Day 16 & 17 - Middle of Nowhere, Saltvik, Åland (2,448 miles)
We are up early in Turku for the 15-minute drive to the ferry terminal, with an 8am check-in for our sailing to Åland.
The ferry takes us through the maze of small islands scattered along the Finnish coast before eventually reaching open water and heading across the Baltic. Six hours later we arrive at Långnäs on Åland.
That's another 145 miles added to the trip by ferry, bringing the total distance travelled without the Emira actually moving under its own power to around 210 miles, once the ferries and Le Shuttle are included.
The ferry is only about 10% full, so there is plenty of space on both the car deck and upstairs. It feels more like we've chartered our own private ferry than caught a scheduled sailing.
Video: Ferry Turku to Åland
From the port of Långnäs we have a short drive to our accommodation, a quiet little cabin in the middle of nowhere about nine miles from Godby, Åland's main central town. Apart from the occasional passing car, there is barely a sign of anyone else. It's wonderfully peaceful.
Photo: Emira parked in the middle of nowhere outside our cabin
We make a quick trip into Godby to pick up some supplies before returning to the cabin for a very relaxed evening. We cook a stir-fry, eat it sitting outside on the porch and then retire for the night to the sound of crickets.
The following morning is deliberately lazy. We have breakfast on the porch before driving out to explore in the afternoon.
Our first stop is the short drive to Geta Kyrka, although on an island this size nowhere is really a long drive. The church dates from the 15th century and is particularly notable for its separate wooden bell tower.
Photo: Emira outside Geta Kyrka Belfry
From there we double back towards Godby and stop at Café Uffe På Berget. This sits on what I believe is the highest point on the island, with the main road passing through a tunnel underneath the rock on which the café stands.
There is also a rather impressive wooden viewing tower.
We have a drink and an ice cream before climbing the tower for some excellent views across the island. The tower moves slightly in the wind, which is a little disconcerting when you're standing at the top, although given that the entire thing is made from wood, I suppose some flexing is to be expected.
Photo: Uffe På Berget Cafe and viewing tower (you see this later in the driving video too)
We then continue to Kastelholm Castle, which is considerably more impressive than Alatskivi Castle from a couple of days ago. It's fairly intact and has been extensively restored, with a particularly tall and imposing central keep.
Its location also makes perfect sense. The castle overlooks the surrounding waterways on three sides, giving its medieval occupants a pretty good view of anyone approaching.
Photo: Kastelholm Castle Keep
From a driving perspective, Åland is an interesting place. The road network is remarkably good for such a small island, with four major roads in excellent condition apparently covering most of the territory, even the roads leading to out of the way places are excellent. More importantly, the roads are almost completely deserted. The only real traffic we encounter is the queue of cars coming off the ferry.
Åland is extremely flat and, while there are a few twisty sections, the speed limits are very low on anything other than the main roads. Even then, we're generally limited to around 55 mph. So this isn't exactly Lotus territory.
Instead, we cruise around at a leisurely pace and enjoy the scenery. The combination of empty roads, good surfaces, pleasant scenery and virtually no traffic does make for relaxing driving.
Video: Some Åland roads
By early evening we're back at the cabin for another chilled-out evening. I make another trip into Godby, this time to pick up some wine; there isn't exactly a huge selection. There are plenty of beers, but I suspect there can't be too many serious wine drinkers on Åland.
Later that night something rather curious happens.
We're sitting in the cabin when we hear the squeal of brakes followed by the sound of a car reversing. The Emira is parked where it can just about be seen from the road, so I suspect someone has spotted it.
Sure enough, a car slowly drives past again, with a phone being held out of the window taking photographs of the Emira.
It seems that even in the middle of nowhere, the Lotus still manages to attract attention.
The next day, Sunday, in the afternoon we have a ferry to catch, so we pack up again, leave the cabin in the morning and head into Mariehamn, the capital of Åland.
Our first stop is the Åland Islands Art Museum. It's relatively small but quite good, with several exhibitions as well as a historical and cultural section covering the islands. It's an interesting introduction to the place we've been driving around for the last couple of days.
Photo: Going to Heaven like Whatever – Carl-Johan Listherby
We then head into central Mariehamn for breakfast.
Once again, the Emira proves to be something of a local attraction. Several people stop to look at it and I end up answering questions about the car yet again.
The next gallery on our list is closed on Sundays, despite Google confidently telling us that it should be open.
This isn't the first time we've encountered this on our travels. We had exactly the same problem on our trip around Wales. Google opening hours seem occasionally to be less "opening hours" and more "a rough suggestion".
We move on to Salt, a local arts and crafts shop. It's very attractive but also rather expensive. There are a few things we like, but nothing quite enough to justify the prices.
Next door we discover the Mariehamn Maritime Museum.
It's fairly small and inexpensive, with an interesting video about a local shipbuilder who constructs boats using traditional skills and techniques. Beyond that there isn't a huge amount to see, but it turns out to be a very useful discovery for another reason.
While we're inside, the heavens open.
This isn't a passing shower. It's a proper Finnish rainstorm.
Fortunately, the museum provides some shelter, so we wait for a while and hope it improves. Eventually, however, we have a ferry to catch and there's no avoiding it.
We make a dash for the car and drive the 20 minutes to the ferry terminal through torrential rain.
Photo: Our ferry arriving
We have really enjoyed our couple of days on Åland. If you're looking for somewhere peaceful for a genuinely relaxing break, it's difficult to imagine somewhere better. The island often feels almost deserted, the roads are quiet and the pace of life is wonderfully slow.
The downside is that there simply isn't a huge amount to do.
For us, two days is probably about right. It's been a great place to slow down for a couple of days in the middle of a fairly hectic road trip, but I'm not sure we'd need much longer.
Now it's back onto the ferry and onwards to our next destination.
Photo: About to embark.
And a strong cup of tea would not have been my first choice if something like that had happened to me!
