Toskaljärvi swims

Hiking 10-15 km per day... being bitten by mosquitos day and night... it was clear that a swim would be not only refreshing but required. The only downside was that it was pretty cold, the river (partially flowing from an underground river, possibly a cave) was only 9 degrees. The lake was like a hot tub, though, at 14 degrees :-)

Such as wonderful swims, such an incredibly beautiful place to swim at.

I took at least a bath (standing in the river and splashing water on my) or a swim every day, in fact. Since I was short on carrying too many supplies for this 6-day trip, my backpack weighing only 17 kilos with all the equipment, it also offered me a chance to wash my clothes every day, so that day after they might be dry and fresh to be worn again.

We were at Toskaljärvi, far out beyond civilization, it would be a 40km hike here from the nearest road. Although we did take a helicopter ride for our first leg, then hiked 10km to Toskaljärvi.

Here are the coordinates for Toskaljärvi itself: N 69.196475 E 21.442531.

And the river swimming place is at: N 69.199993 E 21.441703. This river unfortunately has no name.

River swimming place. It is shallow though, so you can lie down, or splash yourself...

On the last nights we also enjoyed some shots of Whiskey (Latitude 55) that Duncan had brought. Very nice!

The author, in the mosquito land after the fresh swim:

Last year we visited a nearby lake, Njiellalanjávri. See the swimming article for that.

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. 

The useful pillow trick

Kimmo taught me a very nice travel and hiking trip. It turns out that if you get a box wine, you can drink the contents (this is the useful part) and then reuse the plastic bag inside the cardboard box as a pillow. It is easy to blow up, has already a valve installed. And most importantly, it is just the right size for a nice neck support while resting on rock somewhere hiking, during the night (inflated maybe a bit less), or on an airplane (you may need to drink it before the flight). Thank you Kimmo!

We were in the Pitsköngäs waterfalls for the above shot. Resting on a boulder. 

Pitsusköngäs is the highest free-fall waterfall in Finland, 17 meters high. Doesn't sound that high, but it is very impressive. It is however in the middle of nowhere. 

We were on our way somewhere else, but our first leg to get here was by helicopter (Heliflite). Quite a ride, coming in the weather was quite marginal. See my other article about the waterfall for the flight video.

For more flying stories, check out the planetflier.com website! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.

The Pitsusköngäs waterfall cave

TBD..

Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. 

Sauna in Hotel Merihovi

Kemi. Never been, but what a nice surprise! Nice, walkable center, boat harbors, nice restaurants, ... and a nice historic hotel, the Hotel Merihovi. We visited the sauna upon arrival, having been in the outback for a week by this time :-)

The hotel was built after the war, building started in 1946. Visitors in the hotel include the long-term president of Finland, Urho Kekkonen, and the first man in space, Cosmonaut Juri Gagarin. See more about the history of the hotel here.

Single rooms were 99€ in August, booked few hours before arrival. Great breakfast. Kemi was surprisingly empty though, for the time of the year. The schools have not started yet, one would have assumed there's more tourists around. Maybe they need to discover Kemi.

The hotel sauna had a dressing room, a lounge (pictured above), shower room, and the sauna. Sauna was quite good. There were other people so I did not take a picture this time from the inside.

The hotel also has even better saunas for private parties. I did not try them, the one we used was the one for all hotel guests, the Jukola's Sauna (Jukolan sauna).

Sauna sign and lounge:

Kemi also has a swimming hall, which wasn't open at the late evening time we where there:

The top picture in this article is the cottages at the harbor. More pictures from the harbor:

They also have a sailing club for the workers. With a nice restaurant, the only one open after 9pm :-) 

Here's a picture of the boats in sunset, and the club sign.

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take recognisable photos of other saunagoers or swimmers. and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around or the facility has been booked only for me.

The New Schengen Finnair Lounge at HEL

Finnair has redone their lounge on the Schengen side of the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Long overdue; it was cramped, almost every time quite full. Still, it wasn't bad. Quite nice, good food, enough drinks, etc. The new one is much nicer though, at least the Platinum Wing that I visited briefly before my flight in August. The new lounge is on the highest floor of the airport, where the additional security checks and priority security used to reside.

It is spacious, not crowded, good muted design, good views, private little sofa chairs, and a great (and ample) service crew.

Leaving the verdict open about the food. I found the food in the previous lounge pretty good, it was possible to have a hearty meal. Here it was maybe a bit more fine-ish but also less opportunities for having a full-sized meal. Although I *loved* the salmon soup. Because I always do :-)

Entrance:

Views:

Seats:

Food:

Of course, I stayed until the last moment, until it was "viimeinen kutsu" (last call):

For more flying stories, check out the planetflier.com website! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.

Movie night: geology and caves in the Vis island region

Komiza is a small fishing village on the island of Vis, off the coast of Croatia. It is perhaps one of the most real feeling places that I've visited in the Croatian archipelago. The houses are old, stone-built, the streets are narrow and for walking only. The views are great. But they also have an open-air movie theater, and an information center for the UNESCO's Vis Archipelago Geopark. And I happened to hear about a movie they were premiering in the theater, about the origins of island, their caves, and geology. Including some newly published research that changes the current understanding of how the islands formed!

The traditional understanding goes back to the time of geologist Albert Fortis who sailed and studied the area 250 years ago. The understanding was that the group of islands around Vis -- Jabuka, Svetac, Brusnik, Bisevo, Ravnik, Budihovac, and Palagruza -- are of volcanic origin. In particular, that Vis and Jabuka have volcanic origins.

These origins have also played a significant role in forming Komiza on the east side of Vis. Komiza village benefits from having s shielded bay where a port could be constructed, but also from the naturally occurring springs that brought much-needed water to the village. Volcanic basalt rocks line the bay where Komiza sits, creating a barrier for the water flowing through the mountains made up of more porous rocks. This made it possible for the springs to form where leaks through the basalt occurred. You can see some of those springs and volcanic rock in this earlier post about the Kamenice Beach.

But the movie "Razgovor sa stijenama; Otoci koji rastu" (Conversation with rocks; Islands that grow) that premiered in August in Komiza shows this view may be incorrect. Geologist Tvrtka Korbara and his team has studied the situation in more detail for ten years. Turns out that what has happened is rather that a salt layer deep inside earth was pushed up and brought with it volcanic rocks. Jabuka is perhaps a volcano, but Vis isn't.

The movie theater is by the one of the oldest ones running in Croatia.

The movie featured many caves, such as the "Modra špilja" (Blue Cave, see opening picture in this post). 

And the ''Zelena špilja" (Green Cave) in the island of Ravine (few hundred meters from Vis island's south coast):

Introduction to the movie:

The island of Bisevo, which hosts the Blue Cave. This island is a 20-minute speed boat ride away from Komiza:

Komiza locals enjoying the thunderstorm:

Komiza port and center:

For other Vis-related posts, see also the post about the hidden cave or the one about the beach caves in Srebrna, or about swimming in Vis. Or the one about underground submarine base :-) 

Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. 

Dallas - Helsinki in Finnair Business Class

I used my last (possibly ever) Platinum voucher to upgrade my return flight from Dallas to Helsinki, as I was coming back from Canada using the Finnair's Dallas flight. Nice experience, particularly when Tero was also on the same flight!

Luggage: Dallas Cowboys hat, skis (for the Mt. Hood visit), caving helmets (for the Ape Cave visit), etc. Everything you need!

For more flying stories, check out the planetflier.com website! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.