Friday, July 14

 

 

We got up slowly to a dry day. After breakfast we left for Borgå to meet Hari.

Before we did that we drove to Mikrokulma in a failed attempt to find an inner tube for the bike we have in Sundö. Earlier in the week we got it from a shed and I blew the tyres up. The front one held the air and the back one didn’t. In theory, once both tyres hold air, I should find myself cycling to Benita’s on a sunny afternoon for a coffee and egg sandwich. I have my doubts about this but I will happily give it a go once I have a bicycle to give it a go with.

Mikrokulma didn’t have the right inner tube so we went to S-Market for some food and drink instead.

We met Hari at the bus station and said big hellos. We had not seen him since last January in Kerala. Then we took him to Hong Kong in search of the elusive inner tube. They had the right size but with the wrong nozzle. Hari found an exercise toy for arm muscles though, which he bought and began using immediately.

He has only passed through Borgå before, so we decide to take him on a brief trip though the Old Town. We have walked down Jokikatu and round the square. Now we walk back towards the centre down Välikatu. I stop to look at a small alley that runs uphill. I wonder about its name but it has no sign at all this end. I decide not to walk to the top to see if I can find a sign there. Instead I follow Hari and Irma down the street to Brunberg at the bottom, where we will sample the chocolates.

Before we do that, we will (literally) bump into Nathalie, her daughters, and her mother. They have arrived from Helsinki on the JL Runeberg boat.

When we get back to Sundö we will unpack and then drive to Vicke and Nina’s to see if we can buy some fishcakes for dinner. We will chat with Nina and Marie, while Vicke works at sea catching fish for tomorrow’s market.

When we get back the sun will have come out and we will sit in the garden drinking beer and talking. We will pause to eat a delicious meal that Irma will cook, and then wander down to the bay to watch the sun go down.