On Saturday we continued our (now two week) tradition of weekly family hikes with a 6 mile hike in the ridge area of Punkaharju. It was gorgeous! It was cloudy and at times quite rainy and we had an unfortunate miscommunication/dispute, but around the middle of the hike things turned around, and we ended up having a great time.
While the rain came down, we happened upon this amazing fireplace hut! The Finnish really know what they are doing. We sat in there while we dried off and a few groups passed through. One family came very prepared–sausages and their own firewood! Though there was a ton of wood stacked nearby as well.
As the sun slowly came out, Olivia, Luisa and I walked down to the shore of Lake Saimaa to see if we could spot any Saimaa ringed seals. We didn’t see any, but we did see some beautiful views.
Then we walked the rest of the way around the peninsula, enjoying the forest and playing games to help the miles pass. I’m loving this new tradition and am really hoping we can keep it up!
Gnegel Family Travels 
Seals in a lake? So interesting! Does the lake connect to saltwater?
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This is what wikipedia says about the seals, “They are among the most endangered seals in the world, having a total population of only about 400 individuals. The only existing population of these seals is found in Lake Saimaa, Finland (hence the name). They have lived in complete isolation from other ringed seal species for around 9,500 years and have diverged into a morphologically and ecologically different subspecies of ringed seal. The population is descended from ringed seals that were separated from the rest when the land rose after the last ice age. This seal, along with the Ladoga seal and the Baikal seal, is one of the few living freshwater seals.” Interesting, right?? But we didn’t see any….
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Seals in a lake? So interesting! Does it connect to saltwater?
LikeLiked by 1 person