tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74433949830896145442024-02-19T16:43:28.918+02:00Travelling with AntsaA bit of travelling, hiking, seakayaking, photographing in the nature. Just live your dreams, love what you do and do what you love.Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.comBlogger258125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-60869902048884796442019-01-25T23:01:00.000+02:002019-01-25T23:01:30.416+02:00Iltalenkki ja terveiset KristalleAnttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-81744275673718893412016-09-05T12:51:00.000+03:002016-09-05T12:51:35.899+03:00Paddling at Etelä-Konnevesi National ParkThe first weekend of September was booked for a short paddling trip at Etelä-Konnevesi National Park.
At Pieni Navettasaari -island
Started paddling on Saturday morning from small harbor, which were next to National Park. Etelä-Konnevesi is one of the newest National Parks in Finland. There are lots of small rocky islands in a tiny area of Konnevesi - lake.
Under the cliff
It was Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-74794247246695942612016-08-29T23:28:00.004+03:002016-08-29T23:28:56.324+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 9 Puumala - Lappeenranta (62 km)Sunday 28.8.
After strong Rauli - storm on Saturday paddling continued to Lappeenranta.
The whole Saturday was spent in Puumala listening the howling wind, which was pretty strong. It must have been at least 15 m/s in the evening. We were staying at Puumala camping and visited town on afternoon.
Tractor gathering at Puumala
There were dozens of old tractors gathered on a local square and Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-87995949573947465562016-08-27T12:58:00.000+03:002016-08-27T12:58:07.481+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 8 Savonlinna - Puumala (69 km)Friday 26.8.
The autumn storm has been forecasted to hit Finland on Saturday and wind is expected to increase up to 11 m/s. It seems that we can't paddle on Saturday at all.
Calm evening at Kietävälänvirta / Haapaselkä
Because we have reserved only three days for paddling and now it seems to decrease to two days we had to make new plans. We have still nearly 140 km to go.
We decided to Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-12848100713016604702016-08-27T12:26:00.000+03:002016-08-27T12:26:16.721+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 7 Enonkoski - Savonlinna (48 km)Thursday 25.8
In the morning I felt on my muscles the stress of the previous 60 km paddling. The weather forecast was not too good. Rainfall and strong headwind all the day. The wind was increasing in the afternoon and we decided to start early.
However it was already at 8 AM when we managed to start the paddling. The day was hard for me. The first part until Haponlahden kanava - channel went Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-27287571530581905672016-08-27T12:02:00.000+03:002016-08-27T12:02:04.088+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 6 Pyhäselkä - Enonkoski (61 km)Wednesday 24.8
Because the previous day was a short one, only half a day, we had to paddle one longer day i.e. 60 km distance. The wind was quite strong 6-7 m/s but it was blowing mostly from north-west or north. Therefore we didn't had headwind, but still it was quite demanding to paddle on large open water areas, where waves were higher.
At Savonranta
We had a long first stretch to Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-77561419943540030132016-08-27T11:40:00.002+03:002016-08-27T11:40:37.026+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 5 Joensuu - Pyhäselkä (20 km)After two weeks Vuoksennauha paddling continued from Joensuu.
Our kayaks were at Joensuun kauhojat - paddling club's premises and after 5 PM on Tuesday 23.8 we were packing the kayaks again. Because sun was setting already 8:30 PM we had only three and half hours paddling time.
View from Joensuun Kauhojat - paddling club
Our goal was to cross Pyhäselkä and stay overnight at TikansaariAnttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-1516094624199051702016-08-22T14:18:00.002+03:002016-08-22T14:18:33.523+03:00LEO gathering at RovaniemiIt was already two years since we had previous LEO (Nature Experience Guides) gathering at Santa-Sport at Rovaniemi, which have been selected as one of the Olympic training centers in Finland.
Santa-Sport is Olympic Training Center
The weekend 19.-21.8 was booked for this year gathering event. We started on Friday by updating Finnish Climbing Association's Rope Work Supervisor - license by Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-89892665730383182032016-08-14T19:38:00.000+03:002016-08-16T13:05:43.322+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 4 Jakokoski - Joensuu (39 km)It was the fourth and last day of this first part of Vuoksennauha - paddling. The goal was to reach Joensuu and continue from Joensuu on 23rd of August after two weeks.
The start of the day was rainy, there were a heavy rain shower when we started our paddling from Jakokoski. Most of the day we had strong headwind, up to 8 m/s and for some parts of the river we were struggling slowly but Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-66424314392581742932016-08-13T10:02:00.001+03:002016-08-16T13:06:06.129+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 3 Koli - Jakokoski (47 km)
The morning was foggy, but soon sun was shining and warming causing fog to disappear in minutes. It was totally calm and extremely beautiful morning. I decided to paddle on a light shirt instead of paddling anorak.
On a calm Pielinen
The first stretch to Ahveninen was roughly 10 km. We stopped for a coffee break at the kiosk at Ahveninen and enjoyed the hot summer weather. After Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-70609099929288819882016-08-12T15:08:00.001+03:002016-08-16T13:06:30.454+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 2 Paalasmaa - Koli (44 km)After good sleep due to late arrival the next morning showed up sunny and beautiful. We didn't had hurry at all and therefore the preparation for the today's paddling took time. Porridge and yogurt with rye bread tasted heavenly and gave enough energy for the morning paddle.
Crossing at Pielinen
The plan was to do a little bit longer stretch at first to Loma-Koli, which is area of holidayAnttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-13515579167464691072016-08-11T19:57:00.002+03:002016-08-16T13:06:57.218+03:00Vuoksennauhamelonta-paddling, day 1 Nurmes - Paalasmaa (39 km)At last I was able to start Vuoksennauhamelonta paddling from Nurmes to Lappeenranta.
Laamila beach
The starting location of the paddling was the beach at Laamila at Nurmes. It was already at 3 PM when the packing of the kayaks were done and finally after 3:30 PM we headed towards south. It was mild headwind, not too bad to paddle and wind was calming even more during the evening.
At Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-21196402602314987432016-07-05T23:01:00.000+03:002016-08-16T12:39:48.609+03:0010-year paddling project completed !!!!
Finally at Bogskär!
The 64 km route to Bogskär lighthouse can be found from here. The next day 50 km open sea crossing back to Kökar archipelago can be found here and the last 18 km stretch back to Sandviken camping from here.
On 28th of June 2016 after 2 years planning and waiting suitable weather conditions I finally managed to paddle to the southernmost point of Finland, Bogskär Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-60784296046157289882015-08-26T09:29:00.003+03:002015-08-26T15:39:35.435+03:00Paddling through Archipelago National ParkFinland were cherished by warm weather and mild winds due to the strong and long lasting high pressure in Scandinavia. I had couple of objectives this year, which I hadn't succeeded to complete yet.
Therefore I decided to head to the Baltic Sea with my sea kayak and within two days paddle to Utö lighthouse island and back to mainland. It was going to be roughly 80-90 km paddling, but fortunatelyAnttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-29207489458258277962015-07-08T14:49:00.001+03:002015-07-08T14:49:45.058+03:00Weekend paddling trip to ÅlandSurprisingly weather forecast was promising sunny and warm days during the weekend and thus I decided to travel to Åland islands and paddle couple of days on the southern part of archipelago.
Åland
Jumped to the ferry at Turku harbor on Friday evening. At the same time there were Ruisrock - festivals on Ruissalo - island just next to harbor. Thousands of people partying at the festival saw Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-75362141712726215782015-06-26T11:50:00.000+03:002015-06-26T11:50:07.086+03:00RussaröI have been trying to visit Russarö - lighthouse island close to Hanko many years, but haven't had the permit to visit the island. The island is still military area and you'll need a permit from defence forces to get ashore.
I had already the permit for visit years back, but I was unlucky, cause at that day there were a storm with winds blowing up to 17-20 m/s and I couldn't kayak to the island.Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-4709753866035704652015-06-25T10:44:00.000+03:002015-06-25T10:44:20.390+03:00Kayaking trips during midsummerDuring the last years I have been heading onto Baltic Sea during midsummer for kayaking trips. This midsummer was not an exception. The weather forecast was looking pretty ok, mild winds but occasional showers.
Start at 23:00
On midsummer eve, Friday 19.6, drove to Dragsfjärd, packed the kayak and started paddling at 23:00. Short paddling to Högland - island just 5 km away. On the northernAnttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-54509238311558510832015-03-18T16:27:00.000+02:002015-03-18T16:27:39.455+02:00Worldloppet Master nr 4015
Worldloppet - medal
Gatineau-loppet, American Birkebeiner and Vasaloppet were my last 3 Worldloppet ski races.
I was happily surprised when only 10 days after Vasaloppet I got an envelope, which included diploma and a medal for successfully completing Worldloppet. It was 4015th time since it's beginning.
Based on my subjective opinion and experience from the different Worldloppet events I Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-74910800080995408432015-03-09T10:57:00.000+02:002015-03-09T10:57:37.884+02:00Vasaloppet successfully completed
Ready to start at Sälen
On Sunday morning I started on 90 km ski event at Sälen, Sweden. It was going to be tough and long day. Day temperature were forecasted to be around 9 degrees and therefore the skiing conditions were extremely wet and tough.
At the very beginning I realized my skis didn't glide at all and immediately I knew this is going to be tough. First 4 km uphill were pretty muchAnttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-39353673942158329532015-02-24T18:39:00.001+02:002015-02-24T18:39:13.487+02:00American Birkebeiner
Parliament of Canada, Ottawa
One week after Gatineau - loppet there were 55K American Birkebeiner ski race in Hayward, Wisconsin, USA. Plan was to fly to USA just before the race and therefore spending week between the races in Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators home stadium
Winter temperatures were just freezing and the wind made it feel even colder. Despite of the coldness during the week there Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-57694176217263413922015-02-16T00:41:00.001+02:002015-02-16T00:41:24.822+02:00Gatineau loppet, skiing in Canada
At Helsinki-Vantaa boarding towards Stockholm
On Thursday 12th of Feb I had an early bus drive from Tampere to Helsinki-Vantaa airport. I was starting 12 days skiing trip to Northern America. As part of my this year objectives I had selected two long-distance skiing events, Gatineau loppet from Canada and American Birkebeiner from USA.
The flight to Ottawa, Canada took 24 hours via Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-61546253118693729762015-01-25T19:41:00.000+02:002015-01-25T19:41:30.986+02:00One week in Lapland
Skiing at Ylläs
One week skiing holiday in Äkäslompolo in Lapland was nice experience. During the new year the temperature were around zero and thus skiing conditions were perfect. The tracks were in perfect condition too and there were not too many skiers on tracks.
At Hangaskuru
I managed to get over 100 km in 5 days, but it didn't come for free. My muscles especially in legs were Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-78869409623027135402014-10-19T17:31:00.003+03:002014-10-19T17:32:56.784+03:00Closing Märket - lighthouse for winter 2014-2015
Märket profile with 3 buildings
On 12.-14.10.2014 I was on Märket lighthouse island with other 8 people from Finnish lighthouse association with the aim to close the lighthouse for the winter time.
Sefyr heading back to Åland
The Sunday morning was foggy when we left Eckerö in Åland mainland and headed towards the sea on a Mats' boat "Sefyr". On a way to lighthouse we passed a small Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-1146476716803547112014-09-18T15:00:00.002+03:002014-09-18T15:00:24.760+03:00Northern lights and local trips
Tampere by night seen from Näsijärvi lake
According the Finnish weather forecast company last weekend was supposed to be excellent for seeing Northern lights due to strong solar flare in the sun.
However the weather forecast showed cloudy weather to southern part of Finland and I was bit skeptical to see any Northern lights. I went to bed on Friday and of course the clouds swept away during Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443394983089614544.post-23274688925526128242014-09-02T21:37:00.000+03:002014-09-02T21:37:03.970+03:00From Iran to Baku, Azerbaijan
Delicious!
Tabriz has the world largest covered bazaar and I must admit it feels like a huge endless maze, from where you can find and buy everything you need. There's everything from jewellery to shoes, from spices to household goods, from clothes to carpets...
Empty streets of Baku
After travelling one week in Iran, I was flying to Baku, Azerbaijan. Baku is called as a city of wind Anttihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213022053362266191noreply@blogger.com0