On Monday, June 10th the Finnish Explorers Club coordinated a meeting with NomadMania in the capital of Finland, Helsinki. While the Finnish explorers meet every first Friday of the month for a social occasion, this time the event was on a Monday and it was far more structured than the usual occasions, and even more than most NomadMania gatherings. 35 travellers attended in total, with a broad range of ages as well as travel experience.
Pirkko Schildt, the organiser of the club, first took the stage and presented the travels that she has taken with her husband as travellers not intending to complete 193. She was followed by Finland’s only female UN Master, NomadMania’s recipient of the biggest traveller 2023 award, Anna-Katri Raiha. Anna-Katri presented her travel story through statistics, explaining how she came up with the idea of finally going for 193. She also gave us a small preview of her upcoming book, which is expected to be released sometime in the autumn.
Next up was NomadMania’s second-ranked Finn in terms of regions, border-crossing and land-travel enthusiast Harri Tuomola. Harri talked about his travels from an early age and how he has conceived his travels over time. Finally, our founder Harry Mitsidis presented three reasons why NomadMania is unique: the equal focus on places and people, its underlying democratic nature and its strong emphasis on values and ethics in terms of travel.
The event then turned to a larger discussion of extraordinary stories that people have had during their travels, with Patrik Sabel talking about his narrow escape from possible death in Pakistan simply because his lost passport was found just in time, changing the course of his travels and quite possibly his life.
While many notable NomadManians were present – and all receive the badge for participating in the event, which will last until the end of 2025, special mention should be made of UN Master Samu Viljanen and 89-year old travel legend Eki Siivonen. Eki is one of our earliest members and his stories of starting his travels aged 13 in 1948 with a bicycle trip in Finland are truly inspiring.
We thank the Finnish Explorers’ Club for the event and note that we are still in search of an Envoy for Finland; we hope to soon have a volunteer for this country that is especially notable for the highest percentage of UN Masters per capita.
