The story of Vihreät Tassut – Green experiences
“A green shirt flashes through the willow branches. I can hear the sounds of silent splashing and scuffle. I press myself lower in the underbrush, behind the willow tree. I move my foot; it slips down into an underwater dent and I suddenly have water up to my knee. A muskrat hole. The hem of my skirt gets soaked. Grandma thinks girls should wear skirts but this is why one shouldn’t wear shoes. One pair of wellies has already been lost in the muskrat’s clutches. The sedges and mud under bare feet feel cold. Suddenly someone smacks into me from behind. I fall face first into the water. I hear the taunts and ‘neener’ from behind me as I spit peat out of my mouth. Dammit. Next time I must be careful and move more quietly. My clothes are soaked but it doesn’t matter. We climb on top of the boulders on the shore which are spotted with seagull droppings to sit and dry our clothes. Chatting and planning the next make-believe games. The large spruce trees in the shoreline forests seem tempting. We decide to climb as high up as we can. Lets go! Bare toes are the best for climbing; the resin is easier to wash off from your heels than your shirt. The rough bark crunches nicely and feels warm after the cool lake water. The birds escape from the trees; a squirrel scuttles further away from us. Grandma treads the yard down below.
The branches create a green, leafy haven. A secret hideout. Here we are safe from everything; friends together. Blue sky glints beyond the foliage. Birds soar through the wide blue expanse; it calls to us too. We climb higher and not a single thought is spared for how we’re to climb back down. It’s not important. There’s always a way down; that much we’ve learned. Only the way up is what matters. The goal. The dream.”
This is probably where it all started, the summers spent at grandma’s, who knows? Studies, as well as common sense, tell us that the nature relationship one has as a child has positive effects also later in life. Nature gives a sense of importance, strength and wellbeing. Nature amazes, time after time, with its incredible diversity. I became a wilderness guide, hunter and a dog-enthusiast.
Vihreät Tassut takes you safely back into childhood experiences; trecking, trips into the forest and into the senses and trips to pick mushrooms and berries. Swimming in the pond, hiding under a tree, to the bogs to feel the peat under your bare feet or sitting on a boulder, lying down in the underbrush. Listening to stories, relaxing and empowering.
Storyful guided tours in Torronsuo National Park (Tammela, Finland)
Do you want to go walking with the Elf of Torronsuo, the healer from the past, who takes you to see how ancient Finnish healers lived in Finland, how they used the power of nature and was connected with the nature.
Elf of Torronsuo
The elves of Torronsuo with their stories lead to the roots of darkness through understanding nature and our background. The stories, based on both northern legends and researched information, lead to the past millennium to think about the way of life during the time when this area people were a hermit people behind the land of the Finns.
A family of healers
When walking through the Torronsuo, you can see a healer from the olden days walking along the edge of the swamp with bare toes, or in cold weather with boots. The healer Daria Kalevintytär walks through the ancient lands of Torronsuo as if she were at home, knowing the history of the marsh, as well as its inhabitants and vegetation, in order to use the skills she learned from her ancestors for her livelihood and for the benefit of her fellow travelers.
The roots of healer Daria Kalevintytär, like most of us modern Finns, are in Baltic Finns and its multi-generational culture. However, old legends say that the healers are related to the king of the forest. The strongest heritage of the healer seems to be outward-oriented Karelianism, reinforced with a bite of the hunter-gatherer culture of central Finland and a touch of savoland ice coldness and meditation rooted in hämäläinen’s slowness. A strong connection to nature has always been woven together as a joke. The guided tours of the Torronsuo elf and the stories told through the guided tours spring from one’s own relationship with nature, an understanding of the power of nature and a desire to know one’s own cultural history.
Elf stories
Depending on the duration of your journey together with the Elf of Torronsuo in this deepest swamp in Finland, you will hear gentle stories about the lives, customs, everyday life and celebrations, beliefs and their manifestation of the ancient, and perhaps even the present, areas people and community. You will hear stories about the times after the ice age and the formation of the bog, the special growth conditions of the bog and the plant species that adapt to them. Rooted talk about the utilization of the bog in nutrition and medicine, about herbs and their use before and today, and about our relationship with nature throughout the ages. Our journey is flavored with a touch of mythology, peace and the atmosphere of the past. The stories and their subjects live and flow according to the interest of the group. After the time spent in the swamp, you may approach thinking about your own nature in a new way and look at our shared nature with new eyes.
Instructions
In Torronsuo, it is possible to participate in two types of guided tours of different lengths. Elf of Torronsuo (Torronsuon Haltia) is a full-day guide on the long Suotaival route and lasts about six hours, including not only the guide but also meals. On the trip you will hear a lot of stories about history, mythology and nature, and you will get to experience the impressiveness of the diverse nature of the marsh.
The healer’s journey (Parantajan matkassa) is about two hours long guided tour on the short Kiljamo circuit route and focuses on the history of healers and plants in the area. Both guided tours are organized for charter groups from April to November, depending on the spring and early winter weather conditions and the possibility of the marshes. Some guided tours open to everyone are organized in the summer season and you can find out about them on Torronsuon Haltia’s social media #torronsuonhaltia.
We have two best seller -guidance to offer:
Elf of Torronsuo
On the healers journey
Booking: Contact!
Contact
Vihreät Tassut
Tarja Jaakkola
Phone: +358 50 461 9629
E-mail: tarja@vihreattassut.fi