I’m sitting on the ferry on my way back to the mainland, time to kill. So here are some miscellaneous observations from Gotland.
It has been a great trip, and I’m well pleased with myself to have overcome the winds so I don’t have a feeling that I missed a picture because it was blowing too hard. I even did some extreme closeups, with a little help from the Wimberley Plamp. And the Stormjacket got me through the rain. Regarding the pictures themselves, I’ve been looking through them but there’s nothing that really sticks out. Most of them are just straight portrait shots, but then again, that’s what I’m comfortable with and I think I succeeded in that respect. The most important thing is that I’m not feeling that I missed out on something, that I didn’t take a picture that I would’ve liked to. I don’t even regret that I didn’t do more sightseeing, or more effort at landscape photography. This trip was always about the orchids, and it’s not possible to squeeze in 19 orchid excursions (or 20, if the unscheduled search at Klinteberget is included) in 5 days and still have time (and energy) over for scouting for good landscape ops in the best light. I know I missed a couple of sunsets, but honestly, I was too tired to be disappointed for more than just a few seconds.
I really only have one nag, and it’s with one of the hostels – the Lärbro hostel is nothing I would recommend. Paper thin walls and the dining area is just an extended corridor where the rooms are, so there’s no sound isolation whatsoever. And the echo in the dining area/corridor was horrible. For a sound sensitive person like myself, it was a nightmare. Stay at Tingstäde instead, one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed in!
The Swedish they speak on Gotland is very special. It’s almost a language of its own, I think it exists even in written form. I struggled to understand it, reminded me of when I was in England and spoke with Scottish people. I don’t know why some dialects are so much harder for me than others!
My first Gotland post included a mention of cycling. It was evident everywhere, and the island is really built to be bicycle friendly, not just by nature but I mean road planning also. With what everyone relying on their muscle power to get around, it figures that obesity is probably not such a big problem on Gotland as it is elsewhere (I don’t have any statistics to support me, this is just based on visual observation). Good for them!
To wrap up my Gotland story… Gotland is not only a botanist’s paradise, but it’s excellent for birders as well. Sometimes I wished I knew more about birds because I struggled to recognise a fraction of what I saw. It was along the lines of ”oh look a bird… and a big bird”!
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Now it’s back to the mainland and the mountains – a different and exciting flora awaits!