Juhannusaatto, Midsummer Eve in Uusikaupunki

Zagan the motorhome is now feeling a tad naughty after having just spotted the No Motorhomes sign at the entrance to the car park he’s planning on spending the night in. He’s not alone with another camper and a caravan parked up in a large car park behind sand dunes at Yyteri Beach (N61.56684, E21.52876), north of Pori in Finland.

We aren’t the only ones here, but it is still early for Finland!

Waking up yesterday morning I was shocked to see find out the referendum results. Having spent a lot of time in Europe over the past five years I guess I feel closer to the Europeans than more than half of my fellow Brits. We used to have a saying where I worked in my former life, which was used far too often, ‘well, we are where we are’. That’s all I can think to say about the situation in the UK at the moment. The decision has been made, so now we need to pull together and do our best to make it work, and work well. We are in for a lot of uncertainty over the next couple of years as we unravel ourselves from the EU, and decisions will be made that will affect our lives in so many ways.

I didn’t even get to vote and I have an EU Pet Passport!

For us everything just got a little bit more expensive as the pound fell and the value of our investments fell, but not by half as much as we expected and I’m sure it will all sort itself out in the longer term. For the sake of all those who want to enjoy a lifestyle like ours and plan to travel, I hope we’ll be able to carry on as freely as easily as we have done in the past. Whatever happens though, we won’t let it stop us, we love our lifestyle and if it costs a bit more and becomes a bit more tricky, it’s still worth it.

After catching up on all the news from home set off north, our bulging laundry bag could no longer be contained. We set course for a campsite. We knew that it would be more expensive due to it being Juhannusaatto, Midsummer Eve, which is a huge holiday here in Finland, but hoped to get some idea of how the Finns celebrate it. Pulling into Santtioranta campsite (N60.80996, E21.39777) we spotted a huge No Dogs sign by reception, but the receptionist explained he wasn’t allowed on the beach or children’s play area – fair enough. There were walks we could take him on just by the campsite entrance and once it was established that there would be a kokko (bonfire) that night and the washing machine available for €5, despite it being one of the most expensive campsites we have stayed on at €28 (without electricity), I checked us in for the night.

Jay loves the sweating man sign for a sauna

Flowers around the bay, Finland is in bloom right now

As the washing machine worked its magic we strolled around the bay with Charlie to the nearby marina, where families were loading up their boats to head off for the weekend. The campsite itself slowly filled up throughout the day and by 8pm BBQ smoke filled the air. People gathered in small groups eating and drinking, but overall the site remained quiet. This is the one weekend that the campsite we stayed on in Latvia allowed music, but here there was none. By 10pm we were beginning to think nothing was going to happen, so Jay ventured out to assess the bonfire situation. There was wood in a pile on the beach, obviously something was going to happen so we cracked open a bottle of Italian Spumante that we had saved, pushing the boat out with our €2 Lidl purchase to celebrate Midsummer Eve.

Happy Midsummer Eve!!

At 10.30pm we ventured out again, this time the bonfire was being built, not only that but it was an off duty fireman building it, so we knew we were in safe hands. Pasi explained how traditionally the bonfires is lit to ward off evil spirits and to ask for a good harvest, smiling as he said he was more interested in breaking his personal record for how long it would stand up for, last year it collapsed after 45 minutes.

Pasi and his son building the Kokko (bonfire)

Everyone from the campsite drifted over to the beach, knowing what was happening when. Pasi checked his phone and at exactly 11pm he lit the bonfire, to a bit of heckling from one of his friends. It went up first go and we all stared in wonder as the flames grew higher, and further pillars of smoke drifted up into the air from around the bay. There was a bit of singing, but mainly drinking (this being the only day you are allowed to drink on the beach) and chatting. It was very low key, but great to speak to some Finnish folks and find out about living here, especially in the winter – Jay has a yearning to go ice fishing!

Campers gathering

It’s gonna go – phones out everyone, how long did it stand for?

Sadly Pasi’s kokko collapsed three minutes short of his record from last year, and as we looked out across the bay the tiny orange flickers were all starting to fade. It took until just after Midnight before someone had finally had enough to drink to approach us about the referendum. She had clearly had quite a lot to drink, and maybe that is what it took before she felt she could speak her mind, but she was very disappointed in the result. She was also very worried for Finland and the rest of the EU and reminded us that the vote doesn’t just affect the UK, it will be felt all across the continent. We chatted for quite a while as it was really interesting to hear the point of view from someone outside of the UK.

Pasi tended the fire until 3am, then returned at 10am to remove the ash

Traditionally you aren’t supposed to sleep on Midsummer Eve, or you wouldn’t sleep well for the rest of the year. So as Pasi tended the fire, sausages (Finland’s national vegetable!) were cooked over it and we all moved in closer to feel the heat. We got chatting to a local adult education teacher from Uusikaupunki who asked if we had visited the town. She talked about all the things there were to see there and insisted she give us a tour before we leave, in fact why not now? Sometimes in life your body is shouting that it wants to go to bed, but you know you can’t miss an opportunity like this.

So that is how we found ourselves touring around Uusikaupunki until 3am in the company of Suvituuli, who also gives tours in the day time! She showed us the old wooden houses, which were rebuilt slightly further apart after several fires swept across the town. She took us to the new marina area, the old and new churches and to a hotel that used to have a drinking den underneath it during prohibition. As we wandered around the town, everyone we passed said hello. The sky was getting light, but everyone was cheerful and there wasn’t any drunkeness (apart from us). We were surprised how many people were out and about, but Suvituuli said it was quiet as most people had gone to their summer cottages for the weekend.

On our tour with Suvituuli around the town at 2am

This morning we snoozed the alarm several times before finally surfacing around 10am. We dragged our tired behinds out of the campsite gates around noon and headed north for an hour and a half to the parking we are in now. After I had an afternoon nap, we headed out for a walk along the back of the dunes, dogs aren’t allowed on beaches in Finland in the summer. We spotted a frisbee golf hole (a metal chain bucket you have to get the frisbee in to score) and stood looking at it before turning around and realising someone was about to take their shot, so we hot footed it further back onto the woodland paths.

The dunes of Yyteri beach

Frisbee golf in the dunes

An information board showed a dog beach further up the coast (N61.59180, E21.49230), so we drove up there so Charlie could have some quality sand between his paws time.

Charlie and Jay on dog beach…

…so called because everyone on it has one!

One exhausted pooch later, we returned to our parking spot for the night and only then did we spot the No Motorhomes sign. We’re not the only ones here, in fact another Finnish caravan has arrived as I’ve been typing this. It sounds like there is a concert gearing up over near the beach bars, but it’s almost 11pm and we are both shattered. I think we’ll give tonight’s celebrations a miss, after all, when I asked Pasi what happens on Midsummer Day he simple replied ‘nothing, we are all too hung over’.

Ju x

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