in the Tourkou archipelago, a postman travels 40 kilometers every Friday

2023-10-26 15:42:27

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Published on 10/26/2023 3:42 p.m.

Length of video: 5 min Finland: in the Tourkou archipelago, a postman travels 40 kilometers every Friday Heading to the Tourkou archipelago, in the southwest of Finland. There, the postman has a heavy task: distributing mail to the inhabitants of small islands cut off from the world. A very physical mission, under freezing temperatures. – (France 2) Article written by France 2 – T. Maillet, F. Caer, L. Escoubes, M. Schwartz

France Televisions

Head to the Tourkou archipelago, in the southwest of Finland. There, the postman has a heavy task: distributing mail to the inhabitants of small islands cut off from the world. A very physical mission, under freezing temperatures.

In Finland, there are tens of thousands of islands. In this archipelago, the inhabitants are only a handful and the link between them all is Peter Mustelin, the postman. To get there, the mail passes by two ferries. Once a week, on Friday, he collects letters from the most isolated. His tour: around forty kilometers slaloming between islands and obstacles.

Bringing mail to the most isolated

Sometimes, Peter Mustelin just has to place the letters on a box at the end of a pontoon. But more often than not, delivery is an opportunity to have a conversation. “JI feel responsible. I ensure safety, that everyone is well, sometimes I bring food. It’s more than letters and I don’t get paid for that“, explains the postman who regularly comes to see his predecessor. Previously, Peter Mustelin was a designer. The only candidate for this position, he left everything behind to work in the great outdoors.

In winter, the archipelago freezes and Peter’s journey becomes much riskier. In a few days, the archipelago will have put on its white coat. Despite the risk, Peter will set off on an adventure again. “I’ve sailed here over 1,500 times, there’s enough to explore for a lifetime“, he describes. On the water as on the ice, his mission is always the same: to be the one who brings the news of the world to those who have made the choice to live far from everything.

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