Walking on Kuolimo, a frozen lake in Savitaipale
Savitaipale, February 3, 2018.
As the title suggests, today we had the chance to walk on Lake Kuolimo, which has been an incredible experience since it was completely frozen over. This beautiful lake is located between the municipalities of Savitaipale and Suomenniemi and covers an area of 79 km². To give you a rough idea, Lake Kuolimo is connected to Lake Saimaa, the largest lake in Finland, which spans 4,380 km². Quite impressive!
Starting the morning at the Flea Market
Before enjoying our free time, we had some work to do. Fortunately, I didn’t have to iron today, and the tasks were much more enjoyable than yesterday. The first thing I did was sort and prepare clothing that had come in for sale at the Flea Market. This involved several things:
- Checking that the clothes were in good enough condition to sell. Not everything we receive is usable, as some items are too worn or have stains that won’t come out.
- Measuring sheets, towels, covers, scarves… and writing the dimensions on the labels.
- Attaching labels to the clothes using a tool similar to this one.
- Marking stains on clothes that could potentially be fixed. This way, we can try washing them with special products and give them another chance.
- Hanging clothes on the appropriate racks to organize them in the store.
New tasks, new responsibilities
In addition to the daily tasks, each volunteer is assigned certain responsibilities. For example: keeping the house in order, maintaining the outdoor areas, checking the kitchen, organizing the Flea Market… My tasks are taking care of the indoor and outdoor plants, as well as managing the Flea Market. The first part is simple: watering the plants when needed and making sure they’re healthy. As for the Flea Market, I need to ensure everything is clean and tidy and organize the store’s items, both those already there and the new ones ready for sale.
Since I finished early, I spent the rest of the afternoon arranging new items in the Flea Market. That means putting out all the things that are clean, fixed, and labeled. At first, it was a bit chaotic because I had no idea where everything went. There are so many things that it’s easy to get lost. However, after a few rounds, I got a handle on where each product belonged. In some cases, I had to play a bit of Tetris to make everything fit, ensuring the items were visible and looked nice.
Walking on Lake Kuolimo
Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was walking on Lake Kuolimo, which is just a 5-minute walk from our house. Savitaipale is located in South Karelia, the region of lakes, and Kuolimo is one of them. We walked at -12ºC on a lake completely frozen due to the low temperatures. It was especially beautiful because we went just at sunset, so we were able to watch the sun go down. Well, “sunset” in quotes… since here in Finland, the sun hardly shows itself. Still, you can appreciate how the light gradually fades until it’s completely dark.
As you can see in the photo, the islands on Lake Kuolimo looked like small clusters of trees, and you could walk right next to them. But the cold out there was definitely worth mentioning. Even though I was wearing several layers, the chill still managed to get through. Being in an open area, the cold wind hit much harder, making the temperature feel even lower. After a while, when it was almost dark and the cold had started to take over our bodies, we headed back home.
These breathtaking views of the frozen lake, with snow-covered trees all around, capture the essence of Finnish winter. It’s one of the things I really wanted to see, and I’d love to find more landscapes like this because it’s a truly unique experience. Apparently, there’s a kind of lookout point a few minutes from the lake, so I’m adding that to my list of places to visit. For now, we have the day off tomorrow, so… let’s see what it brings!
