Rodhamn -Långö - Åland island

5 hours- 43 miles in light winds -2 soggy sailors arrived in Finland at this very welcoming island.
Hospitality 10 , weather 0.

Åland is an autonomous region of Finland, comprising 6,700 islands in the archipelago.

This small island, with its distinctive smooth rolling rocks and stunning views, had us hooked instantly despite the terrible weather on arrival . Maybe it had something to do with the warmest of welcomes from Annette.
Annette Gustafsson, who lives /works here, is also an artist, and she captures the archipelago beauty in her stunning watercolours . ( See her Instagram page: annette_gustafsson_art to see what I mean).
Our all round dampness was lifted with homemade cake and cream. The sauna soon had me warmed up. Bliss! I opted for the shower rather than the plunge in the cold water. There were no Swedes around to frown on me ! I made the most of my new found warmth and got to bed after a tiring day. Ron managed to capture the ethereal magic of our midnight first in Finland.
The following morning, the delivery of our pre ordered homemade fresh bread rolls whilst we explored the island came with handy weather forcast drawn on the bag- such a lovely detail. We went up to the radio beacon - in service from 1937 to 1970. It is the only radio beacon in Finland preserved in its original state. A fascinating museum .
Långö also had a pilot station from 1818 to the end of the 1920s. The newly built replica of the old pilot cottage stands proudly on the highest part of the island. Annette's husband raised the Finnish flag as we stopped to take in the view- all part of his daily routine, as well as 'long drop' toilet cleaner and bread delivery by wheelbarrow.

We realised later that the visiting foreign yachts have the Åland flag flying . For now the Finnish flag would have to do. We found ourselves in a bit of a delayed reaction to the fact that we were in a new country. Seemingly, at first glance, not unlike Sweden with Swedish as their spoken language too , but with lots more to be explored, we set off for MariehamnLeia mais