Visby

Today we completed our circumnavigation of Gotland it was a full week of cycling and around 400kms.
It has been really hot 30-33 degrees with over 18 hours of sunlight we are looking more than a little sun touched.
Gotland is a fantastic place for riding around because it is almost totally flat and the scenery is amazing.
Gotland is littered with countless beaches, dense pine Forests, ancient stone farm houses, bright red barns,
towering church steeples, golden wheat fields and millions of mosquito's!!!
There are lots of Swedes taking their summer holidays here. Riding hire bikes, shirtless with trailers full of camping gear squinting into the sun. No one here wears sunglasses or hats ever! and they lie in positions ensuring every nook and cranny gets some colour.
We have been taking full advantage of the law in Sweden that states you can camp anywhere for one night for free. The exception is campgrounds that can cost up to $60 for a site!
We have been lucky to find some fantastic spots to cook our dinner, watch amazing sunsets at 11 pm and sleep the night. At one spot we had set up our tent and after a full day of riding in the sun we were quite sticky and disgusting.
Marcus went to see if was possible to find somewhere to have a swim and could hardly believe his eyes when he stumbled across a 5kr (less than $1) shower at the boat wharf opposite to the field where we were camping.

We have been a little surprised by the beaches in Gotland. It's not the lack of waves but the smell! There is this thick layer of brown sludge on the edge of the water that stinks and most of the beaches have a small jetty so you can get past it to the clear water. Everybody seems not to notice the smell but we have to hold our breath to go near it. Once past the stagnate stink the water is nice and clear so we didn't worry to much about it. That was until a friendly farmer told us it was algae and it caused from all the untreated sewerage that get dumped in the Baltic Yuck!! He was from Holland and lived on the island for 10 years and never swam in any of the beaches here.
Tomorrow we will get the ferry back to the mainland and ride back to Stockholm. We are starting to get excited about arriving in Estonia, apparently it is quite similar looking to here in Visby.

When we look at the map of Sweden we have really only seen a tiny part but it feels like a lot when you pedal over every bump and past each flower on the side of the road.