Sysmä, Finland, 3 July 2008, 16:50, 61 deg 29' 48" N
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Hi there,

My latest photos are here:

   www.maden.ch/2008a-nordkapp/allPhotos/

001 to 008 are Pärnu in Estonia
009 to 011 are between Pärnu and Tallinn
012 to 015 are Tallinn
016 to 018 are Helsinki
The remainder are on the way north from Helsinki.

The movie is crossing a causeway over a big lake. The causeway links a chain of eskers (glacial morain formation) forming a natural route across the lake.

The weather could be better, and the forecast is for it to be really bad on Sunday ... time for a rest day, perhaps.

As most of you will be aware, I am not a particularly politically active sort of person, and even less prone to philosophising, but 3 weeks of travelling through ex-Iron-Curtain-countries followed by 3 days in Finland does give one food for thought. The difference is like that between night and day. When I was at university back in the 60s, I had a circle of friends on the fringes of the Communist Party; they were certainly way left of centre. It was normal to hear rhetoric such as: "From those according to their abilities, to those according to their needs", and the general theme was that of egalitarianism. How could we have been so naive? I'm not aware of Finland being particularly rich in natural resources, so is the difference in the standard of living here compared with what I have seen in the past 3 weeks really the result of a different political system. It's hard to believe.

South of the Baltic, one saw lots and lots of people walking or cycling, but no one was doing it for fun. North of the Baltic, the suburbs are full of people walking and cycling for fun, having enough leisure time to be able to indulge themselves. It will be interesting to make this trip again in 10 years time and see then what the situation is.

Sorry for waffling on ... I had a short day today and there was time in the public library here in Sysmä to indulge myself. I feel that the adventure is now really over. Unless something untoward happens to myself or my bicycle or the weather, it looks like just a matter of time before reaching the north of Norway. If so, the next report will not be until I cross the Arctic Circle. I've got 5 degrees of latitude to go.

Best wishes,

David