Kotkatsaari Trail — loop from Puumala

Day 4: The weather forecast for today wasn't exactly great, so we decided to go for a hike near the hut. Anja, my Finnish friend, wanted to go on the Seerobenweg because she didn't know it herself. Anja packed the cooler bag, she wanted to grill on the way, and we drove to the starting point of our tour. Not far from there was a so-called "Laavu", where we wanted to grill our hallumi and sausages later. Our lonely hike began there, almost always along the lake, over many stone hills, some places were even secured, perfectly signposted and the highlight was of course the barbecue on an open fire. Back home we jumped into the lake, Anja baked us perfect cinnamon rolls and I devoted myself to komoot without any stress.

We set off on this beautiful tour around Puumala in bad weather. Almost always on single paths through open forests, over rocks and roots and through wet undergrowth, almost always by the water, everything was there. Later the sun came out and gave the hike a nice end. Great nature and the mosquitoes were also kept to a minimum.

I'm fascinated by this hike because of its wealth of geological features. It's no coincidence that the region is listed as Saimaa Geopark and a UNESCO Global Geopark. The designers of this trail have also managed to convey the significance of the surroundings they've just reached in an impressive and understandable way using attractive panels: What do I see and how did it come about? And, as the icing on the cake, the "Art Path" QR codes even incorporate art, which I personally find very appealing because it's a new and surprisingly good idea. Want more? You can find further information about nature and sights to the right and left of this trail in my second hiking book, "Finland on Foot - Hiking between Helsinki and Lapland." There, you'll find over 500 pages of accompanying background information on 1,000 kilometers of hiking through many protected and hiking areas in Finland. My motto: "Walk - See - Understand." Write to me and ask!