It was a classical "If you ever come to.." situation. I had to attend a three day conference in Helsinki and I knew in advance that there will be one afternoon off which I could use for any activities of my own. So I got busy on the web and found a site about Espoo, which promised 58 kilometres of seashore and 165 islands, and a guarantee of an outstanding experience for canoeists. So, using the same site I contacted the Bear & Water Company, (E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it i , www.bearwater.fi ) and made an arrangement to rent a kayak there on the appointed day.

I have to say that even without a kayak, Helsinki gives a strong impression of a city that lives with the sea:

This impression was further enhanced when I reached the site of the company where I have arranged to rent a kayak. It is very rarely that one can rent a kayak literally in the shadow of skyscrapers and yet be able to launch it into the waters that look surprisingly natural.

Some persuasion was needed before I was actually able to rent a kayak there. To my great surprise I was told that for them the paddling season is already over and hardly anybody still wishes to rent a kayak in September. But with a referrence to my previously sent e-mail the problem was solved and within five minutes of launching I was paddling quietly with the swans:

But this was still the inner lagoon and to reach the archipelago I had to paddle under the highway and past the closest islands that support it. After that a multitude of islands unfolded in front of me and somewhat to my surprise I realized that too many islands can be an obstacle to orientation as much as lack of orientation points. After some time of paddling I had difficulties to remember where I came from and which is the right return path. Although the day was a little overcast I was still amazed by multitude of colours and complete unfamiliarity of the environment with pine and birch forests reaching the seashores and unusual colouring of rocks:

I was told that the local community is actually maintaining some islands for public recreation purposes and when I fond an island without a house I knew I probably reached one of those. Out of curiosity I landed and took a good look:

The island was very tidy, there was no litter either on the beach or in the forest further inland. Within the seeing distance from the beach there was a fireplace and a shelter, both impeccably maintained, with even logs for a fire already chopped and waiting. Everthing was very clean and tidy, had I had a sleeping bag, I would only have to spread it in the shelter and slept the night. Unfortunately I didn't have one, neither I had time and with the dusk falling it was time to return.

But anyway, this short visit left a strong desire to return some day and to explore this archipelago more thoroughly. Without any doubt, this is a location worth paddling at, either as a short visit or as a travelling kayak vacation.

Anton Simonič