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I spent the last night at Lahti Mukkula camping, where there was a gathering of "motorized families", which means Harley Davidson accompanied by their owners and their owners' children. That was something I've never seen (and heard) before. Especially heard, that is, it was definitely hard to fall sleep. And headache in the morning.

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What a thunderstorm last night! Trees falling down, black outs, millions and millions of euros of damages. Well, not where I was yesterday night. Fortunately, because as a matter of fact in the forest I was, the thunderstorm broke out, with all the lightnings and the rest, but fortunately I haven't seen/hear/felt any tree falling down. At least not on my tent. For sure it didn't make me fall asleep easily, more for the noise of the rain than the thunders themselves.

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The hot weather of the last days wasn't enough, there was really need of breaking the all time record of temperature in Finland: today in Joensuu it has been 37,2 degrees centigrade, and I guess in Lappeenranta we haven't been far from that. Fortunately museums and supermarkets have air conditioning systems!

I had already noticed yesterday evening having a pizza in the city centre: Lappeenranta is a very picturesque town. The biggest Finnish harbour in closed water did look very busy with such a beautiful weather: many boats and many people taking sun. And in the background the old linnoitus, the Fortress of Lappeenranta, which is like a town in the town, with gravel roads, ancient buildings and peace, being on a higher level than the neighbouring harbour.

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These verses are taken from the Kalevala, and I remember them as there is a mention of the pseudonym I use often on the net. The waterfall of Rutja, transliterated also as Rutya and Ruija, is a Finnish word for a historical region that nowadays is more or less the Norwegian Finnmark. The Wuoksen is on the other side the Vuoksi River, that flows here in Karelia towards the Lake Ladoga.

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Today the temperature has overcome my personal threshold. Don't know whether it was above 30 or not, but after the strong thunderstorm of the last night, today there were no clouds and no wind. And a huge shining sun just over my head. I was really boiling. I think I have drunk more or less 6 litres of water/juice during the day, and went to the toilet in the evening for the first time since the morning. Just to give you an idea.

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As I felt a bit tired after cycling uphill and downhill for so many days, I ended up taking a two-day break in Savonlinna. Also because the day before yesterday had been rainy until the afternoon, so I didn't actually visited the town, but I did manage to go and visit the Olavinlinna castle. The castle itself is striking and the guided tour is just a journey through time, from the 15th century, when the castle was built, to the following centuries, when the castle changed owner, from the Swedish to the Russian empire, and finally to independent Finland. It's so big that I definitely need to go back there another time to see the rest of it.

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If I think back of all the places I've visited during this journey up to now, I'd say the first one I'd like to see again is Puumala. This little town with its houses that climb from the lakeside up to the top of the hill is a real pearl. And the overwhelming bridge connected to it is a must see. You can get up 24 metres directly from the harbour and the beautiful market square just by taking a lift which is itself a part of the sidewalk, if I might say so.

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Good feelings also today. Leaving Mikkeli the scenery changed once again its shape as I was getting further deep in the lake area. This doesn't mean flat roads at all, the music teacher I met yesterday outside the Mikkeli Cathedral was right: uphills and downhills in the Lake Saimaa area are comparable with the tunturi hills in Lapland, maybe even steeper, though not that high. But the nice temperature outside, soft wind (although sometimes not really "soft"), and above all the landscape made everything easier. Not a high speed today, however a reasonable distance, deep in the heart of Finnish Lakeland.

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Watch the route up to day 18
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After you've been on the road for some time you start to wonder what makes the difference between a good and a bad cycling day. I guess there are so many variables that you can never tell. Or maybe, after all, it's just the attitude and the feelings. Yesterday, for example, I went to sleep late and I drank also a couple of beers (and a glass of sparkling wine to be precise), so let's say this morning I wasn't in the best shape for cycling. However I took it easy, ate well, and left around 14.

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Watch the route up to day 18
Watch the route from day 19 to 28

Best night I've spent in the forest. Soft soil, nice sleep. That's the best rule. The second best rule: put on all your waterproof equipment you have with you, even if it's +30 degrees. That's the only way to get mosquitoes at a safe distance.

I took it easy in the morning as I didn't have a long trip ahead and because of the bloody headwind. Veera invited me at hers in Pieksämäki, so again a detour from the planned route, which has never been hardly planned, so not really a detour. Hilly road it was anyway.

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