240508 A new shift again

 

On our way to Märket, we spent the first night outside on a beach near Flemetsby church in Lumparland, Aland. We woke up not because of cold but maybe for the beauty of the scenery. The temperature had fallen into zero and the sea became foggy. In the middle of the beatiful mist there were two swans which were dancing ballet together without knowing the audience laying inside their sleeping bags on the beach. It was one of the most beautiful moments we have ever seen.

After the show we slept well and drove through fresh and green Aland to Eckerö and to rough Märket with only rocks and a group of radio amateurs. From the boat we saw tens of curious seals swimming and watching us.

On Märket Outi kept her first sightseing tour this year telling us the history and the present every day life at Märket. For the next 48 hours we will have a real guard awake because of the international competition of radio contacts.

Instead of quietness and the sounds of nature, the aggregate of the amateurs is shouting outside. However, we enjoy our time and the useful stories that Lasse, one of the amateurs, is telling us. We hope to see some more seals tomorrow.

First greetings from Märket,

Heidi and Johanna

 

250508 What a Sunday

 

It seems like Märket is much more comfortable place to sleep than the beach. We woke up into a beautiful and a lot warmer morning than yesterday and prepared some luxurous sandwiches for the possible visitors today.

Although the sea was quite rough, we studied the history of the lighthouse and hoped to see some visitors here. While waiting, we burned some trash, chopped fire wood and carried stuff that might be needed in renovation from the basement to the attic. We were relieved when the radio amateurs told the aggregate wouldn’t scare the seals away – quite opposite.

Johanna was our decoy for the seals with her seal towel, and apparently it worked: later we saw two seals exercising on the rocks! Hopefully we’ll see them again and get some good pictures.

We had lots of time for sightseing around the island and Johanna was excited of the shrimps and kolmipiikki fish that were found in the lagunes of thethe island. We are surprised how many colours and creatures can be found on these rough rocks: yellow lichen, green ’loan’ of algae, white rocks of the salt… Our favorite is a ’cow fur’ cover on some rocks where sun has dried the algae.

For lunch Johanna made exellent cabbage soup for all of us, which made the radio amateurs say that we definitely didn’t come to Märket in vain. We also got to taste their smoked ham soup, so today we had some delicious meals.

The weather has calmed down during the day and we are wondering how come nobody has visited Märket. We were supposed to meet an old legendary lighthouse guard today, but unfortunately it was cancelled. Our wish for the seals became true so now we are waiting for the sailors.

Greetings from Märket

Heidi and Johanna

 

260508 A say of calmness and bood…

 

At 04.17 o’clock we are watching the sunrise on the rocks (and writing this diary as You can see…), the sea is still as calm as yesterday and the colours of the sky are changing from pink to orange.

Monday was a beautiful day. The sea was like a big lake – no waves. It was warm and sunny. We saw the seal again in the same place as before and got some more pictures. Hopefully some of them are good.

I took a swim in one of the the lagunes infront of the lighthouse. The former lighhouse staff used the puddle as a sweetwater storage. The bottom of the lagune was full of a beautiful lawnlike green structural algae. Water was quite warm and I could enjoy some waterslides which were formed by the wet and slidy algae.

During the day we worked downstairs and scratched some paint from the ceiling and the door. In the evening we made a barbeque with the radio amateurs.

We carried stuff to the fire place and Lasse stumbled to a rock and fell to his nose. His nose was bleeding and the eyeglasses made a cut to his face. Luckily his guardian angel was here and nothing really bad happened. The first aid pack was easy to find.

A veteran radio amateur Lasse has been frequently visiting Märket from the 70’s and knows the place well. Something can happen to anyone visiting here. We must be even more careful from now on. However, during the barbeque we watched the beautiful sunset with ’divided’ sun (illusion).

So today we have seen both the sunset and the sunrise. It’s my last morning here and Seija will come here with Heidi. The time here has been fantastic. I finish this report by the time of 6 with frozen fingers by writing this sms.

Johanna (with the help of Heidi)

 

270508 Märket over and out – amateurs left

 

This morning was a busy one. After finishing yesterday’s diary we had some breakfast and carried lots and lots of packages to the boat since Johanna and the radio amateurs with their antennas and computers were leaving. Luckily they left so early in the morning that the sea was calm and we didn’t have to row all the stuff to the boat.

After the amateurs left the lighthouse felt even bigger than before: now there is two more rooms to hang around. It was also unbelievably quiet – not only the three great story tellers left the island but also their diesel engine had been shut down. Now you can actually hear the sea and the birds for the first time in about a week! And now that there was enough room for cleaning the place – not to mention the dishes from last night’s barbeque – there was also no noice from the renovation work.

Before leaving, the radio amateurs gave us a lesson on how to use the radiotelephone if in an emergency. We practised it with the sailor that takes care of some of the transportations to and from Märket. Turns out that Heidi needs to practise her Swedish! Lasse also showed us a new room at Märket: the engine room. It must have been hard here before any extra power besides muscles…

The weather was incredible again, and still no one has visited us since Saturday. Because of the early morning it was easy to fall asleep on the warm rocks while planning the day… Looks like it’s easy to hurt your head at Märket. Yesterday Lasse had a cut on his face and today Heidi was too in a hurry when coming from the attic. She forgot to bend down at the door way which is rather low., so now she’s got a bump in the back of her head. Again Märket showed that there’s no need to rush – and that tall people watch out! =)

 

280508 Two boats, timber and tourists

 

Today Heidi woke up to the text message and got scared that she had overslept and that the boat was already waiting near the island. Luckily the new companion Seija just needed a list for a grocery store.

By noon the ”Märket cargo ship” came with Ville and Mr. Humell, and we started carrying a huge pile of wood supply for the new roof of the boat shed. It felt never ending task…

We also couldn’t believe how much trash Ville found from the engine room, wood storage and the yard! Of course that had to be carried to the boat. Tomorrow we’ll definitely find some new muscles in our bodies.

Meeting Ville was very useful. We got some new advice for our future tasks and the ones Johanna and Heidi had already started. We also heard a bit of future plans and it will be interesting to come back later and see if they have become true.

After hours’ of hard work with no lunch break we planned our dinner (chicken with potatoes) and Seija put the potatoes on the stove. At the same time something unusual happened: we saw a boat near Märket from the kitchen window! It turned out to be the first visitors this week: a family with four kids from Aland. The sea was calm so their coming ashore went beautifully and the kids were enjoying jumping and running all around this rocky island.

Fortunately we had practised the use of the first aid kit since some bandaids were needed again. We gave our guests a tour (Heidi’s first) and heard that the captain of the boat will bring some more people on Friday. It was very delightful to see so many people here today, but in the evening we were just happy to get finally a good meal and time to relax and enjoy more of the great weather.

Good night now!

Heidi and Seija

 

290508 Heavy cleaning on a sunny day

 

This morning we did not need to think of what to do. Yesterday Ville had ordered us to get rid of those several garbage sacks which he had carried out from his stash and left in the middle of the yard. The sacks were heavy, no wonder because they were full of sand, cement and pieces of bricks from the renovation work. It was hard work but it is now done.

 

After that we cleaned the whole yard so that the place is ready for the visitors we are expecting to come tomorrow. Besides the garbage Ville found also some treasures. We documented these antique items, such as ancient rusty tools, old furniture and a suitcase. They were then carried to the attic for storage. The first steps are tricky, which makes the task challenging. The weather was still and hot and the day dusty and sweaty. Swimming in the pool after hard work was really refreshing.

 

We have seen the seals only from the distance. It seems like they are curious about us but hesitate to come closer. While Seija was preparing dinner, Heidi made inventory in the shop. At 8 o’clock the weather is still so warm that this report is written under the evening sun.

PS: From the last summer Seija knew where to look for the seals, and we just made a succesful walk to the other end of the island – there he – or she – was!

Sunny greetings from Märket and Heidi and Seija

 

300508 Journalists and custom officers

 

Today was hectic: The family that visited us on Wednesday had informed us that we could expect visitors on Friday. So this morning we set the coffee table outside.

There were 11 journalists in the boat. They were from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and their host were from Åland. So we gave them a tour and they asked lots of questions about the lighthouse and it’s past and also us the lighthouse guards.

As Heidi took them in smaller groups to the tower in the middle of a huge swarm of flies, one man dropped his stack of paper on the roof of the boat shud. The roof that is in a bad shape and will be fixed next week… Well, Ville gave some instructions on the phone and Heidi visited the roof succesfully.

After the tour the journalists had a lunch and Seija served them coffee at the yard. They enjoyed the never ending great weather before they continued their Åland adventure.

However, they believed it couldn’t get any better since Märket is so special. We had a nice time with these pleasant guests and hope to find the articles later. After our lunch we started to scratch the paint off from one ceiling.

Suddenly we heard talk outside and were surprised since we didn’t hear the boat coming in this calm weather. This time three men from the customs made one of their regular check ups. One had even some ”real” Märket lighthouse guards in his family history! They sat outside with us for a coffee and we had finally an animal close to us: the dog was a cutie although it should be terrifying to the criminals.

After these guests we went back to the paint scratching untill our muscles were aching.While writing this, our bellies are full of meat balls, and Heidi will do her last dishes on Märket for now. Her week has been a great adventure with new things every day – besides the weather!

Tired but happy Märket lighthouse keepers Heidi and Seija