ADVENTURE
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY HANNAH
Before it came to mean an afternoon’s bike ride with a modicum of danger, or something totally excellent (dude), an ‘epic’ used to mean a long poetic composition. Finland has its own national epic – the Kalevala – 50 poems compiled in the 19th century by Elias Lönnrot, drawn from traditional stories and songs made up and handed down through generations of Finns as they passed the time during the long dark nights of winter. Its publication helped galvanise the Finns’ sense of national identity, and this rise in nationalism led eventually to independence from Russia in 1917. One hundred years later, in the centenary year of independence, I find myself on a flying visit to one far-flung corner of this nation, tagging along with some travel agents and tour guides who are here to experience this possible new destination.