What a magnificent, sunny day! With a forecast temperature of around 25C, it really does feel like summer again and I know that we are very fortunate to be able to spend this time out on the water. The wind is brilliant today as well - enough to keep us coasting along at 6 knots with only the foresail raised and we had a marvellous crossing of Kalmarsund, sipping coffee, munching on ANZAC biscuits, and playing Eric Clapton on the stereo. Does it get better than this?

Our route today takes us right past the paper mill, so we can get a closer look at it. And it is every bit as ugly as I thought it would be.



We were also "lucky" that the wind was blowing our way, too. Hmmm... nothing like the smell of lye first thing in the morning. I don't know how people who live nearby can stand the smell. We were only passing by, but I thought I was going to be sick as it was so revolting. Lars-Göran thought you could get used to it, but I'm not convinced of that.

We followed the inner route past the mill and along the marked channel behind the islands. It was very different to sailing out in Kalmarsund, much less wavy which pleased the dog, but we found the landscape, consisting mostly of pine trees a bit monotonous. Still, if you never give it a try, you'll never know.

The purpose of this trip is to go to places we haven't been before, so we decided to moor at the small town of Påskallavik, about 12 kilometres south of Oskarshamn. As it is going to be a glorious day tomorrow, we are hoping to stay here and look around while our washing dries. Lars-Göran has read that they have a Konsum shop, so his mouth is already watering at the thought of me buying him ice-cream. The guest harbour was still open (I told him to ring first, but being male, he knew better.....again!), which we discovered while tying up at the pier. Before we had secured the ropes, a woman with a receipt book appeared from a nearby house. She had seen us come in and it seemed a bit churlish to tell her we were only staying for half an hour to shop. If the truth be told, we were too lazy to move again, so we shelled out the mooring fee and relaxed for the day in this pretty little sleepy town.



Påskallavik´s guest harbour and the marina are adjacent to a park area with a small beach and offer a spectacular view over "Blå Jungfrun" as well as over the open sea and the first of the 5,400 islands within the Oskarshamn archipelago.

This town has only 1,300 inhabitants these days, though in earlier times it was much larger, with the wealth mostly based on a stonemasonary. We found it a very quiet place, set out not unlike Timmernabben, with a long main road hugging the shoreline with the town stretched out along this coast road.

In the morning we did the washing and while it dried, we took out the bikes and rode around to see what was here. We passed by the church, a very pretty and typical stone church, covered with white plaster work. I read on a plaque outside that it was dated from 1865. We were not able to go inside, though as there was a funeral service on at the time and we didn't want to intrude.



Along the main road were many fine, large homes overlooking the water. They all had big garden areas and offer a light and airy atmosphere.



Another thing that I found charming were the cute wooden letterboxes. We also have these in Nynäshamn and I had thought that one day I would go around town and photograph some of my favourites as I think they are wonderful. Many people, especially in the country area paint their letterboxes with some theme that reflects the owner's interests. I've seen ones with birds, pets, boats, cars, flowers, island scenes etc. But this one in Påskallavik is really very individual and something that appeals to me greatly.



I am sorry now that I live in an apartment, now. I want a house in the country, with a letterbox featuring all of the family - humans, dog, birds, boat - and of course an Aussie flag. Okay, we can have a Swedish flag, too, if we have to...

This is the sort of country cottage I'd like...



But I saw that the former manor has been turned into apartments, so I'll have to look elsewhere.

The other reason we wanted to have a look at the town was because it was the home and working place of the sculptor Arvid Källström. I had seen his statue Ölandsflicka in Borgholm and thought it might be nice to pass by and see some of his other work. Now this may well fall under the category of Ignorant Artistic Critiquing, but here goes. I actually admit to not knowing much about art but I do know enough to say that this here sculpture is shithouse:



I kid you not, this six metre long, gaudily painted concrete monstrosity is meant to be the goddess Venus. I bet Sandro Botticelli is turning in his grave. And to make it even stranger, this piece of "art" is sitting in this guy's front garden along with several other pieces of questionable lumps of concrete. And we thought those wog gardens were a bit heavy on the concrete flamingoes and kitschy Mexicans. You can check out the rest of his front yard here (but not while you are eating. You have been warned). I can't imagine what possessed him to put these in front of a lovely traditional red wooden cottage. I know that if he was my neighbour, I'd be complaining to the council about it. However, he seems to be somewhat revered here, with this being a tourist attraction. It was also heavily featured on postcards of the town. I couldn't think of anyone I hated enough to send THAT postcard to.

It goes to show you that Frank Zappa was right when he said Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.