The bus outside Surkee Stage, Finland, 10:31

Now this was more like the party I was expecting. A few thousand people at a junction with a fast 90 left. A rock stage (with no band yet?). A Jumbotron showing the lead up to the corner and shots of people and a little bit after the corner. This is great spectating. Tom and I got on the Jumbotron, of course. Though we started early, I got some sleep on the bus.

I’ve been having fun despite a small flare up of my metaphorical heart cancer due to a tiny facebook accident. Every time a car goes by I feel a little better, though. As soon as I get back to constantly thinking about survival and what to do in places where the people don’t speak my language, I should hopefully break out of it. I don’t know what I’ll do when I get back to Seattle. I was hoping I’d be healed by then or have learned how to live with it. Whatever, I’m in Finland, watching rally!!

Room 110, Hotel Keurusselka, Finland, 19:22

Though my heart cancer didn’t get any better, the rally watching was pretty amazing this afternoon. We sat at the Himos 2 stage and watch a certain competitor get a puncture and pretty much lose his chance of doing well (no spoilers!). We watched the remaining field the whole way through take a tricky gravel to tarmac downhill sweeping left and a hairpin left. The viewing was pretty awesome. Then we waited around just long enough to watch a few of the F-cup (or Vetomies) cars. Those were super rad. We got to see Toni Gardemeister’s M3 from a distance, even. A bunch of people stuck around for these old cars and the cheering was just as loud as for the WRC cars. Rightfully so, as the F-cup cars we saw were very sideways and exciting to watch.

On the third stage we saw today, we got the inside of a fast approach hairpin. I worked on my panning photos in difficult light and some might have turned out ok. We’ll see in a couple weeks when I get back to my computer and can look at them on a screen larger than 5cm by 5cm. That’s right, metric, fools. The spectator spot was pretty great and offered a long view through the trees.

We’re now just bumming around the hotel, resting. I fell asleep on the bus a bunch of times and Tom has a wicked blister. We have to get up even earlier tomorrow and will be going to the rally after-party until about midnight, so it’s going to be a long day. I think tomorrow will be the exact midpoint of my trip, as well. To be honest, I’m a little ready to be done. It feels a little like I walked out into the Alaskan wilderness unprepared and found a bus to live in. Like I ran out of food and ran out of time to share what I discovered. Like none of this is really happening because it’s happening only to me and there will be no one to share this story with when I’m old and sitting on my porch drinking hot cocoa with my cat, watching the ocean. Heart cancer.

Perhaps during the second half, something Eastern European or Southern European will cure me. Or let me cure myself. Perhaps the Mediterranean sea. Enough babbling, I’m going to find a washing machine.

Lounge, Hotel Keurusselka, 20:49

Well, the laundry isn’t going to get done here, but I keep getting the Internet for free, so that’s a bonus. I guess I’ll post some pictures while Tom attempts to recover from his headache.