Second Session at the Sauna in Savitaipale and Ice Lake Dip
Savitaipale, March 14th, 2018.
Despite having been ill over the past few days and finishing work late, that didn’t stop me from going again today to the village’s public sauna. Life has its timing sometimes, and of course I ended up working a bit later than usual. I don’t like leaving things half-done. That usually happens when a cart full of items ready to be placed in the flea market arrives at the very last minute. It doesn’t seem like it should take long at first glance. However, the shop is so full that sometimes it’s hard to find space for new things. I finished pretty much just in time, around 5 P.M. The moment I wrapped up, I grabbed my backpack and went straight to the sauna with my colleagues.
The public sauna in Savitaipale
As I mentioned in a previous post, the Savitaipale public sauna opens every Wednesday and has two sessions: the women’s session from 4 to 6:30 P.M., and the men’s from 6:30 to 8 p.m. As I had suspected I might finish work late, my two colleagues went a bit earlier to make the most of it. Finnish saunas are a cure for everything, and the moment you step inside, you forget about anything that was bothering you.
This is what the sauna looks like from the outside:
Today we ran into the same group of women we had met the previous time at the public sauna. Since I arrived last, I ended up sitting in a corner right next to the ladle used to pour water onto the stones. Finnish women seem to have steel skin because they kept asking me to throw more and more water on the stove. At some point I just did it automatically without even being asked anymore. Still, no matter how much water I poured, the temperature wasn’t the same as at the cottage sauna we had been to before. It was much milder and more bearable.
Still, I have to say… today I tried a new sauna experience! Well, more than a “type” of sauna, it was a new “way of being in the sauna.” For the first time, I was there without a swimsuit, as nature intended. Of course, the towel stayed on. Like everything in life, it felt a bit strange at first, but you get used to it quickly. We were all women, and we all have the same thing anyway, right?
My first naked dip in Lake Kuolimo
The sauna ladies had their own little “rituals.” Some went straight to the lake, and then back to the sauna; others stayed 5 minutes in the sauna before jumping into the lake, others 15… It turns out there’s no single way of doing it. It just depends on personal preference and what your body feels like. But they all agreed on one thing: it’s not the same going into the water naked as it is wearing a swimsuit. So I gathered my courage and, together with my colleagues and one of the ladies, we went down to the lake for a dip.
This time I was prepared and didn’t walk barefoot to the icy “pool.” I had brought my sandals from home because the previous time I almost lost my feet… the ice was so cold it burned and made walking unbearable. This is the path from the sauna to the lake hole…
… and this is the famous ice hole:
Imagine stepping into that at -10°C in the middle of winter and with no clothes on. Well, yes… that’s exactly what I did. I removed my towel, put one foot in, then the other… until I was fully in. Well, except for my head, because that felt a bit too ambitious. The sensation of entering freezing lake water is hard to describe. It’s like your heart starts beating faster and your breathing becomes irregular. Mental state plays a huge role here. If you stay relaxed and focus on the sensations, the cold feels less intense. At least that’s how it felt to me. At first it felt like death, but once you get used to it, it’s actually not that bad.
End of the sauna session
As soon as I came out of the ice hole, I wrapped myself in a towel, and after the other woman went in, we headed straight back to the sauna. My other colleagues didn’t go in this time and just came along to witness my moment of bravery. After a while back in the sauna, we warmed up again. We made another trip to the lake, and after the second dip I decided to call it a day. The only downside was that the weather wasn’t as nice as the first time. It was a bit windy and cold, and since I had been ill recently, I didn’t want to push my luck.
While my colleagues were finishing getting dressed, I took the opportunity to snap a few photos of the stunning sunset. Here you can see an example.
