Day 4 - Stadsgarden, Sweden to Turku, Finland (Ferry Trip)

If Jeffo is nothing else, he is consistent. His last word on Monday night was “No worries, I’ll get you guys up in plenty of time for the ferry. We need to be up at 5.30 and on the road at 5.45 after a quick bit of breakfast.”

Wind the clock forward and it was like a Hangover film! Our ferry was leaving at 7.45am and they had advised us to be checked in and ready to go at least an hour ahead of schedule. The big snag, other than the boys suffering from a rough hangover, was that Jeffo was still operating on UK time as he had not adjusted his watch and, when he strolled into the harbour office to get checked in, the woman looked at him in exasperation. “You have got 10 minutes until the gate shuts,” she told him. “I will have to ring the gate and see if I can hold up the ferry, but I am not promising anything!”

Everyone’s adrenalin was now pumping! Jeffo jumped back into the driver’s seat and took off, faster than a Romford trap-one greyhound! We only had a short trip up the road, but this was peak hour and the traffic was jammed packed… except the bus lane! Jeffo tore down the lane shouting and cursing. He hoped that there were no penalties like there were in the UK and, if there were, the Swedes could not give a flying rat’s backside about chasing up a disorganised foreign traveller with a hippie looking van and the direction powers of Burke and Wills (they were early explorers who perished on their travels in Australia)… 

Tensions were high in the van, the boys and Osa contemplated their fate, wondering what would happen if they missed the ferry! It was at that point that Mark almost cleaned up an old-aged pensioner at a zebra crossing. He was so focused on not getting caught by the police for being in the bus lane, and he was going so fast he didn’t see the old fella, nor did he have time to apologise to him. We finally got to the gate and again we were met by a bewildered worker from Viking (the ferry company), who shook his head in disbelief and ushered us quickly through to the queue. When we got to the ferry’s entrance we were made to wait by another unimpressed Viking worker until all the semi-trailers and cargo-bearing trucks had driven onboard… This therefore meant that we were the last car on the ferry and the last off in Turku! Good one, Jeffo! 

However, things improved aboard. The boys had a decent cabin and therefore a nice place to rest their heads to recover from their hangover, so all was forgiven. “I could spend a week on this ship,” said an excited Isaac. “Look at this scenery!” Jimmy and Michael “These views are amazing, just the sort of shots we have been waiting for!” After the boys spent time soaking up the scenery, they decided it was time from them to fill up their bellies. Michael and Jimmy tucked into what they called their “first decent meal on tour!” They capped it off with a fat-churning chocolate moose with a creamy top and a ripe cherry… “Perfection” said Mike! 

Osa was also taking in the sights as well as drawing plenty of interest aboard; constantly being patted by fellow tourists, who exclaimed “What a beautiful looking dog”... The way we are chewing up the dosh on this trip, we may have to start charging people for getting their picture with him!

Meanwhile, Mark was negotiating potential camping sites for Turku with the bemused staff, who doubted whether any would be open… especially not in -minus weather! Jeffo said he could "put his house on everything finally going sweetly", but anyone who backed most of his racing tips at the Express over the years may have something to say about that! He was due a winner and, blow us all down with a feather, the man delivered. We got a campsite just outside of Turku - and a very picturesque one at that, for once we were finally getting to use the camper van!

However, after setting up the upstairs tent room (which the 3 boys slept in) and lowering the seats for Jeff and Osa, there were more setbacks. Firstly, the set-up of the van was instructed to take around 2 minutes… 40 minutes later we were still nowhere near!... Maybe it was due to our unsatisfied stomachs, maybe due to the lack of light... I think that the most reasonable excuse is due to the stupidity of ‘Four Idiots and A Dog!’ Then, after our sleeping arrangements were set-up, it was time for dinner. Four freezing cold tins of Heinz Spaghetti had to be consumed after the small stove ran out of gas after just a few minutes. “Why didn’t you check the gas before we left,” asked Jimmy. “You’ve done it again!”... Mark refused to eat the ‘slop’, however, the boys powered through and managed to clear the lot… A lot of that was down to Mike, who shut his eyes and pretended that it was a Burger King. In desperation, Jimmy tried one of Osa’s expensive dog biscuits, which were alleged to contain 100 per cent chicken… to his surprise, Jimmy really liked them.

So, after an hour of setting up camp and a rather disappointing dinner, it was time to sleep…

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