The Kvarken Archipelago is easily accessed nowadays because of the over 1 km long Replot bridge that was built in 1997. It connects the islands of Replot and Björkö with the Finnish West Coast, near the city of Vaasa. Replot and Björkö are two of the largest islands in the archipelago, large enough to hold a couple of villages and summer houses. I stayed overnight in Vaasa and visited the Terranova ecomuseum there for an introduction to the story of this area. It’s only a small exhibition but provides good insight into what it is all about (such as explaining the isostatic rebound).

The next morning I drove to Svedjehamn on the island of Björkö. This is about as far as you can go into the core zone with a car. Svedjehamm is a small fishing town and has some tourist facilities. I had chosen it for its hiking trails. At 8.45 my car was the first at the car park, and I set off for the “Bodvattnet Runt” combined with a detour to “Langgrundet”. All routes are clearly marked, and it isn’t easy to lose your way anyway as there are few turns.

One of the highlights of this walk is right at the beginning, only 800m from the car park. Climbing the Saltkaret Observation Tower rewards one with excellent views of the many long reefs and small islands that have developed just off the coastline. You need to be at some height to be able to see this clearly – it is much less spectacular seen from ground level.

I walked on happily, the sun was out already and I still had not seen any other human beings. The only noise came from the plentiful birds, mostly the screaming of seagulls, of course, a sound so well known in Holland too. The extension to “Langgrundet” took me through a “forest” of young trees, where the ground was covered with peat and lots of awkward stones. It ended at a picnic spot where you can walk up to the shore. From here I saw how shallow the water really is.

The final half of the “Bodvattnet Runt” walk is another highlight, as it runs along a pretty bay where many birds have settled. I saw a couple of swans with two young ones floating around. In the end, there are also some old wooden sheds that were used by local fishermen.

Although this hike was only about 8km long, it took me 3 hours to complete due to the sometimes difficult, rocky terrain and the many distractions and photo opportunities along the way. In all, a well-recommended hike in a pretty natural setting.