We've arrived

We started our Friday in Slussen and decided to go to Gustavsberg for mid-day so we'd have lots of time to do our yearly shopping. We always seem to be rushed for time and so we made plans to avoid that by keeping the whole afternoon free.

Sooz loaded up at ICA and I visited the Systembolaget and the building store to pick up supplies. We ended up at Stavsnäs a bit early so we stopped at the harbour's pizzeria. News of the attack on Drottninggatan came through and we all watched it unfold on the TV. It's hard to put into words the disgust we all felt at such a cowardly act.

The taxi boat to Aspö was very quick if a bit subdued. However we were able to make it to a nice pre-warmed house easily and set about unpacking and setting things up.

The next morning, we joined Annika and Olle as they took their old boat to Stavsnäs. Olle decided to consolidate his two boats (one big, one small) into one that does everything: the Anytec 622. It is a gorgeous aluminium boat, filled with all the latest conveniences. And it is fast!

So far, so good. The house is in great shape and we are expecting fine weather tomorrow, although it looks to be getting worse as the week goes on. I've started a new photo page for this visit which I update through the week. Stay tuned for more!

Lots going on!!

It's Tuesday afternoon, and I have now found time to write about the past couple of days.

Winding back takes us to a super dinner at our house Saturday night with our neighbours Peter and Jeannette, which ended quite late! This led to a lie-in Sunday morning, but Olle asked if I'd like to set out fishing nets that afternoon with him and Bosse. Of course I said yes! We took my boat and put out gill nets in 4 different spots. Bosse piloted us through lots of little nooks and crannies in the nearby islands.

Monday morning, we went to retrieve our nets, with a disappointing haul: only 2 sea bass and 10 flounder. We detangled and hung the nets to dry, and Bosse cleaned the fish with a skilled hand. I took home the sea bass for lunch, which Sooz prepared deliciously.

After my fish lunch, we were invited to a fika at Annika and Olle's with friends and relatives. We filled up on lots of sweets cooked by the lovely ladies of Aspö— although Bosse contributed with delicious raisin cookies too!

We capped the evening by decamping with Olle, Annika, her friend Lena, and Bosse and Gun for a picnic barbecue on the nearby island, Lilla Alskäret. Bosse brought along the flounder he had smoked, which was delicious. The little island was beautiful, and the evening turned out sunny and calm. To say it was perfect doesn't do it justice. I took a whole bunch of photos, but it'll take me a few days to post them all. It will be worth the wait!

This morning, I needed to put my boat up for the season, and it was Olle to the rescue yet again. First, we took off the motor. I made a stand for it in my shed, but it was a heck of a chore to get it up to our house. It was also a lot of work to get the boat up on the shore at a neighbour's land. Olle towed us over to the spot, which was a wild ride! We had to navigate shallow water and a reed bed, plus lots of muscle power, to get the boat high enough to be safe. (Lots of fun photos are on their way!)

I am very sorry to have worked Olle so hard! As he said, we can't do this every year. I have to come up with a better place to put my boat and motor which isn't so reliant on muscle power.

Tomorrow, sadly, we have to leave in the afternoon. I don't want to think about that just yet.

Östanviks Gård

Our neighbouring island of Nämdö is known mostly (to me, at least) as the home of Guns Livs, the grocery store, and its beautiful church.

But Nämdö is much more than that, of course. It's been inhabited since the 13th century and farmed since the 16th. Today, about a hundred people live on the island full-time. It has a number of great walking trails and even a few gravel roads along its length.

There is a big barn on the east side of the island at Östanvik, visible from the sea on the way to Guns. It's the site of a farm which has been on that site for many years, now operated under the auspices of the Skärgårdsstiftelsen.

The farm shop at Östanviks Gård is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays during the summer. Since we have a boat now, Sooz and I decided to pop over to have a look. The weather today wasn't great, but at least it wasn't raining. We've decided that we can't wait for perfect weather whenever we want to take a trip!

We had a fun time. I'm happy to report that our boating skills are improving, and we made the journey with no fuss. The farm itself was really nice. We got to chat with Stina and Jon about their life on the island as farmers. We picked up some fresh bread, local spinach, and their lamb salami. Photos from the trip are on the July photo page.

Having a boat makes a big difference. To know that we can make a trip pretty much whenever we want changes the way we think about being here for longer visits. We're no longer reliant on the boat and bus timetables...or the generosity of our neighbours. Now we can live much more like the locals!

Catching up

We had another beautiful day today (and it's going to be nice the next few days at least!) We were a bit jetlagged so it was a lazy day. We managed to get the party lights up with a little pulley system so I don't have to climb a tree every time I want to string them.

Grant and I also retrieved the boat from Bosse. He drove us around the island to point out the dangerous points of navigation, and then we tooled around on our own for a bit.

Today, we're going to make our inaugural trip to Nämdö in our boat. We're going to have lunch and do a bit of shopping to replace our lost food. I hope we'll be back from our sea voyage to post again tomorrow!

UPDATE: We survived. It was a lot of fun, although I got a bit wet there in the back of the boat. The journey took us about 25 minutes each way. The navigation (with Sooz's help) was straightforward. The only problem was the '3 Stooges' routine every time we went to moor the boat! But we managed to do it safely in the end, even if it might have been less than elegant.

It's nice to know we can get to Nämdö pretty much anytime we want, at least in times of decent weather. More photos available on the July Flickr page.

The Arbetsdag

Yesterday was a great day. First off, it was sunny and beautiful for a change. I took advantage of the morning sunshine to clean and water seal the deck of the guest house.

Then it was time for the spring "working day" (arbetsdag in Swedish). Twice a year, residents assemble to take care of various tasks to maintain Aspö's infrastructure. I've always wanted to be part of the working day, and this year was my chance.

Lots of people assembled on the midsummer meadow, and a list of the day's jobs were discussed. One of the major tasks was to maintain the low spots on the path. Big bags of gravel had been brought in to spread around. A wood chipper was also used to mulch fallen branches and provide more path cover. I thought I might do that, since I was one of the younger people there at the beginning. Fortunately, though, lots of actual young people showed up and I was able to leave the hauling and chipping to them.

I instead volunteered to cut new pieces of wood for the path markings. I was able to bring the timber over to my house easily, and it was a simple enough job that I could do it without messing up! It turned out that I had to cut 50, though, so it took me a couple of hours.

Others volunteered to paint my cut pieces, so we had a nice assembly line going. After a day's drying, the new markers will be put up in place of the old faded ones. I like the thought that, on future walks around Aspö, it'll be a little bit of my work marking the path!

We all took a lunch break at 12:30. Peter grilled korvs for everyone, and Jeanette handed out cold beers. A perfect afternoon. I tagged a bunch of photos for quick viewing.

When the work was done, I walked over to Bosse's house and took possession of my new boat. Tony said I could keep it at his dock, so I motored over to find him waiting for me. He even made a little nameplate for my spot! (A photo of that, among lots of other stuff, is on the May photo page.)

The day ended splendidly; Peter and Jeanette invited me over for dinner. Peter grilled an amazing steak, and Jeanette shared her special pesto potatoes. We also drank quite a bit of very nice red wine! It was a superb evening to cap a really special day.

My new boat!

I went over to Bosse today and finalised the sale. He had installed a new battery and I took it for a quick shake-down cruise. The weather was not good for boating; it was barely 50°, with a light rain that "felt like nails", as Bosse put it.

I'm a bit leery of sailing too much by myself. I don't know all the rocks or shoals just yet. It feels safer to me with a lookout at the helm.

We will be doing lots of sailing this summer, though. I'm looking forward to it!