip in 2017 is in the Holy Land.

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Kayak trip Kuopio - Kiuruvesi, June 2016

After previously paddling two other lake- systems in Finland under a period of years, this time we decided to tackle lake Saimaa.

This time starting the adventure we had equipment for two kind of activities; four days of kayaking and three days of the finnish 5o5 championships i Helsinki.

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Hiking in Turkey, October 2015

The pilgrimage this year started from Izmir (former Smyrna) and ended in Antalya. Had no fixed waypoints other than Efesos but came across many interesting places during the walk. People I met were polite and very friendly. Often we didn't share a common language but some elderly men had worked in Germany and spoke german. All in all the journey was a very positive experience.

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Kayak trip Jämsä-Lahti, June 2015

Our yearly inland trip started a week before midsummer. Got a lot of rain and some sunny moments. The summer cottages along the waterways were still empty nor did we meet any other paddlers, but the wildlife was springin into life. Here some pictures from the journey.



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Hiking in Greece, October 2014

The pilgrimage continues further eastwards, this time through Greece from Igoumenitsa to Pireas. I started mid october and walked 17 days.The tour was 460 km and luckily mostly along coastlines. I didn't have to walk up and down that many steep hills! The greek orthodox church is not at all involved with pilgrimages so it was up to me to find the accommodation, sometimes unsuccessfully. The weather was mostly good and I met many interesting greeks. All in all a very good pilgrimage.



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Hiking in Finnmarken, August 2014

Spent the first weeks of august hiking and fishing. There was no human contacs during that time. The weather was good and sunny during the whole trip. The food consisted mostly of fish and was delicious



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Göta Kanal sommaren 2014

Under somrarna i 20 års tid har s/y Henrietta seglat längsmed Höga kusten på svenska sidan. Inspirerad av filmen Göta Kanal eller Vem drog ut proppen? företog vi denna sommar en kanaltur, vilket betyder i praktiken mycket motorköras. Resan gick från Vasa, genom både Göta- och Trollhättekanal ner till Göteborg och tillbaka. Under den cirka månadslånga färden byttes besättning fyra gånger. Här följer ett bildspel från den resan.




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