she gestured for me to add her as a contact on WeChat, the
multipurpose, ubiquitous Chinese messaging app.
Unsure what to do, I handed over my phone and she showed
me how to scan her QR code. As the train slowed into the station,
she tied a thin red string around my wrist, wrapped herself in
robes, and picked up her bag, waving as she jumped down the
steps. When the train began to roll away from the platform, I
felt a vibration in my hand and looked down to see a message
from the nun: a GIF of a laughing Buddha exploding in light.114 NATGEOTRAVEL.COM
BY
JILL K. ROBINSON
MOVE WITH
INTENTION
AND ENJOY
THE FREEDOM
SWEDEN My paddle breaks the silvery skin of the Baltic Sea.
Water drips off the blades. Ahead lie a constellation of rocky
islands and the sea extending to the horizon. It feels as if there
are no boundaries.
Buffering Sweden’s capital from the Baltic Sea, the islands
of the Stockholm archipelago—called the skärgården—are a
wonderland of rocks, skerries, and islets with pine forests, fields
of wildflowers, and bare granite. The exact number of islands is
debatable, but the general consensus is about 30,000.
The archipelago stretches from downtown Stockholm and
brings wilderness into the city. Although regular ferry services
visit most of the larger islands, I’ve chosen to experience these
glacier-carved isles by kayak.
Exposure to nature is a central part of life in Sweden, where
the country’s constitution guarantees allemansrätten (“every-
man’s right”), a freedom to roam in natural spaces. The vast
archipelago is ideal for exploration by kayak because one can
linger among the quiet coves and passages.
Only 40 minutes by ferry from the mainland, Utö provides
a quick transition to island time. Once an active mining com-
munity with some of the oldest iron mines in the country, the
island of about 250 people and only a few cars is known today
for its beaches, restaurants, and the famed Utö dark rye bread
that tastes of molasses and anise.
The bread makes an appearance nearly everywhere, including
at seasonal fish restaurant Båtshaket. Hungry visitors arrive
by bike or boat, claim a spot on the deck, and enjoy smoked
salmon and shrimp on rye while letting the brief but intoxicating
Swedish summer sun soak into their skin. Nobody rushes to
leave, and time slows to accommodate even the napping dogs.
Despite having a tent in my pack, I find a cottage at Utö
Värdshus with a view of the island’s main harbor. At the tailWOMEN & ADVENTURE: TRAVEL LESSONS