What I love most in Finland is sailing in Saaristomeri and Åland archipelago. I usually spend most of my holidays during summertime in sailing boat with our dear friends. We sail and wonder the rough nature of outer sea islands.
One of my favorite islands is Utö, that is located at southern part of Saaristomeri archipelago. The island has a living history of hundreds of years related to seamanship, wrecks, lighthouse and wars.
The lighthouse in Utö is the oldest one in Finland and the island even has the smallest school of whole country. Utö is habited throughout year – there are under 50 people living there. In the history there was no cemetery in Utö, the current one was build in sixties with sand imported from mainland by ships. Before that the locals had to bury loved ones to near by island Jurmo.
The nature of Utö is wonderful – it is one of the best places in Finland to spot birds. Being occupied by Finnish Army until 2005 the nature has been saved from mass of “tourists” spoiling the peace of nature. The pure roughness of the island makes me wonder how the local people survive trough harsh autumn and winter.
During summer time the harshness seems to be gone. There are lots of sailing and motorboats visiting the Utö harbor or anchored in bay between Utö and neighbor island Ornskär. Harbor has a restaurant and a small shop where you can buy basic food. Trekking in both of the islands reveals the beautiful nature and also the lighthouse and old coastal artillery base still standing there.
Comments