So great, in fact, that we were able to save a good portion for our lunch on the 5 and a half hour ferry boat the next day to Helsinki. Despite needing to catch it at 2pm, we had one more item on our Åland agenda. Did you guess it? We needed to capture the southernmost point, the fourth cardinal direction, to unlock the true powers of the island, and reveal the key in order to leave it.
After some cleaning and packing, we were able to hit the road with just enough time to attempt this quest. Yet, achieving a quest so grand could not be so easy, could it? We were hit with wailing winds, and a downpour of water that would rival that of the one in Noah’s time… more or less. We still drove on, bravely, but we were presented with yet another obstacle; “forest vehicles only”. We were certainly a vehicle, but were we a forest vehicle? Alas, we left the van behind and continued on foot; walking along two wooden planks like a self-determined pirate, who knew they did no wrong.
Soon, we could taste victory. Only there it was – the final boss – another sign, but this time… “private way”. No! It can’t be. There was no other way. Was the southernmost point indeed on private ground? Well, probably not, but our southernmost point seemed to be. With the clock gnawing away in my pocket, only so much time left to get to the ferry with all four cardinal points, we chose to walk the remaining 50 meters to the sea. We passed the final test, and triumphantly walked back to our van, and soon boarded our large ferry to take us to the mainland.