After saying goodbye to Ron, we left the harbour of Kalmar and continued north towards Påskallavik. This charming little town was recommended to us by Ida, a woman we met at the boat show in Düsseldorf, who has since become a friend. She works for the tourist information office in Oskarshamn, and we've stayed in touch ever since through Instagram.

The sail to Påskallavik started off calm and relaxing as we made our way between Sweden and Öland, the long island stretching along Sweden's southeastern coast. With the wind behind us, we sailed wing-on-wing, the mainsail on one side and the genoa on the other, making for a smooth and comfortable passage. Later, we turned west into a maze of small islands and shallow waters. It wasn't the easiest sailing, but it was absolutely beautiful.

We enjoyed a long, peaceful evening together in the harbour of Påskallavik, watching the colourful afterglow before ending the day with a refreshing swim. We're slowly reaching the point where we really notice how much longer the days become. Since we're travelling north and the midsummer is comming closer day by day, the sunsets get later every day.

The next morning, we decided to take the more challenging, but hopefully more scenic, route to Oskarshamn. Looking at the chart was almost intimidating. The passage was narrow, shallow, and filled with rocks and tiny islands. But we decided to take the chance anyway, and it turned out to be the best decision!

The scenery was unlike anything I had ever seen. It wasn't the weather or white sandy beaches that made it so special. It was the countless little islands, each with its own house tucked away among the trees. It made me dream about what life must be like there: taking your own little motorboat to work every morning, commuting to school across the water and all these Islands, or simply heading out to buy groceries by boat. Living so close to nature while still having everything you need within reach - it looked like an incredible way of life.

Almost unbelievably, just an hour later we entered the harbour of Oskarshamn, a busy industrial port filled with cargo ships. The contrast couldn't have been greater.

After tying up, we got ready to stock up on groceries, cat food, and everything else we would need for the next few days, as we planned to spend them at anchor, far away from towns and supermarkets. Just as we were about to leave the boat, we received a visit from the border police.

They checked all our documents to make sure both we and our boat were allowed to be in Sweden. They were incredibly friendly and, of course, immediately fell in love with our cats. Did you know that cats need passports too? Every time we enter a new country, we have to check them in as well. Depending on the destination, they also need certain vaccinations, health certificates, or even quarantine, which makes travelling to some countries almost impossible. Australia is probably one of the best-known examples with particularly strict entry requirements.

Thankfully, everything went smoothly because we were still travelling within the European Union. We'll see what future border crossings have in store for us.

The rest of the day was spent running errands before Ida came to visit us on board. It was lovely to finally meet her again, and she shared countless recommendations for places we shouldn't miss on our way north.

The following morning, we left Oskarshamn and headed for the first anchorage Ida had recommended. We enjoyed another calm sail under blue skies, but what excited us most wasn't the sailing - it was the possibility of tying Lív directly to the rocks.

In the Swedish archipelago, it's common to moor the boat against the rocks. This allows you to step straight onto the island without using the dinghy, and we were really looking forward to experiencing this ourselves.

Originally, we planned to use one of the two mooring buoys in the bay that had been recommended to us, but unfortunately both were already occupied. As we searched for another place to anchor, we spotted a smooth rock that looked absolutely perfect to tie up to. We decided to give it a try.

It wasn't easy, but we made it!

Within minutes, we felt like we had found our own little paradise. The cats loved it even more than we did. They could wander freely between the boat and the island, and because we were surrounded by water, we didn't have to worry about traffic, people, or them running away. We spent the afternoon enjoying the island and the surrounding islands by dinghy before ending the day with homemade burgers and another unforgettable sunset. Life really doesn't get much better than this.

The next morning, we almost didn't want to leave. But curiosity won, and we were excited to discover even more of this incredible coastline. While Reto was sailing, I baked fresh bread in the galley so we'd have a delicious breakfast waiting for us the following morning.

About five hours later, we found another tiny anchorage, just large enough for our boat. We launched the dinghy and explored yet another island together with the cats before enjoying a drink ashore while watching our home safely floating on its anchor. At sunset, I flew the drone once again to capture this beautiful place from above.

It's probably getting boring to read that every single day was beautiful - but honestly, it was. Every day was amazing in its own unique way. Instead of describing every anchorage, I'll simply let the pictures speak for themselves. But there is one more adventure I want to tell you about.

One of my favourite memories, besides tying the boat directly to the rocks, happened at another anchorage near a larger island.

As we arrived, it had just started raining. We dropped the anchor in the rain and waited for the shower to pass. Afterwards, we grabbed the cats and took the dinghy ashore.

The moment we let them out, they exploded with excitement. The island was a perfect mix of rocks and forest trails. They happily jumped from rock to rock and followed us for almost two hours, mostly without us needing to call them. Eventually, we reached the highest point of the island, where we were rewarded with breathtaking views across the archipelago.

Back at the dinghy, we thought it was time to head home, but Fortuna had other plans. She clearly wasn't finished exploring yet. So we walked another little loop around the shore before finally jumping into the dinghy.

As if she had perfectly timed it, the heavens opened just as we climbed back into the dinghy. We drove as fast as possible to get back to the boat, but despite our efforts, we arrived soaking wet. All we could do was laugh. Once back on board, we warmed ourselves with a bowl of fresh, homemade hot soup, and by the time we had finished eating, the sun was shining again.

We spent another peaceful evening together, taking the dinghy out for a ride and watching the sunset after what had been one of the most magical days of our journey. It has been a day I'll remember for a very long time.

After five unforgettable nights at anchor, it was finally time to return to civilisation. We had to be in Mem on the 24th of May because we had booked ourselves a very special adventure starting the next day.

Don't miss the next blog to find out what happened—it turned out to be one of the biggest adventures of our journey so far!

Day 36: Kalmar SE - Paskallavik SE