Wandering Through The Metsä: Orienteering

Today our PE class met up at Urheilukeskus (the sports complex where the big stadium and the ski jumps are) and we had suunnistus (orienteering).
For those of you who don't know what orienteering is, it's when you have a map marked with all sorts of geographical formations; rives, bridges, hills, paths, etc., and you go around the forest (metsä) trying to find certain points. At each point there is a sign hidden somewhere with a marker on it that you must find. We had a map with five or six checkpoints and worked in groups of two going around the forests surrounding Urheilukeskus, searching for the markers.

Suunnistus is actually quite difficult, because you have to have a really good sense of direction and knowledge of where you are. My partner and I misjudged where the first marker was because the paths marked on the map were in reality a lot shorter than they appeared to be.  

 In the end we only found two of the markers, but it was so much fun and there will be another opportunity to find more when our gym class returns to the forests again on Friday.
As you can see it was a bit of a magical morning with the fog. I have PE first thing at 8am so sometimes it's a bit chilly, but the weather was perfect today, even the ski jump stands tall through the fog.

The picture above shows the stadium where the ski jumps are, and the stadium in the back is where there are track and field competitions and home to the soccer team; FC Lahti. I really enjoyed not only getting to see where a lot of the huge sport competitions are held, but also getting to just explore the surrounding forests without too many people around so it was a great opportunity.

Hopefully next time you see a picture of the ski jumps they will be covered in snow and a skier will be flying down them in a huge competition.
Urheilukeskus is a beautiful area which I would love to see more of and really had a great time getting to explore today.