On Finnhamn we stayed at the STF hostel. Small, basic cabins again; this time without even individual toilets. Toilets, showers, etc were all in the central building. Not a problem most of the time, but inconvenient when you need to pee in the middle of night – which tends to happen after we hike in hot weather and rehydrate in the evening. On the other hand – the price included a pretty nice free breakfast buffet.

After breakfast we continued our archipelago ramble. Finnhamn was nice but we rather felt we’d seen the best it had to offer, and it was time to head onwards. I can imagine staying here for a couple of days if I had young kids, but there wasn’t that much for us to do or see here.

We headed for the rowboat connection to Ingmarsö. There’s one basic aluminium boat “parked” at each side of the crossing, and that’s the way it needs to remain, so that people can cross from either side. Which means that you row over to the other side, then row back over while towing the other boat, and then row yourself over again.

Luckily for us, a couple on the other side had been considering crossing as well. When they saw us approaching, they realized the opportunity they had in front of them, and hurried over to the rowboat. So both them and us got to cross with just one leg of rowing. They’d even gotten their boat into the water just before we got there, so there was space for us to jump onto the shore without getting our feet wet.

The eastern end of Ingmarsö was mostly lovely, airy pine forest. The paths were wider and easier to walk than on Finnhamn, which suited us rather well, given that we were now carrying full packs.

There were also occasional meadows, all with very firm signage about the importance of keeping the gates closed and the livestock inside – but all with gates wide open and no livestock in sight. We were a bit disappointed, having hoped for cute sheep, or more cows.

Towards the centre of the island, our surroundings got more civilized. Small gravel roads, farms.

We arrived at Ingmarsö bakery at just about lunchtime, with the intent of eating there. Having seen the prices, though (nearly 300 SEK for a shrimp sandwich or a salad) we didn’t feel very tempted any more. The shop half of the bakery also sold plain fresh bread, though. We had a roadside picnic lunch with fresh bread and yesterday’s farm-fresh tomatoes and eggs.

Heading onwards across Ingmarsö, we shared the roads with quite a lot of people and traffic. Here again there were no cars but various mopeds and other light vehicles.

A small ATV with a four-seat trailer passed us several times in different directions.

Ingmarsö, like many larger islands in this group, has several stops for the Waxholmsbolaget boats. One boat line goes around it on the north side, and another one on the south. For us today the north harbour offered a better connection to the next island on our route.

We got there with an hour to spare, which left us enough time for some bathing and sunbathing. The water was cold again. A minute or two was more than enough to cool us down.

Getting in the water was like riding down a slide of seaweed-slick stone. The railing was pretty necessary for getting out again afterwards.

Today’s boat will be taking us to Grinda.

An afternoon meal on the boat. Hiking makes us hungry, and three meals is not enough to get us all the way to the end of the day, even when supported by snacking on nuts and dried fruit.

Grinda, apparently, is a rich people island. Large harbour, expensive restaurants, a helicopter landing pad, toddlers in Ralph Lauren shirts.

We walked onwards, circling the west side of the island, to the south where we’ll be staying in a simple cabin again.

Our accommodation this time is the most basic yet. Individual cabins, last decorated in the 1970s, with bunk beds. Shared outhouses and water taps within no more than 100 metres of each house. You fetch water for cooking, drinking and dish-washing in a ten-litre water canister. Strong scout camp vibes!

On the other hand, each cabin had electricity and a little kitchen nook, which came in handy for cooking dinner. The restaurants in the middle of the island were a viable option, maybe a kilometre away, if we took the straightest and most boring route – but the prices and the mixed reviews did not appeal. Thus: instant noodles and tinned sweetcorn (both of which I had packed for exactly this kind of scenario) with more of the farm eggs. Almost like ramen soup.