Kayaks on a lake and a Man in a Tent

The weekend weather forecast was grim; rain, thunderstorms and cloud. Both Alice and I were exhausted, both from summer’s that were too busy and from the simple thought that winter was coming. Should we go or should we not? We debated for a few days and finally decided that a kayaking trip such as we had planned could not be delayed for too long as the probability of good weather now was drastically reducing.

So where was our adventure to you may ask? Before I let you know that I would like to introduce Jojo from Austria. Jojo is eclectic to say the least, he (and his lifestyle) does not fit in with social norms, he shies away from the rat race that is everyday life and he determines, through whichever activity takes his fancy, to push his boundaries, learn and most of all be self sufficient. This year he has decided to see if he can live alone, on an island, in a tent for a year! Now let’s be clear, this is Sweden and temperatures can drop to minus twenty so this is not just some tiny hiking tent. Jojo has a large bell tent inside which he can stand upright, has a real single bed, a keyboard piano and room for two guests. In the centre he has installed a cast iron stove whose chimney feeds up and out of the tent roof. He has a large solar panel too for charging but it was the chandelier of candles that lit the tent.

This island, Jojo’s island, lies at the northern end of Lake Mallerud (a region Alice and I took to calling Little Germany as there seemed to be some many Germans about) a good two hours from Karlstad on the way to Gothenburg. The rain held off on the drive there and it was only when we picked Jojo up from, what we thought, was an arbitrary location on a road, that the sun came out and the clouds cleared. Jojo explained that he wanted us to park at the southern end of the lake as he knew the German lady who lived there and also, he had just lent his Canadian canoe to his two buddies for a week and so intended to borrow a kayak from this same lady.

As we pumped up Alice’s kayaks we basked in warm sun and were incredulous at our weather luck! It was an hour’s paddle to Jojo’s island but with the sun warm on our backs and a slight breeze that allowed us to drift along in the right direction almost without breaking a paddle stroke and lots of catching up with Jojo to do, time passed by easily and enjoyably.

As we paddled down the lake Jojo filled us in on some of the history. On the west bank lay an old wooden and now abandoned mill and to the east, up into the forest lay a quarry from which the millstones used to be cut. Jojo had ventured up there with the two buddies who had taken his Canadian canoe off adventuring, and they had found an onld stone, broken but still beautifully (and I am sure painfully and slowly) shaped. The three of them had managed to lug it down to the shore and Jojo had plans to somehow get it to his tent. There were a few 'cliffs' that rose twelve or so metres from the water and Jojo had experimented with some climbing here too.

Soon the tent came into view and we began to immerse ourselves in the magic that was to be Jojo’s life for the next year. It is a large island, hilly and rocky and shaped like a squashed and mis-shaped horseshoe. It lay only sixty metres or so away from the northern shore and here the water was shallow enough to wade through should this be necessary. From this shore it was a fifteen minute walk through the woods to the end of a dirt road where Jojo currently had his car parked. In winter this road would not be snow ploughed so Jojo had not quite decided where he would park. Once a week or so he intended to head out to buy groceries, socialise but most importantly, spend a day working on his computer so as he could document this wonderful life of his with a weekly Youtube episode. He had made a friend (German!) who had given him space to set up in his old chicken house ... so if you watch these videos remember this is where they were edited and released to the world!  

For a while we lazed by the tent drinking tea and quizzing Jojo on many an aspect of his quaint setup. He showed us which part of the island was the toilet and how to go about this necessary business in the correct manner. He showed us his fridge and described its workings .... unlike the conventional fridge which keeps food cold, this fridge aims to stop food items freezing. With no insulation in the tent and the possibility that perhaps there may be a week he cannot get off the island, Jojo needs to prepare for each eventuality. A bag of food is lowered on a string down into this 4 metre pipe. As long as the food is below water level it should not freeze!

The weather was still glorious and so we set out on the kayaks again. About 300m from the island lay a log cabin. Now this cabin was curious to me and is an example of the wonders of a society that is not into vandalism and taking unnecessary advantage of the kindness of others. Set on the shore was a pre-cut stack of firewood, a picnic table and a barbeque area complete with grill and kettle ... a kettle from which I definitely got ‘kettle envy,’ a rare emotion indeed.

The cottage itself has been hand built by a generous farmer. It is only one small room but it is crammed full of all sorts: two bunk beds, a little kitchen table and chairs, a few rocking chairs near the stove, a kitchenette complete with spices, cutlery and crockery. There was even a bottle of whiskey with a note to ‘have a sip only, don’t get drunk!’ On the table was a paper detailing the history of the land and its ownership. The absolutely wonderful thing about this cottage is that it is open to the public, open to anyone who wants to make the effort to paddle or hike here... we were definitely going o be back!

And still the weather was magnificent ... so we continued with our circumnavigation of the island, peering into the depths at a wreck that Jojo had found and paddling over to the western shore to try to catch a glimpse of the resident beaver (we had no luck though). On arriving back on Jojo’s shore Alice and he decided that a swim was in order ... I had guessed such a wild idea might happen and was prepared to give into the peer pressure that would force me into that cold water ... even if the sun was warm. The other two leapt in with no worries but it took me a good ten minutes to work up the courage for such mad exercise!

As the sun began to set and Jojo lit the stove, Alice and I headed into the island’s woods to collect blueberries. Blueberry picking requires quite an eye and I was not so clued in as Alice! The blueberry picking took us round to the other leg of the island horseshoe and up to the top of the hill where we could look across the bag at the tent and south down the lake. The view was exquisite, the sunset magical and Jojo’s little piece of paradise almost perfect (I think monkeys were missing!)

We whiled away the first darkness hours with cooking (fresh mushrooms) and then Jojo gave us a rendition of a few songs on his guitar. Surely we thought, surely tomorrow would be rain swept. In the early hours of the morning the thunder began and the wind picked up, now and again there was a patter of rain too. Over breakfast we debated which route to take home – as there was no way we would be able to paddle into this wind the idea would be to paddle to the north shore, walk through the woods to Jojo’s car, drive round to the south shore and say goodbye there.

But suddenly the wind dropped off completely and the lake settled to a mill pond. Out from the clouds peaked the sun. Our weather luck had held!

We left Jojo on his island and paddled home as if on a magic carpet. The silence, the warmth and the magic of the lake enveloping us just as paradise should!       

Tips for Erasmus students:

• Follow Jojo’s island camping on his youtube channel ‘My Northern Story’.
• We met Jojo through the couchsurfing community; if you are new in Karlstad then this is a great way to get to know some people that are not directly related to your course.

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