For several years now, I have tried to make it known that local excursions and time spent in nearby nature are valuable and healthy in many ways. Now I have been given the opportunity to write for a new local media outlet, so I will introduce myself with a few words about the archipelago of our hometown. Let’s set off on a boat trip.
The summer wind sways the reeds along the shore as the waves lap against the rock. A trail of smoke drifts over the lake from a campfire lit on the shore, where dill potatoes are boiling and sausages and steaks are sizzling. Perhaps this would be the right moment to try making real hyrskypottu?
The archipelago of Southern Kallavesi is a treasure trove for day-trippers and weekend adventurers. It is a place where you can disappear from everyday worries and schedules by paddling, boating, or even stand-up paddleboarding. Between the islands, the passage of time becomes paradoxical; you are not quite sure whether you are in present-day Kuopio or the Kuopio of the 1980s, but on the other hand, you only set off after breakfast and now the clock is already edging toward dinnertime. The decades do not roll forward, but the day slips by almost on its own.
A salad bowl and bread have already been lifted onto the oilcloth-covered table. The children hover near the butter dish in hopes of getting some appetizers. Clothes have already faded in the summer sun, skin has gained colour, and hair has lightened. After all the climbing on shoreline rocks, there is barely any tread left on the soles of the holiday sandals.
The jetty rocks as another boat party roars past. Blue and white, the pride of Kuopio boating tradition, a genuine Käyrä-made boat, makes its fenders creak.
People who move about on the water are a communal bunch. Whichever jetty you arrive at, someone will offer to help. Firewood has been prepared for the next visitors, very few people leave rubbish scattered around, and the facilities are otherwise kept in good order. There is no shortage of travel stories and memories of summers past. At least in my own experience, I have found people to chat with even at the harbour slipway.
I glide the boat between the islands. Beside Kala-Koisti, a black-throated diver splashes up to the surface. I cruise along at low revs, and the bird does not seem the least bit bothered by my presence. The last time I encountered a diver, I was only a metre away from it in a canoe. My most memorable encounter was with a goldeneye that swam among swans and appeared on several of my paddling trips one autumn.
> Let Rautavaara enjoy its reputation as the Samoa of Finland, but our archipelago could, with a clear conscience, be called the Seychelles of Savo.
Right next to our city lies a time capsule, diverse in its natural values, unique in its landscape, and belonging to all of us. By rough estimate, there are close to thirty campfire sites and hundreds of islands. Let Rautavaara enjoy its reputation as the Samoa of Finland, but our archipelago could, with a clear conscience, be called the Seychelles of Savo.
A familiar model of excursion boat is moored at the jetty of Kuusi-Koisti. A man is reading a book in the stern and tells me he plans to stay overnight. I set about lighting a fire for sausages and let him continue reading. A few years ago, in this very same place, a fisherman emerged from the forest and told me that he spent most of the summer on the island. Every now and then, he only had to go and replenish his potato supplies. The sauna was warming up on Hauto-Koisti, so he was just about to head off for a löyly.
One of my finest realizations has been that modern life has not yet managed to bite into every corner of lake life. I often notice that I have forgotten my phone somewhere in a compartment of the boat or at the bottom of my backpack. My focus is on the basics. A trip has been a success if only afterwards do you have time to regret not taking many photos.
I suppose I did not really have any other message on this subject than this: let us respect one another on the water, regardless of our mode of transport, and let us keep the archipelago clean. I will add only that it is not half bad to cheer for KuPS when, at Väre Areena too, people sing with pride: “We come from Kuopio, from the shore of Kallavesi – we are everywhere – today and tomorrow.”
Antti Kurronen is an outdoorsman from Kuopio whose heart beats for the waves of Kallavesi and the trails of nearby forests. You can read more about Antti’s adventures and the treasures of the archipelago through the excursion destinations he features on his YouTube channel.