Day 209: Skaboholmen

Make a picnic, pack towels, a book and an extra swimsuit, load up the car, drive down to the dock and load up the boat. Take the boat over to Skaboholmen for a swim, picnic, hike and refreshing pear cider. Repeat for three days and call me in the morning.

Seriously, if I was a doctor I would prescribe this. I can think of nothing better for the body, mind and soul than salt water, sunshine and a bit of exercise. The area of Skaboholmen that we usually go to is off limits right now due to a horrific oil spill that happened and washed ashore there last autumn. It was such sad news to hear and there are still signs up on the rocks of Skaboholmen warning of the risk of contamination, but to the eye, amazingly, it looks great. I had expected to see a black rim of tar encasing the rocks and there was some black coloring on some of the rocks but I am pretty sure it was natural wear and tear from the elements. Lucky for the wildlife and for us.

Since we were not able to access our normal spot at Skaboholmen, we found a new one. Which actually turned out to be awesome so we returned to it for three days straight. Also good for me because of my fear of the water. It usually works well for me to go back to the same spot that I've already gotten used to. Even better that my kind husband goes on maneter (jellyfish) patrol before I get in so that I can feel a bit more relaxed in the water. I am not going to kid you, the water is C O L D here. I am not even sure how or why I get in it but I can say that once you are over the initial shock, it is quite nice and actually very refreshing.

Tomorrow the weather forecast calls for rain all day and we are heading back to Stockholm first thing Sunday morning so today was our last boat trip out to Skaboholmen this summer. It is always bittersweet. We know we will return again next year but it is such a magical and special place to us, it's always difficult to leave. I am just so thankful that we had good luck with the weather and had a few glorious days to enjoy taking the boat out to Skaboholmen for swimming, picnics and hiking. I think Pina will miss Tjörn also.

See you again next year!

Way out beyond the horizon is England... :-)

Panorama that my husband took... ah... we love this place!

View from the top of the rocky cliff looking down at our boat and picnic area...

Peanut butter and banana "s'more" for lunch...