Talkooviikko 33: Maija, Krista, Katja ja Sami

Week 31: Maija, Krista, Katja and Sami

Saturday 9.8.2014

Our team of four started the journey towards Märket in beautiful sunny weather just after the morning mist had cleared. We were warmly welcomed and instructed by the old crew. Very soon we found ourselves abandoned on the island with only some faint memories of what to do and how. Luckily it was only the lack of sleep and food that caused this and was thus easily cured.

In the afternoon we visited the ”seal island” Märketskallen with the rib boat and found lots and lots of curious seals swimming around us. The way back was a wet one, as the wind was rising towards the evening. We continued to familiarise ourselves with the island and the lighthouse, until last night’s lack of sleep finally got us. What a day, it feels already like we’ve been here for several days, not just 13 hours!

The old team of eight persons is leaving; only one of them was a first timer.

The new team: Maija (quadruple Märket veteran), Katja, Krista, and Sami (all first-timers).

While the weather was still permitting, we visited the ”seal island”. The return trip against the wind in the rubber boat was like being in a roller coaster.

Katja and Krista are washing the dishes after a very delicious, but quite heavy dinner (The Menu: steak, roasted potatoes, and Greek salad).

Sunday 10.8.2014

It was a dark and stormy night… Not really, actually we woke up in the most delightful weather, calm wind and sunshine with some rain clouds in the distant horizon. After enjoying the well and thorougly prepared porridge breakfast, we headed for the day’s chores. Those who didn’t visit the ”seal island” yesterday were able to do it today, just to find out there was ever more seals!

We rehearsed the visitor guidance, now we’re ready to host any and all visitors! Unfortunately no approaching boats were seen today. After noon the wind settled down completely, allowing a halfway-round-the-island swim, from rib boat harbour to north harbour. Maybe the rest of the swim will be completed tomorrow? The evening was perfected with nice sauna and swimming in the big waves created by the rising wind.

Not just full moon, but Supermoon on Märket! Some of us had the time to enjoy also the night view, while others spent the whole night recovering from previous night’s lack of sleep.

Krista preparing the delicious vegetable soup.

Katja trying to replicate Galileo’s findings in the tower of Pisa. The result: The end speed and hit ratio of the firewood is completely independent of the wood size. Case closed.

While transfering the fire wood from the storage next to water heater was a quick process, getting the new ones into storage by Sami took a little bit longer. Maybe tomorrow we’ll try express air transport for these too?

First day wood transfer complete. Before and after pictured above. See any difference?

Monday 11.8.2014

The day started with beautiful yet windy weather. As the wind grew stronger so did the waves too. Midday brought also the rain, but before that we were able to do most of our chores scheduled for today, including firewood transfer, emptying the compost and scraping the lighthouse stone basement’s seams.

Todays peak 13 m/s wind created quite impressive waves. It must be a really unique experience to be here when wind rises above 20 m/s and the whole island is swept over by the sea. We’re waiting for that…

Due to the wind there were no visitors today, just a constant flow of smaller and bigger cargo vessels between Märket and Understen. It’s been now two days since we saw other people, and some of us are already starting to hallucinate about e.g. Santa Claus and a bearded woman walking around the island in the middle of the night…

Super full moon: much brighter than Märket’s light. Final verdict: Moon 6 – Märket 0.

Maija emptying the compost. What a smell! Some quite peculiar findings were made, including a complete unrottened swede (vegetable, not a person).

13 m/s from South. Enough for enjoying good waves by Sami.

Katja and Maija cleaning the lighthouse stone basement’s seams.

Tuesday 12.8.2014

Today we’ve spent almost half of our week here and have settled down. The isolation of the island and the unique atmosphere have given rise to new thoughts for each of us. Getting rid of our daily routines and environment reflects to our minds – one pays attention to completely different matters and details than usually.

Märket is indeed a place from where you don’t just quickly visit the local grocery store to get some supplements. If you’ve forgotten something, you’ll be without it for the whole week. We definitely won’t run out of chocolate, but some other necessities such as vegetables will be exhausted way before Saturday’s pickup boat.

The Robinson Crusoe -effect is also getting to us: A small airplane circling the lighthouse was one of the highlights of the day and received warm greetings. At some point sending rescue light signals towards Sweden and ”bottle mail” were also considered as good ideas.

Krista and Sami finalised chopping 1 m3 and transferring another 4 m3 firewood to shelter, whereas Katja and Maija cleaned the lighthouse stone basement seams. A siesta on the warm rocks with sunshine and sounds of the sea perfected the day.

Katja, Maija and Sami starting another fine day on Märket.

Krista packing wood to be transported upstairs.

Maija scraping the seams clean for replastering.

The constantly moving clouds, changing lighting and strong waves makes the environment and atmosphere change endlessly. Too sad it’s not possible to capture it all on film.

Wednesday 13.8.2014

Yesterday evening we celebrated our halfway milestone on Märket. After a good night’s sleep (well, at least to some of us) we woke up to another beautiful and sunny morning. The wind rose again in the afternoon, bringing massive waves from the South.

Today’s main task was bringing Lilla Märket back to its glory by cleaning and repainting it. Originally a toilet where one didn’t need any toilet paper during a storm, this little building was later transformed to a shower cabinet and has now retired when the new sauna has been taken into use.

Adapting to the different rhythm of life on this little island has made concepts such as ”day of week”, ”rush” and ”pressure” seem so far away. Getting to better know new interesting people and sharing thoughts on life and everything changes the way we think, maybe permanently.

This day produced some extraordinary pictures which caused endless laughs, but they were censored from this diary. Publishing them would probably have resulted in someone questioning our mental health and ability to continue our shift…

Briefly, just after sunset, the Märket ghost spontaneously materialised in the tower.

Cleaning and repainting Lilla Märket started with building the scaffolds and cleaning the old paint surface. It’s nice to instantly see the result of your work.

Krista again on the top, this time painting Lilla Märket under clear blue skies.

Maija doing the dishes. Outdoors of course, enjoying the magnificent view.

Thursday 14.8.2014

The morning started with a swim in the sea. The first signs of approaching autumn could be felt in the air. Also the sea temperature had dropped noticeably. After the breakfast we headed to our chores and were able to finish most of them, including painting of Lilla Märket.

There were some incidents during the day, including one keen photographer taking just one step too much backwards and falling into the sea. Fortunately she survived with just one scratch,and also the camera was saved without getting wet. That was a 1 minute combination of photography, swimming and washing the laundry.

In the afternoon we saw something we had been waiting for some days already: not just a single boat, but two boats approaching Märket from Hammarland. So nice to be finally able to host a guided tour! It turned out that some of our visitors had a lot of experience from Märket, and also a relative with a history of working on Märket. So we also learned some interesting facts about Märket and the surrounding archipelago from them.

At noon the wind disappeared, and also the horizon became non-existent. The rolling waves were the only reminder of yesterday’s high winds.

As we didn’t bring any tripod or other camera support with us, we had to improvise a little bit. Setting camera on self timer atop of a ladder supported by another ladder felt like a stable setup. Don’t try this at home…

The resulting picture from the previous picture’s unstable camera setup. As it was Thursday, the only true option for lunch was traditional pea soup enjoyed in the sunny front yard. And for supper – you guessed it – we had pancakes.

Our quests arriving in the north harbour, total of two boats and eight persons. For some of them this was the first visit to Märket, while others reached their 6th visit.

Visitors enjoying the view from the top of the lighthouse.

Coffee and biscuits at the end of the Märket tour. All seats occupied in the dining room. Thanks for the visit!

Friday 15.8.2014

The weather has been good for the whole week, and this day was not an exception. We finished our chores and reported back to work coordinators to get the work lists synchronised for the next week’s team. In addition to cleaning up and getting ready for tomorrow’s change of shifts, we had time to take a nap on the warm rocks enjoying the sunshine and sound of the rolling waves.

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