Grinda (Central Archipelago) — Stockholm Archipelago Trail

Hey. This is a beautiful nature hike in Sweden's archipelago. Arrive by ferry and stay at a campsite, cabin or hotel. Signage is new with yellow/silver/blue "banderole" around the trees (see pictures). Important for the hike: hiking boots (it goes between and over the rocks), surefootedness required and food/drink for a small picnic, because there are so many beautiful views. Food is available on site...any questions? Then write. Have fun

Today we are going on a trip to the archipelago 🤗 The ship is leaving Vaxholm and because we are early, we are sitting on the quay for a while, the sun is shining 🌞 These boat trips through the archipelago are something very special. You can look at these islands, some of which are very small, with wonderful houses, often red and white or yellow and white, for hours. The trip takes that long, 1 hour, and Grinda is the 15th stop, assuming the signals are up everywhere, which is not the case today. When we arrive in Grinda, about a dozen people get off. Everyone goes to the right 👉 so it is clear where we are going 👈. From the very beginning, we are thrilled about the beautiful path along the water. Great views in bright sunshine, we are lucky. 🤗 Then we reach Grinda City 🏙️ consisting of a pretty farm 🐖 with a farm shop 🛒, the island's guesthouse, a country store, a boat harbor with a restaurant 🍽️ by the sea 🌊 and a bakery 👨‍🍳. Apart from the Grinda Wärdshus, everything is closed and lies there lonely; summer in Sweden currently only takes place on weekends 🤷🏻‍♀️ We are neither surprised nor sad and move on. At the northern tip there is a large campsite ⛺️ and a great bathing bay 🏊. This is where the adventurous part of the tour begins. A thunderstorm has come up, there is audible thunder close by and it starts to rain 🌧️. Forward 👉 or backward 👈 is now the question and we take the escape forward. The second half is indeed an escape, we now hike against the shortening time until departure 🕑 and against the thunderstorm 😱 The root paths that had been beautiful up to that point turn into soap, the rocks above the sea are wet and anything but pleasant to walk on. At the southern end of the island we face quite a climb, time is shortening, the thunderstorm stronger 😳 Shortly before the holiday cottages we plough through a wild sea of blueberries and learn in the process that wet, knee-high blueberry bushes 🫐 can also get you knee-deep wet, and pretty badly 💦 😵‍💫 In the end we arrive at Söndra bryggan 15 minutes before departure and eat the snack we brought with us in the shelter 🛖. The sign is hoisted, the ship stops in Södra Grinda and we experience the return journey for the first time inside the ship and in the rain. When we get out in Vaxholm, everything is under water, it must have been pouring with rain 😳 Today was a very exciting day, we hadn't imagined the leisurely walk around the island to be so exciting 🫣 😂