Karelia: a journey through the ages, a continuation of the journey. Ladoga Skerries

Sortavala is a small town in Karelia with Finnish roots; its name comes from the Finnish "to cut down the forest". My goal was not only to visit the museum of wooden paintings by Kronid Gogolev and walk around the city, but also the island of Valaam and the Ladoga skerries. However, due to bad weather, the entrance to Valaam was closed for several days, and we went to the Ladoga skerries.

The journey from the Black Stones tourist complex to Sortavala took a little over an hour. In Sortavala, a motor boat was waiting for us, designed for 8 people: it had an open stern for two, and the rest sat in the closed part. The weather was windy and the waves were decent. At one point, our boat was covered by a wave. We, those who were in the closed part, were only splashed with water, and the two at the stern were soaked to the skin, although the temperature did not exceed 15 degrees). But everyone was very pleased that they held on tight and were not washed overboard)

Lake Ladoga is the second largest lake in Europe after Lake Baikal. The water in the lake is clean and even healing, perhaps due to the proximity of the Valaam monastery. Ladoga Skerries is an archipelago of about 650 rocky islands. The trip to the skerries took about half an hour. Upon arrival, we made several stops. And each stop was amazing with picturesque views. I am attaching photos of these beautiful places.